Canada wasn’t alone in wanting Trudeau out. His failures on the world stage alienated global leaders and citizens alike
For interview requests, click here
Justin Trudeau announced on Jan. 6 that he was going to resign as Liberal Party leader and Prime Minister after his successor had been chosen. Within minutes of this press conference, and those words coming out of his mouth, the media frenzy was (predictably) the equivalent of a giant typhoon.
This was especially true with respect to Canada’s small cadre of columnists and political commentators. The amount of words on Trudeau’s forthcoming resignation, both written and spoken, caused an immediate overload for public consumption. Every conceivable idea, theory, suggestion, angle and strategy had a seat at the proverbial political table.
Most of Canada’s chattering class was either pleased or overjoyed that the ineffective, mediocre and delusional PM was leaving the political scene. They knew that the Liberal government would soon collapse, and Pierre Poilievre and the Conservatives would eventually take power and lead this country in a new direction. A much smaller number expressed disappointment and concern about the future of the Liberal Party and progressive ideas. They knew this moment was inevitable, but it was hard for them to come to terms that the Canadian political landscape was about to change.
 Trudeau’s resignation marks the collapse of the Liberal Party and a pivotal shift in Canada’s political landscape. |
| Recommended |
| Was Justin Trudeau the oil industry’s villain or unexpected ally?
|
| Both Trudeaus lingered too long
|
| The Liberals may never recover from Justin Trudeau
|
There was also a great deal of interest in Trudeau’s impending departure overseas. A few Canadian columnists wrote about this important political development for U.S. and international publications. I was among them.
That wasn’t surprising. I write a fair bit outside of this country and have done so for the majority of my career. Trudeau’s resignation was a natural subject for American and British publications that I work with.
How much additional attention it received was also rather notable.
Here’s an example. I wrote a piece for The Spectator, founded in 1828 and one of the oldest magazines in the world, on Trudeau. Having contributed to this right-leaning publication on several previous occasions about the PM and other issues, I was happy to put something together for them. I also appeared that day on its YouTube channel, Spectator TV. While the latter medium may not be well known in our part of the world, it’s widely watched in the UK, Europe and elsewhere. Some prominent individuals have appeared on this channel, including former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson (who used to be the magazine’s editor), columnist/author Peter Hitchens, historian/author Douglas Murray, activist/author Ayaan Hirsi Ali and psychologist/author Dr. Jordan Peterson.
I was honoured to join such an esteemed company. At the same time, I was also curious to see what the viewership would be like. While many people would immediately recognize Trudeau’s name, would they really be interested in a nearly 20-minute interview about a Canadian Prime Minister’s decision to step down?
The answer was a resounding “yes.”
My interview with The Spectator’s political correspondent James Heale has received over 106,000 views as of this writing (Jan. 13). It ranks 120th out of the 2,201 videos currently posted on Spectator TV, which is in the top 5 per cent.
That’s flabbergasting. Most non-Canadian publications barely knew anything about this country when I started writing in 1996. Some editors were aware of former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, largely due to his friendship and working relationship with former U.S. President Ronald Reagan. A few editors also remembered former Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau, father of the current national leader, but often struggled to place him in proper context with most international issues and events.
If an interview about Trudeau’s resignation had been conducted in 1996 instead of 2025, you could have safely assumed it would have received less than 500 views. No one would have been slightly interested in it.
Interest in Canada among international publications largely changed for the better when my old friend and boss, Stephen Harper, became Prime Minister. When Trudeau took power in 2015, the mood changed from positive coverage in centrist and left-leaning publications to highly negative coverage in right-leaning and left-leaning publications.
It’s probably fair to say that I played a small role in promoting Harper’s leadership and critiquing Trudeau’s leadership outside of Canada. Others played their part, too.
Trudeau also outlasted most of the G7 leaders and world leaders. That’s an important fact for several reasons. His name floated around for much longer, and more Americans, Europeans, Asians, Africans and others had some awareness of him. The PM’s multitude of foibles, both domestically and internationally, were widely covered in the media, too.
Allegations of Chinese election interference in the 2019 and 2021 elections, for example, along with the two Michaels and Meng Wanzhou affair. Trudeau’s allegation of a link between India’s government agenda and the murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, which his own national security advisor, Nathalie Drouin, said in Nov. 2024 was “speculative and inaccurate.” Allowing a Nazi to be honoured in Parliament. His two-faced approach to Israel and the Middle East. Icy relations with China, India and two U.S. presidents, Donald Trump and Joe Biden, didn’t help his cause, either.
Long story short, Trudeau’s forthcoming resignation as PM made international news because they wanted to see him go as much as most Canadians did. It tells you something about the impressions of Trudeau’s terrible leadership in our country and beyond.
Michael Taube is a political commentator, Troy Media syndicated columnist and former speechwriter for Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He holds a master’s degree in comparative politics from the London School of Economics, lending academic rigour to his political insights.
Explore more on Trudeau government, Trudeau scandals, International relations, Canada-U.S. relations
Troy Media is committed to empowering Canadian community news outlets by providing independent, insightful analysis and commentary. Our mission is to support local media in building an informed and engaged public by delivering reliable content that strengthens community connections, enriches national conversations, and helps Canadians learn from and understand each other better.
