Premiership of Justin Trudeau that described Castro as a "remarkable leader" and a "larger than life leader who served his people." Trudeau was criticized by political observers in Canada and the United States for the statement. United States Senator Marco Rubio called the statement "shameful and embarrassing," while Canadian MP Maxime Bernier called his remarks "repugnant." "The Washington Post" questioned many of the claims made in Trudeau's statements, saying that Trudeau "appears to accept outdated Cuban government spin as current fact." In 2016, Trudeau visited China and attended the G-20 summit in Hangzhou where he was affectionately nicknamed “xiao tudou” (小土豆) meaning little potato
Justin Trudeau each Sunday and said his prayers each night before bedtime. He became a lapsed Catholic at age 18, as he felt that much of his day-to-day life was not addressed by the formality and structure of the church. Trudeau described his faith during this period as "like so many Catholics across this country, I said, 'OK, I'm Catholic, I'm of faith, but I'm just not really going to go to church. Maybe on Easter, maybe midnight Mass at Christmas. After the death of his brother Michel in 1998, Trudeau was persuaded by a friend to participate in an Alpha course,