Premiership of Justin Trudeau

From his election until the end of 2017, Justin Trudeau's liberals enjoyed a large lead in public opinion polls. In 2018, the Conservatives and Liberals exchanged leads in opinion polls. In the beginning of 2019, The conservatives took the lead following the SNC-Lavalin affair, but polls returned to a virtual tie during the summer and stayed that way until the election in October 2019.

Following the election, polls were very virtually tied between the Liberals and the Conservatives until the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, after which Trudeau's Liberals took a large lead.

Since the beginning of his premiership, Justin Trudeau topped the overwhelming majority of polls asking which of the main party leaders would make the best party leader.

According to Angus Reid institute polling, from his election in October 2015 until fall 2017, Justin Trudeau had a positive approval rating. December 2017 was the first time his approval rating fell into the negatives, and it largely remained this way until the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020, at which point it returned to the positive.[9]

Finance Minister Bill Morneau presented the Canadian federal budget to the House of Commons of Canada on March 22, 2016 reporting a projected deficit of $29.4 billion for the fiscal year 2016-2017 and a reduction in the deficit of $14.3 billion by FY2020.[10] According to the Annual Financial Report of the Government of Canada 2016-2017 the revised deficit was $17.8 billion as of the end of March 2017.[11]

Minister Morneau presented his second budget "Building a Strong Middle Class" on March 22, 2017 in which he projected a deficit of $28.5 billion which risk adjustment of $3 billion.[12] It was adjusted again following the 2017-2018 Annual Financial Report of the Government of Canada to $19.0 billion. A "retroactive change" was made to the accounting "methodology for the determination of the discount rate for unfunded pension obligations". As a result of this change in auditing, revisions were recommended by the Auditor General for budget numbers from 2006 through 2016. What had been reported as a small surplus in FY 2014–15, was audited as a small deficit with these retroactive changes.[13]

Minister Morneau presented the FY 2018–2019 budget which projected a deficit of $18.1 billion.[14][15][16][17][18] The 2018-2019 Annual Financial Report of the Government of Canada revised the deficit to $14.0 billion.[19]

Minister Morneau's FY2019-2020 federal budget presented on March 19, 2019 projected a deficit of $19.8 billion.[20] The budget included new spending of $22.8 billion for the period covering 2019 through 2026.[21] Among the new expenditures is the six-month grace period for students in which interest charges on Canada Student Loans will be eliminated.[21] The Employment Insurance job training program accounts for an additional $586.5-million a year in expenses.[21] There were no changes in bracketing for either corporations or individuals in terms of income tax.[21]

On the night of January 29, 2017, Alexandre Bissonnette, a young Quebec City citizen, opened fire in a mosque in the Sainte-Foy neighbourhood of Quebec City. Bissonnette checked in on the Twitter account of Ben Shapiro, editor in chief of the conservative news site the Daily Wire, 93 times in the month leading up to the shooting.[28] Six people were killed and 19 others were seriously injured. The Prime minister said in the House of Commons, "This was a group of innocents targeted for practising their faith. Make no mistake, this was a terrorist act".[29] Following the massacre Trudeau attended and gave a speech at religious ceremonies with Premier of Québec Philippe Couillard. Trudeau has also criticized La Meute (a small far right group), condemning them as "racists ... these 'nonos' who wear dog paws on their T-shirts".[30]

There was a series of civil disobedience protests held in Canada in protest of the construction of the Coastal GasLink Pipeline (CGL) through 190 kilometres (120 mi) of Wetʼsuwetʼen First Nation territory in British Columbia (BC), land that is unceded. Other concerns of the protesters were indigenous land rights, the actions of police, land conservation, and the environmental impact of energy projects. Access to the Coastal GasLink Pipeline construction camps in Wetʼsuwetʼen territory was blocked by protesters and the Coastal GasLink project was granted an injunction in 2018 to remove the land defenders. In January 2019, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) of British Columbia removed the blockades and CGL pre-construction work in the territory was completed. Subsequently, the blockades were rebuilt and Coastal GasLink was granted a second injunction by the BC Supreme Court in December 2019 to allow construction.[31]

In February 2020, after the RCMP enforced the second court injunction, removing the Wetʼsuwetʼen blockades and arresting Wetʼsuwetʼen land defenders, solidarity protests sprang up across Canada. Many were rail blockades, including one blockade near Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory which halted traffic along a major CNR rail line between Toronto and Montreal and led to a shutdown of passenger rail service and rail freight operations in much of Canada. The Eastern Ontario blockade was itself removed by the Ontario Provincial Police. Blockades and protests continued through March in BC, Ontario and Quebec. Discussions between representatives of the Wetʼsuwetʼen and the governments of Canada and British Columbia has led to a provisional agreement on the Wetʼsuwetʼen land rights in the area.[32]

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said politicians should not be telling the police how to deal with protesters and that resolution should come through dialogue.[33] The Canadian government does not tell the police what to do operationally.[33] In any case, the police services are under provincial or municipal control.

On February 12, Canada's Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller began a dialogue with several indigenous leaders from different parts of Canada. On February 15, Miller met the Mohawks in a ceremonial encounter on the CNR train tracks to renew a 17th-century treaty between the Iroquois and the British Crown known as the Silver Covenant Chain. Miller then discussed the blockade with the leaders of Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte First Nation, along with Kanenhariyo, one of the primary organizers of the protest near Tyendinaga.[34] Miller asked for a temporary drawback of the protest but his request was refused after Wetʼsuwetʼen hereditary Chief Woos, who was on the phone, stated that the RCMP was still on his territory and "they are out there with guns, threatening us." Leaked audio of the meetings included a Mohawk resident in the meeting telling the minister to "Get the red coats out first, get the blue coats out … then we can maybe have some common discussions".[35] Miller returned to Ottawa and met with Prime Minister Trudeau and other members of the Cabinet called the "Incident Response Group".[36] Trudeau had returned from a foreign relations trip to deal with the issue.[37]

On February 18, the House of Commons of Canada resumed after the winter break. Trudeau addressed the Commons asking Canadians for patience as the government sought a negotiated end. "On all sides, people are upset and frustrated. I get it. It's understandable because this is about things that matter—rights and livelihoods, the rule of law and our democracy." Opposition leader Andrew Scheer condemned the government's refusal to use the police to stop the illegal blockades, calling it "the weakest response to a national crisis in Canadian history. Will our country be one of the rule of the law, or will our country be one of the rule of the mob?" Trudeau held a private meeting with the other opposition parties' leaders, barring Scheer after his comments.[38]

On February 18, the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) held a press conference in Ottawa. AFN National Chief Perry Bellegarde called for all parties to engage in dialogue. "It's on everybody. It's not on any one individual. I'm just calling on all the parties to come together, get this dialogue started in a constructive way."[38]

On February 20, according to a statement from Canadian Public Safety Minister Bill Blair, the RCMP agreed to move its personnel from Wetʼsuwetʼen territory to nearby Houston.[39] The next day, Prime Minister Trudeau held a press conference to state "Canadians have been patient. Our government has been patient, but it has been two weeks and the barricades need to come down now. The government had made repeated overtures to the hereditary chiefs to hold meetings but had been ignored. You can't have dialogue when only one party is coming to the table. Our hand remains extended should someone want to reach for it. We have come to a moment where the onus is now on Indigenous leadership."[40]

Shortly after Trudeau's statement on February 21, the Wetʼsuwetʼen hereditary chiefs released a statement reaffirming that discussions would continue once all RCMP and CGL personnel vacate the Wetʼsuwetʼen territory. At the same time, the Mohawk of Tyendinaga asserted that their rail blockade would be removed as soon as Wetʼsuwetʼen legal observers confirm that the RCMP is off their land.[41] On February 24, the day of the Mohawk blockade removal by the OPP, Indigenous Services Minister Miller repeated that the Liberal government was "still open for dialogue" and willing to negotiate.[42]

On February 24, in a statement signed and supported by over 200 Canadian lawyers and legal scholars, Beverly Jacobs and Sylvia McAdam of the University of Windsor, Alex Neve of Amnesty International, and Harsha Walia of the BC Civil Liberties Association responded to the calls for the "rule of law." In their opinion, it is the Canadian federal and provincial governments that are breaking international law, not the Wetʼsuwetʼen hereditary chiefs. They also pointed out that the requirements laid out in the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples have continued to be ignored by Canadian courts, although Canadian governments have expressed a willingness to follow the UN resolution. They call for an end to the violation of indigenous persons' right to free, prior and informed consent.[43]

In early May, the elected chiefs of several Wetʼsuwetʼen band councils (primarily Nee-Tahi-Buhn, Skin Tyee, Tsʼil Kaz Koh, and Wetʼsuwetʼen First Nations) called on Minister Bennett to resign, as the Canadian and BC governments, along with the hereditary chiefs, pressed forward with the memorandum of understanding. In a statement on May 11, before the signing of the memorandum, the elected chiefs called on Minister Bennett to resign due to her "disregard for [their] special relationship".[44] They repeated this demand in a statement on May 14, after the signing of the MOU, and added a call for Minister Marc Miller to speak up about his "intention to protect the programs and services the Wetʼsuwetʼen people depend on".[45][46]

On October 2, CBC News reported that information related to protests in February that they had requested from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) under the Access to Information Act had been withheld. CSIS cited section 15 of the Act in withholding the information, which defines "subversive or hostile activities" as including sabotage, terrorism, actions directed at a "government change," activities that "threaten" Canadians or federal employees, and espionage.[47]

Documents obtained by CBC News found that in the two years of their occupation of the Morice Forest Service Road, the RCMP had spent over CA$13 million on policing. Chief Naʼmoks compared that very high level of spending with the perceived inaction by the RCMP over violent attacks and harassment of Mi'kmaw fishers in Nova Scotia.[48]

In December 2019, an outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was first identified in Wuhan, Hubei, China; it spread worldwide and was recognized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020.[49][50] The first confirmed case in Canada was reported on January 27, 2020.[51] Justin Trudeau's government response to this pandemic was the following:

Public health

The federal government activated its Emergency Operations Centre on January 15.[52] The federal government's pandemic response is based on two primary documents: the Canadian Pandemic Influenza Preparedness planning guidelines, which outlines risks and measures to address a viral disease,[53] and the Federal/Provincial/Territorial Public Health Response Plan for Biological Events, which includes identifying, tracking, and ensuring rapid access to medical care.[54] As of February 27, the response plan was at level 3 (escalated).[55]

On March 18, the federal Minister of Health, Patty Hajdu, announced that the federal government had signed an interim order to speed up access to COVID-19 test kits that would allow provincial labs to increase testing. The test kits are made by Switzerland-based Roche Molecular Systems and Thermo Fisher Scientific.[56] According to Health Canada, "an Interim Order is one of the fastest mechanisms available to the Government of Canada to help make health products available to address larger scale public health emergencies. This Interim Order provides the Minister with the flexibility to consider the urgent circumstances relating to the need for the medical device, authorizations granted by foreign regulatory authorities, or possible new uses for medical devices that are approved in Canada."[57]

Social distancing at Shoppers Drug Mart in Toronto with limited number of shoppers allowed inside the store.

On March 19, 2020, the federal government announced that it had added to Trudeau's March 11 announcement of $275 million in funding for an additional 49 projects to bring the total to 96 research projects that will focus on developing and implementing measures to detect, manage, and reduce the transmission of COVID-19.[58][59]

On March 20, as part of the announcement on Canada's industrial strategy (see below), Trudeau stated that the National Research Council will work with small- and medium-sized companies on health research to fight the virus.[60]

On March 23, Theresa Tam began appearing in public service announcements on radio and television, urging personal hygiene, social distancing, and against unnecessary travel.[61]

On April 6, Tam began to suggest that the use of non-medical face masks in public could be an "additional measure" to "protect others around you in situations where physical distancing is difficult to maintain", but that this is not proven to protect the wearer, and is considered complementary to all existing health guidance issued thus far.[62]

In response to backlogs in COVID-19 testing, especially provinces like Ontario, Health Canada approved new rapid testing for the virus.[63]

"Thank You Heroes" sign at a long-term care home in Markham, Ontario

Long-term care homes have been impacted heavily by the pandemic; on April 13, Tam reported that at least half of COVID-19 deaths in Canada had been linked to long-term care homes (with the exact number varying by province), and that "these deaths will continue to increase, even as the epidemic growth rate slows down.[64][65] Tam cited factors such as outside visitors, communal living spaces, and staff being transferred among multiple facilities, as particular vulnerabilities.[66][67] The pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing staffing issues at some facilities, including underpaid staff, and being understaffed in general.[68][64][69] On April 28, Tam stated that as many of 79 percent of Canada's COVID-19 fatalities occurred in long-term care homes.[70]

Health Canada has issued recommendations for long-term care homes, encouraging them to restrict outside visitors and volunteers, restrict employees from being transferred between multiple facilities, provide personal protective equipment, enforce physical distancing during meals, screen staff and essential visitors, On April 15, Trudeau announced that the federal government planned to provide additional pay to long-term care workers.[71][72]

An almost empty SkyTrain in Vancouver on a Saturday afternoon

On March 14, Canada recommended against any international travel, and advised those returning from outside of Canada, except for essential workers (such as flight crew), to self-isolate for 14 days.[73] The Quarantine Act was invoked by Hajdu on March 26, making self-isolation a legal mandate for travellers (excluding essential workers) returning to the country, and also prohibiting those who are symptomatic from using public transit as transport to their place of self-isolation, and prohibiting self-isolation in settings where they may come in contact with those who are vulnerable (people with pre-existing conditions and the elderly).[74]

Since March 16, only Canadian citizens and their immediate families, permanent residents, and U.S. citizens are allowed to enter the country. The only exceptions are flight crews, diplomats, and trade and commerce. Travellers showing COVID-19 symptoms are not allowed to board flights into Canada, regardless of their citizenship.[75][76] International flights to Canada from outside the Caribbean, Mexico, and the U.S. were instructed to land at either Calgary International Airport, Montréal–Trudeau International Airport, Toronto Pearson International Airport, or Vancouver International Airport.[75][76]

Since March 20, Canada and the United States have temporarily restricted all non-essential travel across their border, while maintaining supply chains between both countries;[77][78] On April 16, Trudeau stated that the Canada/U.S. border restrictions would remain in place "for a significant amount of time";[79] the next day, it was reported that Canada and the United States had agreed to extend their entry restrictions, which were to expire on April 21, for an additional 30 days beyond that date.[80] In fact, the border restrictions were later extended until at least September 21, 2020.[81]

Since March 30, individuals showing COVID-19 symptoms must be refused boarding on domestic flights (10 seats or more) and passenger trains. This excludes buses and intercity passenger rail services.[82] Since April 20, all travellers are required to wear non-medical face masks while departing and arriving on air travel, including during security screenings. Those who do not comply will be prevented from proceeding.[83]

As the border with the United States continued to be closed to non-essential travel, the Canadian government announced plans in October to allow family members to reunite under compassionate terms.[84] Within the country, the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador established the Atlantic Bubble, restricting travel from other provinces, but allowing free movement amongst citizens of the member provinces.[85]

Regionally, Atlantic Canada established the Atlantic Bubble on July 3, 2020 until its temporary suspension in November 2020.

On January 29, 2021, Prime Minister Trudeau announced suspension of flights from Canada to the Caribbean and Mexico, and a new requirement for incoming travelers to quarantine while waiting for test results (expected to be up to 3 days) in a hotel at their own expense.[86]

A First Ministers' meeting scheduled for March 12 and 13 was cancelled after Trudeau and his wife Sophie Grégoire entered self-isolation.[87] The Canadian House of Commons was suspended between March 14 and April 20, immediately after passing the new North American free trade deal. The federal budget, previously scheduled for March 20, was also suspended.[88]

In March 2020, the Bank of Canada twice lowered its overnight rate target by 50 basis points—first to 1.25 percent on March 4, and then to 0.75 percent on March 13. It cited the "negative shocks to Canada's economy arising from the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent sharp drop in oil prices" in explaining the move.[89][90]

On March 27, the Bank lowered the rate a third time to 0.25 percent, citing "serious consequences for Canadians and for the economy" due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[91] The Bank also launched a program to "alleviate strains in the short-term funding markets" and another program to acquire Government of Canada securities at a minimum of $5 billion per week.[92]

On March 18, the federal government announced an $82-billion response package with a variety of measures.[93] On March 25, the COVID-19 Emergency Response Act received royal assent from Governor General Julie Payette.[94]

The measures in this first package included:

• Canada Child Benefit (CCB): Payments for the 2019–20-year were increased by $300 per child.[95]
• Goods and Services Tax (GST) credit: The maximum annual GST credit payment amount for the 2019–20 year was doubled.[96]
• Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB): This new benefit provided a taxable benefit of $2,000 a month for up to four months for those who had lost their job, were sick, quarantined, or taking care of someone sick with COVID-19, as well as working parents staying home to take care of their kids.
• Canada Student Loans: A six-month moratorium was placed on repayment.
• Temporary business wage subsidy: Eligible small employers received a three-month 10 percent wage subsidy.
• Tax flexibility: The income tax filing deadline was also extended from April 30, 2020 to June 1, 2020. Tax payments were deferred to September 2020.

The CERB launched on April 6.[97] On April 15, Trudeau announced that the CERB would be extended to workers making up to $1,000 per month, and that the government planned to work with the provinces to implement salary top-ups for essential workers who make less than $2,500 per month.[98]

The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) was announced on April 1, an expanded version of the temporary business wage subsidy. The Parliament reconvened on April 11 to pass the COVID-19 Emergency Response Act, No. 2 on division. It implemented the CEWS—which allows eligible companies to receive a 75 percent subsidy on each of their employees' wages (up to their first $58,700) for 12 weeks retroactive to March 15.[99]

Trudeau introduced new financial aid programs on April 10, including the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) which offers loans, interest-free until the end of 2022, of up to $40,000 for small- and medium-sized businesses.[100][101] The CEBA was expanded on April 16 to make more businesses eligible.

The Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB) was announced by Trudeau on April 22.[102]

On April 30, Parliamentary Budget Officer Yves Giroux issued a report projecting the federal deficit for fiscal year 2020 could be in excess of $252 billion, based on nearly $146 billion in spending on federal aid measures.[103]

On October 12, 2020, the federal government rolled out a new income support program after the ending of CERB, the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB).[104] Another program, the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB) supports Canadians that have been working but have to take a break to care for dependents (a child below 12 years of age or a disabled family member). The benefit only applies if schools and care centres are closed, or the dependent fell sick, or contracted COVID-19.[105]

On July 3, 2020, the Ethics Commissioner announced an investigation into Trudeau and the government's decision to have WE Charity administer the summer student grant program.[106][107] We Charity was criticized for its close ties to the Trudeau family. On the same day, Minister of Diversity and Inclusion and Youth, Bardish Chagger, announced that WE Charity would no longer be administering the Canada Student Service Grant program.[108]

On March 20, 2020, the government announced a plan to ramp up production of medical equipment, switching assembly lines to produce ventilators, masks and other personal protective gear. Companies will be able to access funds through the government's Strategic Innovation Fund. The PM stated that Canadian medical supply firms Thornhill Medical, Medicom and Spartan Bioscience were looking to expand production. In order to address shortages and supply-chain disruption, Canada passed emergency legislation that waived-patent protection, giving the government, and companies or organizations that it selects, the right to produce patented products without permission from the patent holder.[109] According to Innovation, Science and Industry minister Navdeep Bains, "the country's entire industrial policy will be refocused to prioritize the fight against COVID-19".[110][111]

In January 2017, Canada's Ethics Commissioner, Mary Dawson, began an investigation into Trudeau for a vacation he and his family took to Aga Khan IV's private island in the Bahamas.[182][183] The Ethics Commissioner's report, released in December 2017, found that Trudeau had violated four provisions of the Conflict of Interest Act.[184] By breaking the law, he became the first sitting prime minister to do so.[185]

Elbowgate was an incident in which Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau came into physical contact with two opposition Members of Parliament in the House of Commons on May 18, 2016 during the parliamentary session. During the incident Trudeau grabbed Conservative MP Gord Brown by the arm and then inadvertently elbowed New Democratic MP Ruth Ellen Brosseau in the chest. Trudeau subsequently apologized and was not subject to parliamentary sanctions for the incident.[186][187]

On February 8, 2019, The Globe and Mail reported that sources close to the government said that the Prime Minister's Office allegedly had attempted to influence Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould concerning an ongoing prosecution of SNC-Lavalin while she was Minister of Justice and Attorney General. When asked about the allegations, Trudeau said that the story in the Globe was false and that he had never "directed" Wilson-Raybould concerning the case.[188] Wilson-Raybould refused to comment on the matter, citing solicitor-client privilege[189] and, on February 11, the Ethics Commissioner announced the opening of an investigation into the allegations. Trudeau welcomed the investigation, stating that "Her presence in cabinet should actually speak for itself."[190][191] Wilson-Raybould resigned from the Trudeau cabinet on February 12, 2019, the next day.[192] Trudeau said he did not anticipate her resignation and expressed disappointment over her decision, as it was not reflective of the conversations they had had during their recent meetings. Following Wilson-Raybould's resignation, Trudeau further elaborated by stating that the government abided by all rules, did its job properly, and that if anyone within the government - including the former attorney-general - felt otherwise, the responsibility lay with Wilson-Raybould to address these concerns directly to him. Trudeau refutes Wilson-Raybould's claim that this is an issue involving attorney-client privilege and mentioned that she did not approach him to discuss or highlight any concerns regarding this case.[193] She has retained Thomas Cromwell, a former judge for the Supreme Court of Canada, as counsel in order to determine the scope of information she is allowed to share with the public.[194] On February 18, 2019, Gerald Butts, Trudeau's principal secretary, resigned from the government and categorically denied all allegations.[195]

On February 27, 2019, Jody Wilson-Raybould testified in front of the House of Commons Justice Committee that "For a period of approximately four months between September and December 2018, I experienced a consistent and sustained effort by many people within the government to seek to politically interfere in the exercise of prosecutorial discretion in my role as the Attorney General of Canada in an inappropriate effort to secure a Deferred Prosecution Agreement with SNC-Lavalin."[196] She named 11 people involved with the "sustained effort" to politically interfere which include Gerald Butts, Trudeau's former principal secretary, Katie Telford, Trudeau's chief of staff, Bill Morneau, Trudeau's Minister of Finance, and many other high ranking people within the Prime Ministers Office and the clerk of the Privy Council, Michael Wernick. She says she was promised a line of positive op-eds if she intervened in the case to say what she was doing is proper.[197] Further, Wilson-Raybould says she received "veiled threats" while receiving the sustained pressure even after saying no previously.[198]

Later that same day in a news conference in Quebec, Justin Trudeau said that “I completely disagree with the former attorney general's version of events,” adding he had not ruled out whether she will remain a Liberal MP or be allowed to run for the party in the fall election.[199]

In the wake of the SNC-Lavalin Affair, during February 2019, Principal Secretary Gerald Butts resigned from office. In March 2019, Jody Wilson-Raybould and Jane Philpott resigned from cabinet while remaining members of the Liberal party caucus. After delivering his second testimony to the Justice Committee in March, the Clerk of the Privy Council Michael Wernick resigned from office.[200][201]

Mario Dion, the Parliament of Canada's Ethics Commissioner, began an investigation in March. On 14 August 2019, he released a report that said Trudeau contravened section 9 of the Conflict of Interest Act by improperly pressuring Wilson-Raybould.[202]

A Leger poll conducted for the Canadian Press found that 41 percent of respondents thought Trudeau had done something wrong amid the SNC scandal, while 12 percent thought he hadn't. Another 41 percent were undecided.[203] Despite questions and criticism regarding whether his public reputation as a feminist was in doubt due to Wilson-Raybould and Philpott's alleged treatment, a later poll conducted by Innovative Research found that those most likely to dispute Trudeau's feminist credentials in the wake of the controversy were "Conservatives and populists"[204] already opposed to Trudeau and the Liberal Party. According to the Toronto Star, 30 percent of those surveyed said Trudeau's Liberals were best-placed on gender equality issues, down from 36 percent in polling conducted before SNC but still well ahead of all other opposition parties by that measure.

On September 18, 2019, Time magazine published a photograph of Trudeau wearing brownface makeup in the spring of 2001.[205] The photograph, which had not been previously reported, was taken at an “Arabian Nights”-themed gala. The photograph showed Trudeau, wearing a turban and robes with his face, neck and hands completely darkened. The photograph appeared in the 2000-2001 yearbook of the West Point Grey Academy, where Trudeau was a teacher. A copy of the yearbook was obtained by Time earlier in the month from Vancouver businessman Michael Adamson, who was part of the West Point Grey Academy community. Adamson said that he first saw the photograph in July and felt it should be made public.

On the night of September 18, following Time's publication of the photograph, Trudeau spoke to reporters and apologized: “I shouldn't have done that. I should have known better and I didn't. I'm really sorry.” When asked if he thought the photograph was racist, he said, “Yes it was. I didn't consider it racist at the time, but now we know better.” While speaking to reporters, Trudeau also admitted to wearing blackface makeup in high school while singing "Day-O" at a talent show.[206]

On September 19, 2019, Global News obtained and published a video from the early 1990s showing Trudeau in blackface.[207] The video showed Trudeau covered in dark makeup and raising his hands in the air while laughing, sticking his tongue out and making faces. The video showed his arms and legs covered in makeup as well.

Following complaints by opposition parties that the Trudeau family had ties to WE Charity, the Ethics Commissioner on July 3, 2020 announced an investigation into Trudeau's and the government's decision to have the charity administer a summer, student-grant program which could assist students financially during the COVID-19 epidemic. Trudeau responded by saying WE was the charity that had the capability to administer such a program. WE and the federal government decided to "part ways" leaving administration of the grant program to the federal government. [208][209][210]

The Liberal Party's 2015 election platform committed to making the PBO “truly independent of the government” and “accountable only – and directly – to Parliament”, as opposed to being under the Library of Parliament. The platform also committed to expand the PBO's mandate to include “the costing of party election platforms”. These changes were included in the Budget Implementation Act, 2017 and came into force in September 2017, but also included new restrictions on the PBO. [222]