From Parliament to Page Six: Justin Trudeau is living it up post-politics
This time 14 months ago, even with his tenure as prime minister near its end, an embattled Justin Trudeau was still butting heads with Donald Trump over Canada’s sovereignty.
Nowadays, however, the 54-year-old spends his days skiing with Prince Harry, posing for selfies with his 21st-century pop icon sweetheart Katy Perry, or vibing in the front row at Justin Bieber’s Coachella comeback.
That’s precisely where Trudeau was this Saturday night, accompanied by Perry, who shared a carousel of videos and photos from the California music festival on Instagram. Among them was a snap of the two seated on a curb with red solo cups while Trudeau, dressed in blue jeans, a white T-shirt and a backwards ball cap, eats from a takeout box.
In a selfie-video of the two embracing and swaying to Bieber’s Speed Demon, she moves the camera directly in front of his face, prompting Trudeau to briefly gaze into the camera.
On TikTok, she posted a clip of herself fan-girling as Bieber was about to perform Baby, one of his earliest hits.
Meanwhile, back in Canada, many of his former colleagues likely lingered in Trudeau’s hometown of Montreal after the Liberals’ federal convention concluded on Saturday.
It was the first such convention without him in attendance in almost 20 years, but the former party leader did record a video message that was played for delegates on Friday evening.
“Welcome to my home, my dear friends,” Trudeau said in French, adding regrets that he can’t be there in person, presumably because he knew he’d be at Coachella.
“Not only is this one of the biggest gatherings in the history of the Liberal party, the majority of you are at a convention for the very first time. Take it from me — the first convention is in Montreal? You totally lucked out.”
Trudeau, of course, spent much of his youth in the city and was the MP for its Papineau riding from 2008 until last year’s federal election after ceding power to Prime Minister Mark Carney.
In his brief address, he said the world, now more than ever, needs Canada’s celebration of diversity, its defence of democracy, its mission to create positive change and global leadership and encouraged attendees to “keep thinking big.”
“I am really excited to see what you can all accomplish under Mark’s leadership this weekend and for the years to come,” he said.
“Remember, the Canada we’ve built together didn’t happen by accident and won’t continue without effort. It takes hope and hard work. But we’re Liberals — We got this.”
Justin Trudeau appears at the Liberal Party convention via video: "I am really excited to see what you can all accomplish under Mark's leadership this weekend, and for the years to come." pic.twitter.com/uhv7oOPCUz
— Scott Robertson (@sarobertsonca) April 9, 2026
After living in Ottawa for his time as PM, Trudeau announced that he would move back to Montreal and it was reported in February that he’d purchased a residence on the northern flank of Mount Royal for $4.26 million.
At the time, the sales deed indicated he had yet to move into the 1930s, two-storey single-family home with nearly 5,000 square feet of floor space, and it remains unclear if he’s done so since.
It was also reported that real estate documents indicated Trudeau and Sophie Grégoire Trudeau are still working on the terms of their divorce, a process that’s been underway since they announced their separation after 18 years of marriage in 2023. They continue to co-parent their three children — Xavier, 18, Ella-Grace, 16, and Hadrien, 11.
Grégoire Trudeau was later confirmed to be romantically involved with Ottawa pediatric surgeon Dr. Marcos Bettolli, possibly since before her separation became public, but she highlighted her “midlife singlehood” in a newsletter to fans and followers in February
As for her ex, it’s not clear precisely how long Trudeau has been off the dating market. His relationship with Perry, rumoured and fuelled by repeated sightings throughout last summer and fall, wasn’t officially confirmed until early December.
Their first high-profile public appearance came about a month later when Perry accompanied Trudeau to Davos, Switzerland, where he spoke on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum annual summit.
He even worked his new girlfriend into his keynote address on soft power in relation to standing up to U.S. tariffs.
“Last summer, I went on a date with an American girl on a rooftop bar in Montreal and when she ordered Jack and Coke, the server kindly informed her that there is no more American alcohol in the bar and anywhere in Montreal,” he recounted of their widely reported first date in July that included drinks at Taverne Atlantic’s terrace.
“That’s an example of Canadians standing up for themselves. That’s an example of soft power.”
Their budding romance has also been documented on Perry’s Instagram account, where Trudeau has shown up swimming, dining and snowboarding.
Just recently, Perry shared an image of herself and Trudeau with U.S.-Chinese Olympic gold medal-winning skier Eileen Gu, who also shared an image of herself with Canada’s 23rd prime minister and Prince Harry on a ski lift.
Perry doesn’t appear in any images shared to Trudeau’s public social media channels, and he has rarely addressed their relationship publicly.
In March, his older brother Alexandre said Trudeau was “super happy” enjoying the freedoms of post-prime ministerial life and was “falling in love” with Perry.
“I did meet Katy,” he told The Canadian Press at the time. “When they became serious, I was thrilled that he thought it important for her to meet his family. So we were all happy to meet her.”
Trudeau’s oldest son, Xav, has had nothing but nice things to say about his father’s new girlfriend and the guidance she’s offered in support of his fledgling musical career.
“She’s cool, she’s nice,” he said in a February video shared by Canadian content creator drhobs.
“We talked for hours, talking about music. Advice and these next steps for me and stuff.”
And just last week, on the Can’t Be Censored podcast, he told hosts Travis Dhanraj and Karman Wong that the Grammy-nominated pop star continues to provide feedback on some of his music.
“She’s super down to earth. She’s great. And I think that my dad’s happy, so that’s important,” he said.
Asked if he’s bothered by seeing photos of them together, Xav said it’s just part of his “crazy” life.
“It’s my life,” he explained, “What can I do? What can I change?”
Based on his Instagram stories on Monday, the younger Trudeau was also at Coachella this weekend, but it’s not clear if he was there at the same time as his father.
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