New Video Surfaces Showing Trudeau in Blackface, Compounding Scandal – The New York Times

Others see him as a powerful symbol of a humanistic country who, in the era of President Trump, helped a middle-level country punch above its weight globally.

He has been taken to task for seeming inconsistencies in his policies, as well as for the image he projects. For example, even as he proposed a national carbon tax — following through on his promises to fight climate change — he used 4.5 billion in Canadian dollars to buy an oil pipeline, which he said would be good for the Canadian economy.

“Everything the prime minister does is a calculation about his image,” said Nicola Di Iorio, who recently stepped down as a Liberal member of parliament for a multicultural district in Montreal. “There are too many gimmicks.”

Mr. Trudeau, a talented campaigner with the fighting spirit of an amateur boxer, is used to being underestimated — and overcoming obstacles. During the last election, in 2015, his Conservative rivals mocked him as a feckless celebrity with nice hair. “Not ready” was their slogan.

He presented himself, though, as a change-maker after a decade of leadership under the Conservative prime minister, Stephen Harper. He went on to give Liberals a stunning victory, expanding the party’s number of seats in the House of Commons to 184 from 36.

Mr. Trudeau maintained his popularity for much of his term, even as critics complained that his colorful socks, shirtless runs, frequent apologies for historical wrongs and frequent bouts of tears sometimes gave the appearance of an actor playing a prime minister rather than actually being one.

On a disastrous state trip to India last year, he attracted ridicule for wearing, along with his family members, flashy traditional Indian clothing, supposedly as a sign of respect for Indian culture. In Canada, which has a large immigrant community from India, he was criticized for cultural appropriation and widely mocked.