1. SNC-Lavalin Affair โ Political Interference in Justice
What Happened
SNC-Lavalin, a Quebec construction giant, was charged in 2015 with paying $48 million in bribes to officials of Muammar Gaddafi's Libyan regime. If convicted, the company faced a 10-year ban from federal contracts โ potentially fatal to a firm that depended on government work.
SNC-Lavalin lobbied the Trudeau government 51 times between 2016โ2019, seeking a Deferred Prosecution Agreement (DPA) to avoid criminal conviction.
The Political Pressure Campaign
From September to December 2018, senior Trudeau officials โ including Trudeau himself, Principal Secretary Gerald Butts, Clerk of the Privy Council Michael Wernick, Finance Minister Bill Morneau, and PMO chief Katie Telford โ repeatedly pressured then-Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould to overrule the Director of Public Prosecutions and offer SNC-Lavalin a deal.
Wilson-Raybould refused. She was demoted from Justice Minister to Veterans Affairs in January 2019. She resigned from cabinet February 12, 2019. Wilson-Raybould named 11 individuals in her testimony to the House Justice Committee, including a secretly recorded phone call where Michael Wernick told her Trudeau wanted the DPA "one way or another."
"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."
โ Jody Wilson-Raybould, testimony to House of Commons Justice Committee, February 27, 2019
Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion found Trudeau had contravened Section 9 of the Conflict of Interest Act by improperly pressuring Wilson-Raybould. His influence was "tantamount to political direction." No sanctions could be imposed โ the Act has no penalty mechanism for PMs.
On December 18, 2019, SNC-Lavalin Construction pleaded guilty to fraud and was fined $280 million โ effectively getting the outcome it had sought through political pressure.
2. WE Charity Scandal โ $912 Million, No Tender Required
The No-Tender Contract
In June 2020, the Trudeau government awarded WE Charity โ without competitive tender โ the contract to administer the $912 million Canada Student Service Grant program. WE was to receive $43.53 million in administration fees. $30 million was paid before the program collapsed.
Trudeau Family Payments
WE Charity had paid Trudeau family members approximately $425,000 in total:
- Margaret Trudeau (mother): $250,000 for 28 speaking events
- Alexandre Trudeau (brother): $32,000 for 8 events
- Sophie Grรฉgoire Trudeau (then-wife): $1,400 for one 2012 event
The PMO claimed on July 8 that no family member had received money from WE โ WE Charity contradicted this directly the next day.
Finance Minister Morneau's Connections
Finance Minister Bill Morneau had a daughter employed by WE Charity, accepted $41,366 in family travel paid by WE (to Ecuador and Kenya), and only reimbursed the amount when the scandal broke. Ethics Commissioner Dion found Morneau violated three sections of the Conflict of Interest Act โ including giving WE "unfettered access" to his office based on personal friendship. Morneau resigned from cabinet in August 2020.
Trudeau prorogued Parliament on August 18, 2020, shutting down ongoing committee investigations into the WE Charity scandal. WE Charity subsequently closed all Canadian operations.
3. Ethics Violations โ A Historic First (and Second)
Violation #1: Aga Khan Vacation (2017)
Trudeau vacationed on the private island of the Aga Khan โ a registered federal lobbyist whose foundation received over $50 million in federal grants. Ethics Commissioner Mary Dawson found Trudeau violated Sections 11, 12, and 21 of the Conflict of Interest Act.
First Prime Minister in Canadian history found guilty of violating the Conflict of Interest Act.
Violation #2: SNC-Lavalin (2019)
As detailed above, Ethics Commissioner Mario Dion found Trudeau violated Section 9 of the Conflict of Interest Act by improperly pressuring Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould to intervene in the SNC-Lavalin prosecution.
Only PM ever found guilty twice. Zero punishment either time โ the Act has no penalties.
4. ArriveCAN โ $54 Million for a $250,000 App
The App
ArriveCAN was a COVID-19 travel documentation app launched in April 2020. Its total cost: $54โ59.5 million, paid across 23 subcontractors. In October 2022, two developers independently replicated its entire functionality in under two days at an estimated cost of $250,000.
GC Strategies: A 2-Person Firm Gets $19.1 Million
The primary contractor was GC Strategies โ a two-person consulting company with no employees and no technical staff. GC Strategies received approximately $19.1 million in contracts by acting as a middleman, listing subcontractors who "ultimately did no work."
"[Those responsible showed] a glaring disregard for basic management and contracting practices."
โ Auditor General Karen Hogan, February 12, 2024
The RCMP confirmed on February 15, 2024 it was examining the Auditor General's report. Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair said it "could be worse than the sponsorship scandal." The Auditor General could not even confirm the final exact cost due to "bad management" of records.
5. Foreign Interference โ CSIS Warnings Ignored
NSICOP Report (2024)
The National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians found that China, India, and other foreign states systematically interfered in Canadian elections, including 2019 and 2021. Foreign actors specifically targeted Liberal nomination contests. CSIS warned the Trudeau government repeatedly โ warnings that were inadequately acted upon.
Trudeau's Resistance to Accountability
Despite calls from all opposition parties beginning in 2022, Trudeau refused for months to call a public inquiry, instead appointing David Johnston โ a personal family friend who had co-vacationed with Trudeau on the Aga Khan's island. Johnston controversially recommended against a public inquiry. He resigned in June 2023 under widespread calls for removal.
Trudeau finally established the Hogue Commission in September 2023. Its final report (May 2024) confirmed interference occurred and found the government failed to adequately act on CSIS warnings.
6. Emergencies Act โ Unconstitutional Power Grab
What Trudeau Did
On February 14, 2022, Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time in its history against the Freedom Convoy protest. He empowered financial institutions to freeze 76 bank accounts totaling $3.2 million without court orders โ unprecedented in Canadian history for a domestic protest.
In January 2024, Federal Court Justice Richard Mosley ruled the invocation of the Emergencies Act was unconstitutional โ finding the government did not meet the legal threshold required. The government appealed, and the Federal Court of Appeal later overturned that ruling. The legal debate continues.
"[The convoy represents] a fringe minority... with unacceptable views."
โ Justin Trudeau, characterizing Canadian truckers and protestors, February 2022
7. Blackface โ Three Documented Incidents
In September 2019, multiple instances of Justin Trudeau wearing blackface became public. Trudeau himself confirmed there were three incidents:
High School Blackface
Photo showed Trudeau in full blackface during a high school performance, singing "Day-O" (a Harry Belafonte song).
Arabian Nights Gala โ Aladdin Costume
Time magazine published a photo of Trudeau (age ~29, a teacher at Ashbury College) at an "Arabian Nights" gala wearing brown face makeup and an Aladdin costume.
Third Incident โ Confirmed by Trudeau
During his September 18, 2019 press conference, Trudeau himself acknowledged a third instance โ a video he "could not fully recall the circumstances of."
Justin Trudeau built his political brand on diversity and anti-racism โ while wearing blackface at least three documented times.
In His Own Words
"The budget will balance itself."
โ Justin Trudeau, March 2014. Canada added $554 billion in debt under his government.
"There is no core identity, no mainstream in Canada. Those outside see Canada as the first postnational state."
โ Justin Trudeau, New York Times Magazine, November 2015