Justin Trudeau’s Children: How He & Ex-Wife Sophie Plan to Co-Parent Amid Divorce

Xavier

Born: 2007

Xavier is Justin and Sophie Trudeau’s firstborn, coincidentally on the same day as what would’ve been former prime minister Pierre Trudeau’s 88th birthday, Justin’s father and Xavier’s grandfather. This grants Xavier and his father a special bond because they have a shared experience of being the son of a political leader.

“The conversations I get to have with him that I never got to have with my father are pretty cool. Because my dad had no idea what it was like to be the son of a prime minister. And I know,” Trudeau told HuffPost in 2018, “but they pick up their cues from how your friends react, and when your friends don’t think it’s a big deal, the new kids will learn quickly it’s cool not to think it’s a big deal and just adjust to it and everything. There’s all sorts of like, pricks. I just say, ‘Look, figure out who you are and learn how to read people.”

Ella-Grace

Born: 2009

Ella-Grace is Justin and Sophie Trudeau’s second child and only daughter. In 2019, her father wished her a happy birthday with an Instagram post, writing: “I blinked and now my smart, curious, adventurous girl is already 10 years old. Happy Birthday, Ella-Grace.”

Not a whole lot is known about Ella-Grace, but in 2017, he wrote a piece for Marie Claire to coincide with International Day of the Girl about his daughter. “I am so exceptionally proud of my daughter Ella-Grace. She’s growing up kind, super-smart, a passionate debater, open to the world around her. I love Ella, and I worry—because as a father, son, husband, and citizen, I witness the unequal obstacles women and girls face every day. It’s 2017, yet in Canada and around the world, women and girls still face violence, discrimination, stereotypes that limit them, and unequal opportunities that keep them from achieving their dreams. It is maddening to me that my brilliant, compassionate daughter will grow up in a world where, despite everything she is as a person, there will still be people who won’t take her voice seriously, who will write her off—simply because of her gender,” he wrote.

“I can—and do—work every day to shift those inequalities, even incrementally. But I also know that the most powerful medicine will come from Ella herself. Sophie and I can’t be there with Ella at every hard moment of her life—to protect her when someone makes her feel small, to advocate for her when someone isn’t listening—even if we wish we could. (Parents will relate.) So the best thing we can do is to help Ella learn, unshakeably, that she is enough, exactly as she is. That she has immense power, and intrinsic worth, which no one can ever take away from her. That she has a strong voice, which she can use, and trust.”

Hadrien

Born: 2014

Son Hadrien is Justin and Sophie Trudeau’s third and youngest child. In a letter he wrote for Marie Clare in 2017 to coincide with International Day of the Girl, he explained why he was raising his sons to be feminists.

“Sophie continues to inspire and challenge me, and a few years ago, she helped me reach a turning point. I was talking about teaching Ella that she can be anything she wants to be. Sophie said, ‘That’s great—but how are you raising your sons to be strong advocates for women and girls, too?'” he wrote.

“Gender equality is not only an issue for women and girls. All of us benefit when women and girls have the same opportunities as men and boys—and it’s on all of us to make that a reality. Our sons have the power and the responsibility to change our culture of sexism, and I want Xavier and Hadrien—when he’s a little older—to understand that deeply. But I want, too, to help them grow into empathetic young people and adults, strong allies who walk through the world with openness, love, and a fierce attachment to justice. I want my sons to escape the pressure to be a particular kind of masculine that is so damaging to men and to the people around them. I want them to be comfortable being themselves, and being feminists—who stand up for what’s right, and who can look themselves in the eye with pride.”