Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Wife Separating
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife of 18 years announced they have legally separated. The couple took to their personal Instagram accounts to break the news to Canadians.
“Sophie and I would like to share the fact that after many meaningful and difficult conversations, we have made the decision to separate,” the prime minister’s statement read. “As always, we remain a close family with deep love and respect for each other and for everything we have built and will continue to build.”
Both indicated the family would still be going on vacation together in a couple of weeks. The two have three children together.
Details of why the couple separated have not been released, and they have asked for privacy.
The last Canadian prime minister to be separated or divorced while in office was Justin’s father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau. “Neither Trudeau nor [Sophie] Grégoire Trudeau went into their marriage with any illusions about the cost of public life,” wrote Susan Delacourt at the Toronto Star. “Trudeau is the son of the first prime minister to get married in office and also the first [prime minister] to get divorced in office, and in his early days in politics, Justin Trudeau was candid about how determined he was to avoid the marriage strains he witnessed close up between Pierre and Margaret Trudeau.” Soon after the public estrangement between Pierre and Margaret Trudeau, Pierre resigned from politics.
For years, Ottawa insiders have speculated that Trudeau’s marriage was strained, or that they were already separated but kept up appearances for the sake of the country. Now the separation is a reality.
Why does it matter? Divorce, separation and remarriage is normal in Canada. “In Canada, the nuclear family is no longer the dominant vital statistic,” wrote Nussbaum Law. “Many are in common-law unions, many without children, and many have been divorced or separated more than once.” The number of divorced people in Canada has risen from 1.88 million in 2000 to 2.74 million in 2020. The marriage rate has decreased, and grey divorce (separating over age 50) has increased.
Trudeau’s separation is a troubling sign of Canadian culture and family life. His father’s time in office represented a significant downturn in traditional family and values, and his own family reflected society’s wider values. Justin Trudeau has championed even more radical and perverse values. Sadly, Justin has followed the same path as his father and represents the normal Canadian family to the world.
The Bible prophesied the breakdown of the biblical family (Isaiah 3:1-4). It warned that our leaders would lead the way in promoting sin and perversion (Isaiah 9:16). The late Herbert W. Armstrong said that “a solid family structure is the very foundation of a stable and enduring society.”
Learn more: To read about the importance of family and national health, order Mr. Armstrong’s free book The Missing Dimension in Sex.
