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Amid mounting calls for his resignation, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is attempting to reach the YouTube demographic.
In a new video by Canadian YouTuber Julie Nolke, Trudeau interviews her for the role of “Prime Minister’s Assistant.”
The seven-minute-long sketch also incorporates some of Trudeau’s talking points about the capital gains tax, housing investments and dental care, among other initiatives, while also offering a quip about the Toronto Maple Leafs.
While pitching Trudeau on how to “revamp” the images on Canadian currency, Nolke says: “I want something that encapsulates, kind of, Canadians overcoming trials and tribulations, overcoming adversity, I’m thinking just a group of sad Maple Leafs fans.”
“I think I could actually get behind that,” Trudeau responds.
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Canadians are set to return to the polls in October 2025, and surveys continue to suggest that the Liberal government’s days might be numbered. Young voters meanwhile, particularly Gen Z and millennials, appear to be turning against Trudeau.
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The video, however, has drawn a mixed reaction, with some highlighting Nolke’s humour and others dismissing the video as “propaganda.”
“Justin Trudeau begins his millennial YouTube outreach tour. It’s as cringe as you’d expect,” Stephen Taylor, a digital campaign manager, posted on X, while sharing a clip from the sketch.
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Trudeau also shared the video, posting he’s “been a fan of @JulieMarieNolke for years. So, this was a lot of fun.
“You can watch the video, ‘I interviewed to be the Prime Minister’s Assistant’ on her YouTube channel. And no, she didn’t get the job,” he added.
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Responses to Trudeau’s post range from calls for Trudeau’s resignation, to calling the video “cringe.”
While the video was released on Canada Day, it was filmed in May, according to Politico.
Trudeau has mostly avoided making public comments since the Liberal byelection defeat in the stronghold of Toronto-St. Paul’s.
According to Nolke, who has more than a million YouTube subscribers, YouTube Canada connected her with Trudeau’s team.
“I got on Zoom with the Canadian YouTube team, and they just talked me through what they were looking for,” Nolke told Politico. “I think it’s a fun way to try and bring a little bit of comedy into politics, if that’s even possible.”
Nolke added that she wasn’t paid by the government for the video and while she wrote the script, a few jokes were cut from the final version, including “more critical” housing jokes.
Trudeau’s team appears focused on capturing more support from Gen Z and millennial voters, with recent Postmedia-Leger polls showing those voters are against plans for more government spending, higher carbon taxes and the government’s proposed internet reforms.
Last month, Trudeau appeared on the YouTube show The Plain Bagel, a personal finance channel from Ottawa-based Richard Coffin.
Coffin, who has nearly a million subscribers, interviewed Trudeau about the Canadian real estate market, the economy and financial literacy. That video has garnered 175,000 views since being published on May 10.
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