One of the most tragic details of former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s life is that he has had to endure countless rumors, both personally and professionally, since taking office in 2015. Trudeau’s future in the political world seemed unstable in October 2024 because his fellow Canadian Liberal Party members were so displeased with his performance that they urged the PM to resign from his post or essentially be forced out. At the time, Trudeau had a long meeting with his caucus where they voiced their frustrations to him. As the Prime Minister walked out of the meeting, he only curtly stated, “The Liberal party is strong and united,” (via The Guardian).

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Things only seemed more bleak in December when Trudeau’s finance minister, Chrystia Freeland, penned an open letter explaining that she was stepping down because they weren’t aligned on their financial plans for the country’s future. Further, Freeland clarified that much of the duo’s disagreement revolved around their efforts to create a plan to combat Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs on Canadian goods. 

Unfortunately for Trudeau, these rumors proved true, and in January, he announced his resignation. In the politician’s speech, he essentially confirmed the discord by saying, “This country deserves a real choice in the next election and it has become clear to me that if I’m having to fight internal battles, I cannot be the best option in that election,” per the BBC. Of course, that wasn’t the only Trudeau rumor that stemmed from the truth. 

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Donald Trump and Justin Trudeau didn’t seem to be on the best of terms during the divisive politician’s initial term in office. Before Trump’s swearing-in ceremony, in January 2017, the then-Canadian Prime Minister told town hall reporters that he didn’t agree with some of his more controversial views but looked forward to creating stronger economic times under Trump’s leadership. However, his dislike for the former “Apprentice” host was undeniably apparent at the 2019 NATO Summit. 

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When Boris Johnson, then the British PM, asked someone in their group why they were delayed for an event, Trudeau subtly shaded Trump by quipping, “He was late because he takes a 40-minute press conference off the top,” as the BBC reported at the time. The Canadian world leader was evidently referring to Trump’s decision to have a long, unplanned chat with reporters. Later, Trudeau tried to save face by clarifying that the impromptu chat wasn’t the topic of their discussion, and he was actually talking about Camp David, the location of their G7 Summit. “I have a very good relationship with Trump,” the Canadian PM added. 

However, when the Republican politician’s second term rolled around, Trudeau grew increasingly comfortable with publicly disagreeing with him, confirming the rumors about their long-standing strife in the process. After the divisive leader clinched the win in the 2024 presidential elections, he took to Truth Social to announce that he would be raising tariffs on Canadian goods by 25%. Speaking at a Halifax Chamber of Commerce event, Trudeau pointed out how ironic it was that Trump’s campaign was built on lowering prices for Americans since they would have to pay extra for goods because of his proposed tariffs.

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At several points in his political career, Justin Trudeau has had to deal with the bizarre rumor that he’s secretly the son of Fidel Castro. It was clear from the get-go that the conspiracy theorists who believed in this rumor didn’t have much to go off because they only shared side-by-side photos of Justin and Fidel to supposedly prove that they looked similar. Some even tried to make their case by stating that the former Canadian PM’s mother, Margaret Trudeau, had once visited Cuba. 

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However, according to the Associated Press, Margaret only officially traveled there when her son was four. By then, she was already a public figure since Margaret was married to then-Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. And her celebrity status would’ve made it nearly impossible for her to visit the country around the time of Justin’s conception without being spotted. Even so, the rumor gained traction in 2018 because of false news claiming that Fidel’s eldest son, Fidelito Castro, had called the Canadian world leader his half-brother in his February 2018 suicide note. 

In the aftermath, the Canadian government swiftly dispelled the chatter. However, all the facts weren’t enough to convince Donald Trump. In the controversial politician’s 2024 book, “Save America,” he wrote, “[Justin] swears that he isn’t but how the hell would he know! Castro had good hair, the ‘father’ didn’t, Justin has good hair, and has become a Communist just like Castro.” If that wasn’t bizarre enough already, Trump also professed that Margaret had slept with every member of the Rolling Stones.

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Justin and Sophie Trudeau’s marriage was plagued by cheating rumors. When the future PM appeared on CBC‘s “Power & Politics,” in 2014, he candidly confessed, “Our marriage isn’t perfect, and we have had difficult ups and downs, yet Sophie remains my best friend, my partner, my love.” Justin continued, “We are honest with each other, even when it hurts.” When the host inquired as to whether he was referring to infidelity in a roundabout way, Justin only answered, “No,” suspiciously refusing to elaborate any further. 

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To his credit, though, the politician clearly wasn’t afraid to be frank about their marital struggles as he also openly discussed how the couple’s status as public figures strained their relationship, acknowledging, “There are times when she hates my job and she hates me for loving my job.” Needless to say, speculation about the cracks in their marriage intensified significantly when the Trudeaus announced their separation on Instagram in August 2023. 

This time around, though, many theorized that Justin had cheated on Sophie with Mélanie Joly, his minister of Foreign Affairs. A Redditor posited that the pair seemed quite close during their official public outings. However, other commentators defended Justin by arguing that he behaved similarly around people of all genders. But, in a chat with NPR, political professor Nelson Wiseman revealed that their marriage ended partly because Sophie strongly urged Justin against running for office again, and he ignored her.

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During Sophie Trudeau’s 2015 interview with Global News Canada, she was asked for her thoughts on the Justin Trudeau infidelity rumors. Although she could have easily supported her husband’s public denial and put an end to the gossip once and for all, Sophie instead decided to provide a rather coy answer, reasoning, “Ask if whatever happened in our lives — I’m not saying it did or didn’t — as if we would answer that.” She only made things more uncomfortable by stating, “I can tell you right away that no marriage is easy.” However, Sophie was grateful for the many curveballs life had thrown the couple’s way because they only helped them grow stronger together. 

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Notably, Sophie has also been the subject of some bizarre infidelity speculation herself. In March 2020, Justin’s office announced that his wife had contracted COVID-19. A couple of days later, actor Idris Elba shared that he, too, had come down with the virus. Notably, the “Luther” star and Sophie had attended the same event in London a couple of weeks before their diagnoses and even snapped a photo together. 

So, naturally, people reckoned that the Canadian first lady had had an affair with Elba. To some, the theory seemed even more plausible because Justin shared a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, to confirm that his wife had started showing symptoms after returning home. Of course, that may not have been the case, and they could have both contracted the virus from different people at the gathering or even in entirely different places.

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Once upon a time, everyone was utterly convinced that Melania Trump had eyes for Justin Trudeau. In a viral photo from the 2019 G7 Summit, the first lady appeared to be going in to kiss the former Canadian PM while Donald Trump looked on quite sadly. Of course, it was more than likely just an oddly-timed photo that was snapped when Melania was giving him a peck on the cheek. And yet, that didn’t stop the Internet from poking fun at the supremely awkward moment. 

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Melania is ready to risk it all #Trudeau pic.twitter.com/lEz5sjuQBD

— Loni Love (@LoniLove) August 26, 2019

While one X user joked, “Melania is ready to risk it all,” another admitted that they hadn’t seen the former model look so happy since she got to sit with Barack Obama at Barbara Bush’s funeral. The photo remained fresh in people’s minds even years later, with one commentator quipping in 2021, “Melania Trump didn’t care about Donald Trump’s 75th birthday cause she’s looking for Justin Trudeau in Canada.” However, she isn’t the only Trump with a reported soft spot for the politician since the internet was once convinced that Ivanka Trump had a crush on Trudeau too. 

In 2017, an X user shared a now-viral photo collage of Donald’s eldest daughter gazing lovingly at the Canadian politician, captioning it: “Get you someone that looks at you the way Ivanka Trump looks at Justin Trudeau.” Ultimately, though, it doesn’t seem like having a little crush on the former Liberal Party leader is exclusive to the Trump family because another X user posted a collage of Catherine, Princess of Wales, Emma Watson, and even Donald looking at him the exact same way.

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