The disgraceful political end of the "governor girl" Yerevan loses its ally in Trudeau

On January 6, Justin Trudeau, known for his openly pro-Armenian stance, announced his resignation as Prime Minister of Canada and leader of the Liberal Party. This news was undoubtedly met with dismay in both official Yerevan and the global Armenian diaspora, as for nine years, they had a loyal ally in Trudeau in their struggle against Azerbaijan and Türkiye.

Justin Trudeau became the Prime Minister of Canada in 2015 and has been a staunch supporter of the myth of the "Armenian genocide." He is also remembered for the absurd photos featuring socks. In October 2018, the Canadian Prime Minister visited Armenia to attend the 17th Francophonie Summit. During a formal dinner in Yerevan, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan presented him with socks specially made for him by an Armenian designer.

" I think I am known with my selfies, and Mr. Trudeau with his socks. And there is a [designer] company in Armenia, that decided to make a special gift to both of us – perhaps laying the foundation of a good friendship with this. One [pair] of these socks is mine, Mr Prime Minister and the other [pair] is yours," Pashinyan said at the official dinner in honour of the Canadian Prime Minister in Yerevan. Afterwards, the Armenian Prime Minister posted on Facebook: "As I promised yesterday we agreed with Justin: tomorrow at the meeting both of us would wear these socks."

By the way, the "catwalk" in socks featuring the colours of the Armenian national flag sparked outrage on social media at the time. The majority of users, including representatives of the Armenian diaspora abroad, viewed it as an insult to one of the country's main symbols. The infamous Russian propagandist Aram Gabrelyanov even wrote: "An idiot, beyond reason. These are the colours of the flag of my ancestors' homeland, and this freak put on socks in the flag's colours. Clowns."

But Justin Trudeau's legacy is not only defined by his support for the "Armenian genocide" narrative and the symbolic socks. In October 2020, his government imposed a ban on the supply of components for Turkish drones, with then-Foreign Minister François-Philippe Champagne justifying the decision by stating that the country took these measures “immediately to stop the violence and protect civilians"—meaning the Armenians. Meanwhile, the fate of Azerbaijanis, who were subjected to Armenian shelling, was completely disregarded by the Canadian government. This, in essence, marked a clear example of Ottawa's double standards in its approach to Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, Canada has never condemned Armenia's 30-year occupation of Azerbaijani territories or the violation of the rights of over a million Azerbaijani refugees and internally displaced persons. Furthermore, Canada remained silent on Armenia's disregard for four UN Security Council resolutions calling for the liberation of Azerbaijani territories.

Additionally, Canada became the first non-European Union country whose representative joined the EU's espionage mission in Armenia, a deployment that went against Azerbaijan's stance. On the other hand, by supporting the revisionist sentiments in Armenia, Canada is jeopardizing the security and fragile stability of the South Caucasus region. This is evident from the one-sided statements made by Canadian officials regarding military criminals under investigation. For instance, in August 2024, Canada's Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly stated that Canada would continue to pressure Azerbaijan to release “arbitrarily detained Armenian prisoners." This same individual claimed in September of the previous year that Armenians had allegedly been forced to leave the Karabakh region.

Canada's biased stance against Azerbaijan's territorial integrity did not go unnoticed in Baku. In July 2024, during the presentation of credentials by Canada's newly appointed Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Kevin Hamilton, President Ilham Aliyev reminded him of the ethnic cleansing and genocide that took place during the occupation of Azerbaijani lands, as well as the widespread destruction of these territories. In response to the ambassador's comments regarding the right to return, President Aliyev emphasized that this right must be guaranteed on both sides, including for members of the Western Azerbaijan Community.

In essence, Canada, which itself faces issues with the French-speaking province of Quebec, publicly opposes separatism on its own territory while openly supporting it when it comes to Azerbaijan.

And now, Trudeau is stepping down—not without controversy. He ruled out the possibility of Canada joining the United States, writing on X in response to a recent suggestion by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump that Canada become the 51st state: "There isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that Canada would become part of the United States." This bold remark did not go unnoticed by Donald Trump's inner circle. In response to Trudeau's post, American billionaire and entrepreneur Elon Musk referred to him as a "girl." "Girl, you’re not the governor of Canada anymore, so doesn’t matter what you say," Musk wrote on the social media platform X.

It seems that Trudeau will be remembered as Canada's Prime Minister not only for his clownish socks from Pashinyan but also for the humiliating insult from Musk. Truly, a dishonourable political end...