Canadian Celebs Weigh In On The Federal Election

Barack Obama (Team Trudeau) and Rihanna (Team Singh...we think) weren’t the only celebs to have their say about the 2019 Canadian federal election. (ICYMI: Obama endorsed the “hard-working, effective” current PM, while Rihanna started followed Singh on Instagram.) Plenty of Canadian celebrities also shouted out their favourite candidates, or encouraged Canadians to vote in the polls today.

Vancouver-born Ryan Reynolds tweeted a photo of himself, his wife Blake Lively, and their newborn daughter, in a lush Canadian forest, writing, “I love B.C. I want my daughters to experience the same natural playground I grew up in.” The Canadian actor pointed out his satisfaction with the progress made combatting climate change during Trudeau’s tenure. With climate change the second-most important issue for Canadian women this election, according to a Refinery29 survey of 1,000 women, it seems like Trudeau’s got a friend in Reynolds.

Fellow B.C. native and noted activist Pamela Anderson tweeted a video of herself in response to campaign ads she received in the mail. Anderson described the ads as “nasty American-style politics” and applauded the Green Party for talking about the real issues and not getting “into these smear campaigns attacking people.”

Across the country, Canadian poet Rupi Kaur spoke at an NDP rally in Brampton, Ont. last week. In a post on Instagram, she credited Singh for being the “one person who didn’t write her off as a nobody” prior to her success as an artist. One of Drake’s producers, Noah “40” Shebib was also in attendance at the rally, noting “Jagmeet is an inspirational leader — straight up."

Not all of the celebrity engagement has been positive for the federal candidates. The Affair star Joshua Jackson tweeted that Trudeau should “enjoy a contemplative retirement." Lilly Singh, meanwhile, removed Trudeau from the lineup of her new late-night show in the wake of Trudeau’s blackface photos. Trudeau was expected to appear in a comedy clip that was pre-recorded for the show. The tweet promoting the video with Trudeau has since been deleted and there are no plans to invite him again.

Regardless of who you plan to vote for, the most important thing is to get out and vote, Toronto native Nina Dobrev told Refinery29. “I have faith in a younger generation that is stepping up and making their voices of inclusion, our most Canadian trait, heard,” she said. “As a country filled with some of the most beautiful natural wonders on earth, Canadians should be the guardians of the environment. We can put the environment ahead of special interest groups while creating new jobs and opportunities for generations to come. Young Canadians know this — and they also know that, without their voices, they will be figuring out how to clean up the effects of ineffectual and poor policy. I am so excited about the strong, new voices we are hearing everyday and to see the impact they will have at the ballot box and beyond election day.”