Read the full transcript of outgoing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s final speech as Liberal Leader. [Mar 9, 2025]
Listen to the audio version here:
TRANSCRIPT:
Opening Remarks
[JUSTIN TRUDEAU:] My friends. You know, as I look out across this room, I have just one question. How’s the Liberal Party doing tonight? Grace, I know that these last few years haven’t been easy for Xav. Hey, Hadrien, yourself.
Thank you for having been so patient with me even when I was stressed, when I was traveling too much, when I couldn’t think about anything other than work. But please know that in the most difficult times, you inspired me. You gave me courage. You reminded me that I should focus on what was really important and not what was just urgent. Being prime minister of this country has been the honor of my life, but I’m so looking forward to redevoting myself to my most important role, that of father.
I’m proud of the three of you, and I love you above all. Now sit down.
Reflections on Leadership
Now I can imagine that you’re all expecting me to stand up and talk about all that we’ve accomplished together. And don’t get me wrong. I am damn proud of what we’ve done over these past ten years for the middle class and people working hard to join it.
But tonight is about our future as a party, as a country. Now I know that we as liberals, as a government, often get criticized by our friends for not taking a victory lap after we get something big done. We do something really big, and then we move on right away to the next challenge. Because as progressives, as liberals, we know there is always more to do. So it is important to take the time to reflect on and share the big successes, but not tonight.
Not tonight because when liberals gather, we’re always focused on just one thing, the work that still needs to be done to build a country that stays worthy of all Canadians.
And simply put, that’s the work of a lifetime for each and every one of us. It’s very simple. Liberals are dedicated to making this country even better, not because we think it’s broken, but because we have an opportunity and therefore a responsibility to ensure that Canada stays the best country on earth.
Now these past years, these past ten years have been challenging. Crisis after crisis has been thrown at Canadians. But through every crisis, Canadians have shown who they are. We’ve pulled together. We’ve stood up for each other. And every single time, we’ve emerged even stronger.
And now as Canadians face from our neighbor an existential challenge, an economic crisis, Canadians are showing exactly what we are made of. Canadians are showing what it means that makes us Canadians, not by defining ourselves by who we’re not, but by proudly embracing who we are.
Canadian Values
We’re a country that knows that standing up for everyone’s fundamental rights is the only way to protect our freedom. We’re a country that believes no one should be left behind and that everyone should have a real and fair shot at success. We’re a country that refuses to accept the false choice between a strong economy and a healthy environment.
We’re a country that embraces reconciliation and indigenous peoples as true partners because it is the only path to a shared prosperous future. We are a country that promotes its culture and protects its heritage. We’re a country that brings life into the French language and is heard across the world. We’re a country that celebrates its diversity and draws strength from its differences. We’re a country that celebrates the right of each and every person to be who they want to be, to pray as they pray, and love whom they love.
We’re a country that will always defend a woman’s right to choose. And we’re a country that will be diplomatic when we can, but fight when we must, Elbows up.
The Liberal Spirit
But you here in this room and our fellow liberals watching across the country, you know all about fighting with grit, with determination when the going gets tough. You remember where we were fifteen years ago with just thirty-five seats in the house. You remember our ups and downs and all those times that people counted us out, all the times they said our party was on its last breath.
Like all Canadians, it’s when you try to count us out that we liberals show our true metal. You showed this in 2015, 2019, and again in 2021. You mobilized. You knocked on doors. You did it in the rain, in a heat wave, in the freezing cold.
You did it in the middle of a pandemic, wearing a mask. You fought for your country, and you changed it for the better.
Gratitude and Reflection
You know, a party is more than just a name, a logo, a leader. It’s all about you, you who carry the hopes of Canadians day in, day out. A country is more than a flag and a territory. It’s a vision, a vision which is built gradually day after day between friends and neighbors.
And I’d like to thank all those who have been there to build this vision together. I’m thinking here about my first volunteers eighteen years ago, those who have been there since the start. Reign, Louis Alexandre, Stavoulins, and others, so many others. I’m thinking about the grocery store parking lots in Pepinot when we talk to people to rally them to our cause, to our movement.
Tonight, I’m also thinking of two friends in particular who’ve been there with me and for me every step of the way for close to twenty years. The extraordinary Adam Scottie and the unstoppable Katie Telford.
The Call to Action
Now as I look at all of you in this room, no speech could be enough to thank you all as much as I’d like to, as much as you should be. I can’t even offer you a well-deserved break because once again, we need you. Your country needs you maybe more than ever.
And I have no doubt that you will answer the call because you’ve done it before. Liberals will meet this moment. And make no mistake. This is a nation defining moment. Democracy is not a given. Freedom is not a given. Even Canada is not a given. None of those happen by accident. None of them will continue without effort.
It takes courage. It takes sacrifice. It takes hope and hard work.
Looking to the Future
Sixty years ago, standing atop Parliament Hill, Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson first raised our beautiful maple leaf into the Canadian sky. It was much debated at the time, but Pearson knew well what we all know now, that our flag would serve as a unifying symbol that would define the next chapters in our national story. Sixty years later, there are still so many more chapters to write.
And I can tell you, the world is looking to see what Canadians will do. So let us not dwell on all the great things we’ve achieved over the past ten years. Let us aspire instead to achieve even more over the next ten years and the decades to come. Let us remain steadfast, defiant, and united. And let us not just think about our party, let us prove our love of country.
As your leader, as your prime minister, I have done my level best each and every single day to help build a country that stays worthy of all Canadians. I’ve done it for Xavier, for Ella Grace, and Hadrien. And I’ve done it for your kids too, and I’ve done it with you. And although you’ll always find me alongside you cheering along, their future and your future is now in your hands.
