vacationing trudeau can't escape catcalls and mockery: 'get out of b.c.'
ski vacations used to go great for trudeau. not this one
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in what is likely his last christmas vacation as prime minister, justin trudeau quietly jetted to a b.c. ski resort only for the visit to become defined by displays of public mockery and hostility. in one video that’s now been seen millions of times online, a woman confronts trudeau in the parking lot of red mountain resort in rossland, b.c., shakes his hand and says, “please get the f–k out of b.c.”
in another video, trudeau is seen dining at a restaurant matching the interior of rafters, red mountain’s onsite “aprés bar.” a diner clandestinely shows a smartphone displaying the infamous image of trudeau in blackface makeup, before panning over to show the prime minister at an adjacent table.
if trudeau had walked through the resort on saturday night, he might even have seen a local music duo who had arrived to sing anti-trudeau folk songs.
in a facebook video posted by castlegar, b.c.’s doreen court, she sings “hey, hey trudeau, you know it’s time to go, get out of our government and take your walk in the snow.”
it’s all sharply different from how these things used to go.
trudeau famously worked as a whistler, b.c., ski instructor in the mid-1990s, and ski trips during the early years of his premiership were often highly publicized events documented by a trail of selfies, sightings and positive news coverage.
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after a 2016 ski trip to whistler, trudeau even drew attention to the visit by noting that his rcmp security detail needed to be selected based on their ski skills. “i was very pleased to be able to see that they (the rcmp) are as good on the slopes as they are anywhere else in the world,” he said at the time.
trudeau’s visit to red mountain, by contrast, was seemingly organized to be as inconspicuous as possible.
the prime minister’s office provided few details about trudeau’s whereabouts, only releasing a daily itinerary noting that he was in “british columbia” with “no public events scheduled.”
only by tracking the movements of the prime ministerial jet did it become clear that trudeau had flown to kelowna on boxing day. castanet, a kelowna-based media outlet, confirmed that afternoon that an rcaf challenger jet was parked at kelowna international airport.
trudeau left for b.c. as his personal popularity hit new lows, and as assembled opposition parties vowed to bring down his government at the next available opportunity.
the house of commons is scheduled to meet again on jan. 27, at which point the liberal minority government could be dissolved in a non-confidence vote, triggering a general election. all the while, dozens of liberal mps are now openly calling for trudeau’s resignation.
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by going to the kootenays, trudeau journeyed to a part of the country where that dissatisfaction is particularly acute.
red mountain is in the federal riding of south okanagan-west kootenay, which is currently represented by ndp mp richard cannings. the riding and its predecessors haven’t been held by a liberal for more than a generation, and in the 2021 federal election the liberal candidate managed only a distant third place with 12.2 per cent of the vote.
the woman who confronted trudeau is emily duggan, a kootenays-based activist who has been active in opposing gender identity curricula in public schools.
speaking to the toronto sun, duggan said it was a “spontaneous, organic moment” and that she didn’t know the prime minister was going to be there.
trudeau responded to duggan’s insult with, “haha, have a wonderful day ma’am,” before turning away and walking toward a child, who is believed to be trudeau’s 10-year-old son, hadrien. it’s not known if trudeau’s entire family joined him on the ski trip.
in a podcast interview with peyman askari, duggan described red mountain being subjected to periodic road and facility closures to accommodate trudeau and his entourage. although the video seems to show a lack of security around trudeau, duggan said she had an rcmp officer right behind her when she approached the prime minister — and that other members of the detail photographed her and her car. “they also told us, ‘everyone’s entitled to their opinion,” she said.
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red mountain has some history with the trudeau family; it’s the ski hill where trudeau’s brother michel trudeau was working as a lift operator when he was killed by an avalanche while on a backcountry ski trip in nearby kokanee glacier park.
the avalanche swept michel into kokanee lake, which remains his final resting place as his remains were never recovered.
the region is also notable for hosting one of the more well-known protester encounters with trudeau’s father pierre elliott trudeau. at a time when pierre was similarly experiencing record-low poll numbers, he went on a widely criticized 1982 train trip across canada using the private railcar of the governor general.
at salmon arm, about five hours’ north of rossland, the elder trudeau met a crowd of protesters not with a “have a wonderful day” but an extended middle finger.
throughout justin trudeau’s premiership, he’s opted for christmas vacations that are at least a few hours’ flight from ottawa, be they at b.c. ski resorts or destinations in the caribbean.
a 2016 christmas vacation to the private island of the aga khan resulted in trudeau being found guilty of conflict-of-interest violations, due to the fact that the aga khan foundation canada was registered to lobby his office and the charitable organization had received grant funding from the federal government.
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last year, trudeau’s christmas vacation to ocho rios, jamaica — paid for entirely by family friend peter green — was also subject to an ethics investigation, although trudeau was cleared. as with all prime ministerial trips, taxpayers had to cover the prime minister’s private jet and security. trudeau himself pays only the cost of what an equivalent commercial flight would be.
correction
this story has been updated to clarify the reasons why trudeau was found to have violated conflict-of-interest rules.
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