Justin Trudeau is the son of Pierre Trudeau, the former Prime Minister of Canada, and activist Margaret Joan. Let’s meet his parents.
On Aug. 2, 2023, Justin Trudeau and his wife Sophie Grégoire Trudeau announced to the world they are splitting up after 18 years of marriage.
The couple, who wed in 2005 and share three children, announced their separation on Aug. 2, 2023, with the prime minister writing in an Instagram statement, “Hi everyone, Sophie and I would like to share the fact that after many meaningful and difficult conversation, we have made the decision to separate.”
Following their split, all attention went to his father, who had also divorced his mother when he was in his position as Canada’s Prime Minister. But, what is known about Justin’s parents? Read on for more.
Who are Justin Trudeau’s parents?
Justin Trudeau was born on December 25, 1971, in Ottawa, Canada to parents Pierre Trudeau and Margaret Trudeau.
Justin, who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada since 2015 and leader of the Liberal Party since 2013, picked his political inspiration from his father who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984.
As for his mother, Joan Trudeau, she is a Canadian activist by profession.
Pierre who was reportedly dating Hollywood star Barbra Streisand in 1969 and 1970, married Justin’s mother, Margaret, on March 4, 1971, at St. Stephen’s Roman Catholic parish church in North Vancouver when he was Prime Minister of Canada. She was 22-year-old and 29 years younger than him.
Through their 13 years of marriage, Pierre and Margaret Joan were blessed with three children; all sons, including Justin (born 1971). His other siblings are Alexandre (born 1973), and Michel (born 1975 but died on 1998).
Trudeau and Margaret separated in 1977, and were divorced in 1984.
Who was Pierre Trudeau?
Justin’s dad whose real name is Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau was a Lawyer, jurist, academic author, journalist, and politician.
He served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. He also briefly served as the leader of the Opposition from 1979 to 1980.
He was born on October 18, 1919, in Outremont, Montreal, Canada to parents Charles-Émile Trudeau (father), Grace Elliott (mother).
He had his educations at Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf (DEC), Université de Montréal (LLB), Harvard University (MA), Sciences Po, and London School of Economics.
He stood at a height of 1.78 m.
He died on September 28, 2000, aged 81, in Montreal, Canada.
Who is Margaret Trudeau?
Justin’s mom’s real name is Margaret Joan Sinclair Trudeau. She is a Canadian activist.
She married Pierre Trudeau, the 15th prime minister of Canada, in 1971, three years after he became prime minister. They divorced in 1984, during his final months in office.
She is the first woman in Canadian history to have been both the wife and the mother of prime ministers. Trudeau is an advocate for people with bipolar disorder, with which she has been diagnosed.
She was born on September 10, 1948, in Vancouver, Canada to parents James Sinclair and Kathleen Sinclair.
She is currently assumed single after spliting from her second husband, Fried Kemper, who she married from 1984 to 1999.
Why did Justin Trudeau’s parents divorce?
After 13 years of being married and having welcomed three kids together, Trudeau’s parents announced their separation in 1977.
Their divorce filed by Justin’s mother was finalised in 1984 by the Supreme Court of Ontario with her citing a “no-fault” reason.
When Justin was five years old his father was given primary custody. Eventually his parents came to an amicable joint-custody arrangement and learned to get along quite well.
Not only did Justin follow his father’s footstep as Canada’s prime minister but he’s also the second person to divorce/split from their partner with the first being his father while holding such position.
Interviewed in October 1979, his nanny Dianne Lavergne was quoted, “Justin is a mommy’s boy, so it’s not easy, but children’s hurts mend very quickly. And they’re lucky kids, anyway.”
Of his mother and father’s marriage, Trudeau said in 2009, “They loved each other incredibly, passionately, completely. But there was 30 years between them, and my mom never was an equal partner in what encompassed my father’s life, his duty, his country.”
Trudeau has three half-siblings, Kyle and Alicia, from his mother’s remarriage to Fried Kemper, and Sarah, from his father’s relationship with Deborah Coyne.