Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be appearing in a broadcast of The Late Show on Monday, in just the latest example of the Canadian leader’s unusual weakness for American media appearances.
Trudeau’s official itinerary says the interview will be shot during his trip to New York, where he is meeting with leaders ahead of the 78th gathering of the United Nations General Assembly. His fellow guest on the broadcast will be drag queen RuPaul Charles. It’s not clear what Trudeau intends to discuss, but the prime minister was in New York City to make an appearance at the United Nations General Assembly.
This is even true of Brian Mulroney, easily the most overtly pro-American Canadian leader of the last 50 years. When Mulroney addressed a joint session of the U.S. Congress in 1988, his U.S. media appearances consisted exclusively of a 24-minute joint press conference with then U.S. president Ronald Reagan.
Similarly, Jean Chrétien’s comments to Americans were limited either to joint press conferences with the U.S. president, or one time in 2000 when he addressed a crowd at Duke University to praise their Canadian Studies program. “I am told that Duke has produced more Ph.D.’s in Canadian Studies than all other U.S. colleges combined,” Chretien told the North Carolina school.
On the extremely rare occasion that a Canadian prime minister ever appeared on U.S. TV, it was usually to pitch Americans on an issue of mutual interest.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper made just two appearances on U.S. cable news during his nine year premiership. The first, in 2009, was a brief sitdown with CNBC where he urged U.S. lawmakers away from protectionist policies and talked up the necessity of Canadian oil to U.S. energy security.
“It is the one secure, growing, market-based source of energy that the United States has. So there will be no choice but to import oil sands,” he said.
The second was in 2015, when Harper had a Bloomberg TV crew into his office for 13 minutes of questions about fiscal policy.
Notably, Harper would explicitly decline a 2013 interview with the conservative publication National Review even after they promised to put him on the cover. “For some months, National Review sought an interview with Harper. In the end, his office declined — politely, their being Canadian and all,” read the subsequent cover story.
The closest a Canadian prime minister has ever come to appearing on a late night comedy program would be a series of appearances that Kim Campbell made on Real Time With Bill Maher. The first occurring in 2004, when the former Canadian leader was on a panel with comic George Carlin and linguist John McWhorter. Although at the time, Campbell had been out of politics for 11 years.
In just the last calendar year, Trudeau has also made dedicated appearances on the U.S. podcasts Today, Explained and Freakonomics — both of which he used to pitch his latest federal budget. Back in 2015, Trudeau had only been prime minister for a matter of weeks before he was appearing on the cover of Vogue magazine.
Trudeau’s two U.S. podcast appearances were conducted amidst his media tour for the 2024 budget, and would focus heavily on Trudeau’s assertion that his domestic poll numbers were falling as a result of an irrational populist wave ginned up by the Conservatives.
“In every democracy we’re seeing a rise in populists with easy answers that don’t necessarily hold up to any expert scrutiny. But a big part of populism is ignoring experts and expertise, so it sort of feeds on itself and relies on a lot of misinformation and disinformation,” was how Trudeau outlined the phenomenon to Vox’s Today, Explained.
Trudeau’s Sunday speech to the UN General Assembly touched on many of the same general themes, with the prime minister also taking an extended tangent to boast about his government’s $10 per day daycare program, dental care program, and homebuilding plan.
“These are choices that deliver on the promise of Canada for every generation,” he said.
“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” airs in Canada on Global.
Stephen Colbert's “The Late Show” Interview: Is Trudeau Really That Different?
Trudeau’s appearance on The Late Show is not the first time a Canadian Prime Minister has appeared on a U.S. television show. While it is certainly less common than it is for Trudeau, it’s not unheard of for Canadian Prime Ministers to appear on U.S. media.
Is It Really That Unusual?
While Trudeau’s recent media appearances have been more frequent than his predecessors, it is difficult to say with certainty whether this is a trend for future Canadian Prime Ministers, or simply a matter of individual preferences. Trudeau’s appearances have been more varied, and have included more than just appearances on major news networks.
Is There A New Normal?
It remains to be seen whether Trudeau’s approach to media is a sign of a new normal for Canadian Prime Ministers, or a trend that will be short-lived. Only time will tell if future Canadian Prime Ministers will follow Trudeau’s lead in making more frequent appearances on American media platforms.
An American Audience
With Trudeau’s appearance on The Late Show, he will reach a wide audience in the United States. It remains to be seen what impact this will have on his image in the United States, and whether it will help or hinder his efforts to promote Canada on the world stage.
