Remembering the time Justin Trudeau became the first world leader to appear on Drag Race

Though it’s unlikely to be the defining moment of his near decade-long tenure as the 23rd prime minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau’s appearance on Canada’s Drag Race marked a turning point in queer culture.

In 2022, Trudeau made history by becoming the first world leader to appear in an episode of any Drag Race franchise.

The 53-year-old Liberal Party leader, who resigned from his position as Canadian prime minister in an emotional speech yesterday (6 January), appeared in Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs The World season one episode two, being welcomed into the Werk Room by host Brooke Lynn Hytes.

As Brooke Lynn praised him for becoming the first leader to visit a Drag Race set, Trudeau responded: “I’m glad to be the first, but I look forward to the time there’s a third or a fourth.”

@pinknews

After Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced his resignation, we’re taking a look back at his appearance on #dragracecanada #canada #primeminister #justintrudeau #dragrace #dragqueen #ComproDoPequeno

♬ Hip Hop Background(814204) – Pavel

He then told the queens: “It has been an incredible pleasure to be part of fighting the good fight on the right side.

“That is about respecting people. Can we move beyond ‘tolerate’ and start embracing and loving and accepting and learning from it and being challenged by? That’s how you build a resilient society.

“That’s what we’re trying to do in Canada, and we’ve got a lot of work still to do,” he added.

“We do diversity better than just about any place in the world. It doesn’t matter what your background is, where you’re from, who you love, you enrich this place.”

At the time, Trudeau’s appearance on Canada’s Drag Race was followed in significance only by former US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi appearing on All Stars 3 and All Stars 7 in 2018 and 2022 respectively.

Last summer, Democratic presidential hopeful Kamala Harris made a brief appearance during All Stars 9, while Jade Thirwall – the UK’s unofficial leader, some members of the LGBTQ+ community would argue – appeared on Drag Race UK in 2019 and Drag Race UK vs The World in 2022.

Justin Trudeau is widely recognised as one of the world’s most progressive leaders when it comes to furthering LGBTQ+ rights and acceptance.

During his time as prime minister, his government moved to introduce further protections for transgender and non-binary Canadians, by passing a landmark bill adding gender identity and gender expression to the Canadian Human Rights Act and Criminal Code.

The bill intended to help protect gender-diverse Canadians from abuse, violence and discrimination, though Trudeau was criticised for not going far enough, with hate crimes against transgender individuals rising in the North American country.

Trudeau’s administration also introduced the usage of gender-neutral ‘X’ markers on government mandated documents, officially recongising non-binary identities in law.

He has also been commended for apologising to the wider Canadian LGBTQ+ community, including Two-Spirit, Indigenous individuals, for the discrimination they had faced under previous governments, and has repeatedly stated his belief that transgender women are women.

Trudeau’s decision to resign comes after months of mounting pressure to better address the county’s flagging economy, while the prime minister’s strained relationship with Donald Trump, America’s president elect, reached boiling point in December when Trump threatened to impose 25 per cent tariffs on goods and services from Canada.

Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.