Justin Trudeau quit politics, but not fame: From his life with Katy Perry to his new projects

Mark Carney has become one of the most watched figures on the international stage. The Canadian prime minister draws admiration and recognition for the way he has steered his country amid trade hostilities with the United States; also for the alliances he seeks to forge with other middle powers as the geopolitical landscape shifts. His predecessor, Justin Trudeau, also enjoyed high levels of popularity, though for different reasons. In fact, fame has followed Trudeau since birth, being the son of another prime minister — Pierre Trudeau, who served in the 1980s. Even though Justin Trudeau’s final years in politics were marked by an unstoppable decline from the summit, he has comfortably settled into a new stage of his life, and has not abandoned the public spotlight.Justin Pierre James Trudeau led Canada’s executive for more than nine years starting in 2015. However, his bid to head a fourth consecutive government collapsed in early 2025 amid infighting within his Liberal Party and notable public discontent, and he officially left office and withdrew from political life on March 14 of that year. After his farewell, however, he did not retire to a cabin in the woods to write a memoir about his time as prime minister. Nor did he quietly join a mission to monitor the habits of endangered animal species —his environmental achievements, one of the most significant aspects of his time leading the Canadian government, have been substantially rolled back by the Carney administration. Trudeau remains the same man: he is accustomed to life in the spotlight, and he needs constant attention.Four days after his farewell, he posted on his Instagram account, where he has 4.5 million followers: “Gotta love a Monday morning at Canadian Tire.” The message was accompanied by a photograph — in which he wore a cap and jacket — showing him pushing a shopping cart inside the iconic retailer. After that, Trudeau made other social media appearances tied to his son Xavier’s musical career, known as a singer by the stage name Xav.Earlier, in August 2023, Trudeau and Sophie Grégoire announced their separation after 18 years of marriage. After the split, speculation about the former politician’s romantic life grew. Finally, images taken at a Montreal restaurant in July 2025 drew attention: he was photographed with none other than American singer Katy Perry. Three months later, more photos showed the two on a yacht in California and later strolling through Paris in an affectionate manner. They made the relationship official during a trip to Japan in December 2025, and they made their first red-carpet appearance last June at the premiere of the documentary Katy Perry: The Lifetimes Tour - Live from Paris at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York. Then, in an interview with People magazine, the artist said of him: “He is the love of my life.” Since that event, the couple has been photographed at other entertainment events, such as the Coachella Festival, and it is now common for them to share moments of their life and travels on their respective social media (Perry has 195 million followers on Instagram).The former prime minister has been busy on matters beyond the heart. On September 11, as part of the Toronto International Film Festival, he announced the launch of Hope & Hard Work, a multidisciplinary media and entertainment company. The initiative was created in partnership with Katie Telford, his chief of staff throughout his time as prime minister. According to a statement, the production firm is focused on “scripted and unscripted productions, audio and live experiences.”Hope & Hard Work already has five projects in development. One is the television adaptation of Closer by Sea, a novel by Perry Chafe set on a remote island off Newfoundland. Another is the original series Le Collège, by writers Jessie Gabe and Shebli Zarghami, whose plot takes place in a private high school in Montreal. Trudeau has also joined the ranks of figures who command substantial fees for speeches and appearances at conferences and other events. His most recent appearance took place at the World Travel and Tourism Council Summit, held earlier this month in Malta. In his speech, he said that the trade hostilities between Ottawa and Washington are affecting Canadian travelers who traditionally crossed the border in large numbers, noting that the choice of a travel destination depends not only on prices and attractions. “The United States has not been very good in recent years at making travelers feel welcome,” he stressed.Justin Trudeau was born while his father, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, was head of government. The family has been the closest thing Canada has had to the Kennedys: power, money, media attention and jet-set connections. One detail cannot be overlooked: Pierre Elliott Trudeau, who died in September 2000, had romances with Barbra Streisand and Margot Kidder, the actress who played Lois Lane in Superman. Therefore, he was a well-known face among Canadians before entering politics, and no one can doubt that all this worked to his advantage when he set out to conquer the government’s inner sanctum. The family name and fame combined with charisma, dynamism, good looks, reform proposals and a natural ease in front of cameras.However, his personality, his appetite for attention and his limited self-restraint also took their toll. There were several embarrassing moments. For example, on an official trip to India, where Justin Trudeau bordered on the ridiculous, and an admonition from the ethics commissioner for spending a vacation on the Aga Khan’s private island. It is hard to know how much all this influenced the drop in his popularity, but if during his years as prime minister this behavior cost him a few sleepless nights, it seems to bother him not at all now that he is away from political life.Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAÍS USA Edition