Why Canada's Justin Trudeau Is Like Trump

Both have exploited social media to win immense influence. Trudeau’s innovation is to use it to govern.

- Stephen Marche

It’s been a shirtless summer for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. In late July, in the Gatineau region of Quebec, he emerged from a cave, bare-chested, to surprise a vacationing family and posed for a series of selfies. A few days later, again shirtless, he photo-bombed a beach wedding in Tofino on the West Coast. Both events made the international press and were shared, at a conservative estimate, several million times each. Since his election, barely a week has gone by without the prime minister going viral. Canadian government is becoming an experiment in virocracy—rule through social media.

There is a U.S. parallel, though he’s not in government yet: Donald Trump also uses social media to garner vast influence. In the American presidential campaign, the Republican candidate has relied on the mass exposure of his various feeds and accounts instead of traditional advertising. But while his influence over social media is immense, its actual effect on American politics has yet to be proven. Still, the power of the new media is unquestionable. Rick Perry has joined the next season of Dancing With the Stars because he’s realized that dumb celebrity provides more political clout than having run a state for 15 years.

Trudeau’s exploitation of social media is different from his American counterpart’s. Here’s a quick summary of his biggest hits since he became prime minister last October: He was photographed hugging panda cubs, he gave a (possibly prepared) answer revealing his knowledge of quantum computing, he smiled while performing the peacock yoga pose on a conference table, and he went jogging with the president of Mexico in suggestively short shorts.