Justin Trudeau concludes his remarks at the Liberal Leadership Event in Ottawa, on March 9.Justin Tang/The Canadian Press
Justin Trudeau has rented a home in the upscale Ottawa neighbourhood of Rockcliffe, where he plans to live for at least another year, two advisers of the former prime minister say.
There are no plans for Mr. Trudeau to play any role in the federal election campaign. Mark Carney called an April 28 vote shortly after he was sworn in on March 14 as the first Canadian prime minister who has never held elected office.
The two advisers say Mr. Trudeau, 53, moved from Rideau Cottage, on the grounds of the Governor-General’s estate, into a nearby home in Rockcliffe. The rented home is in the same neighbourhood of the now-abandoned 24 Sussex Dr., where Mr. Trudeau resided as a child during his father’s time as prime minister.
The advisers say he intends to live in the house until his daughter, Ella-Grace, and younger son, Hadrien, are done with their school years. Mr. Trudeau’s older son, Xavier, 17, recently released a debut R&B single, Til The Nights Done.
Last week, Mr. Trudeau posted a picture of himself shopping for kitchen utensils at Canadian Tire. He is separated from his wife, Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, and the couple share parenting duties. She is in a relationship with Ottawa pediatric surgeon Marcos Bettolli.
The Globe and Mail is not identifying the two advisers because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the former prime minister’s private life.
They say Mr. Trudeau has told friends that his ultimate goal is to move back to Montreal, where he will either buy or build a new home on the mountain.
He has already received two book offers and a proposal for a documentary film about his life. The advisers were unable to say if he has been approached with board directorships or job offers from the corporate world, think tanks or universities. But one of the advisers said he has not entertained anything yet, although he has been presented with various and interesting proposals.
For months Mr. Trudeau had resisted calls from the Liberal Party to step aside. He relented after Chrystia Freeland abruptly resigned in December when he tried to replace her as finance minister with Mr. Carney.
Liberal Party fortunes have seen a dramatic turnaround since Mr. Carney won the leadership in a landslide first-ballot victory on March 9.
The surge in Canadian nationalism stemming from U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war and annexation rhetoric has bolstered the Liberals’ chances. Polls show the governing party now in a dead heat with the Conservatives after trailing by double digits just two months ago.
Mr. Carney has quickly moved to distance himself from several of his predecessor’s marquee policies. He reduced to zero the unpopular consumer carbon levy, cancelled the hike in the capital gains inclusion rate and pledged to get Canadian energy to Asia and Europe.
When he turned over the government to Mr. Carney after nearly a decade in office, Mr. Trudeau thanked Canadians for “trusting in me, for challenging me, and for granting me the privilege to serve the best country, and the best people, on Earth.”