Ski Vacations Used to Go Great for Trudeau. Not This One.
In what is likely his last Christmas vacation as prime minister, Justin Trudeau quietly jetted to a B.C. ski resort only for the visit to become defined by displays of public mockery and hostility.
A fellow skier at RED Mountain Resort in Rossland, B.C., ambushed Trudeau and told the vacationing Prime Minister to “get the f–k” out of town on Friday, Dec. 27, 2024. The woman, Emily Duggan, a Kootenays-based activist, shook Trudeau’s hand and said, “Please get the f–k out of B.C.”
This is a far cry from Trudeau’s earlier ski trips, which were often highly publicized events documented by a trail of selfies, sightings, and positive news coverage. In the past, Trudeau has worked as a Whistler, B.C., ski instructor and has even drawn attention to the visit by noting that his RCMP security detail needed to be selected based on their ski skills.
However, Trudeau’s visit to RED Mountain was seemingly organized to be as inconspicuous as possible. The Prime Minister’s Office provided few details about Trudeau’s whereabouts, only releasing a daily itinerary noting that he was in “British Columbia” with “no public events scheduled.”
Trudeau’s visit to the Kootenays, a region where dissatisfaction with his government is particularly acute, was met with hostility. RED Mountain is in the federal riding of South Okanagan-West Kootenay, which has not been held by a Liberal for more than a generation.
Trudeau responded to Duggan’s insult with, “Haha, have a wonderful day ma’am,” before turning away and walking toward a child, who is believed to be Trudeau’s 10-year-old son, Hadrien. It’s not known if Trudeau’s entire family joined him on the ski trip.
The region has a history with the Trudeau family; it’s the ski hill where Trudeau’s brother Michel Trudeau was working as a lift operator when he was killed by an avalanche while on a backcountry ski trip in nearby Kokanee Glacier Park.
The incident is a stark contrast to Trudeau’s earlier Christmas vacations, which have been subject to ethics investigations and controversy. As with all prime ministerial trips, taxpayers had to cover the prime minister’s private jet and security, while Trudeau himself pays only the cost of what an equivalent commercial flight would be.
