State dinner brings ‘Trudeaumania’ and Canadian star power to the White House

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau brought “Trudeaumania” to a state dinner at the White House on Thursday and the verdict was a resounding thumbs-up.

“Breath of fresh air” and “very impressive” was how some of the guests at the splashy formal affair in Canada’s honour described the country’s new leader.

Trudeau is the boyish-looking, 44-year-old son of a former Canadian prime minister.

Befitting his star status, many of the guests at the dinner brought Canadian star power in their own right, from Ryan Reynolds to Mike Myers.

“He’s cool,” said actor Michael J. Fox, who was born in Edmonton. Fox declared himself a fan of Trudeau’s father, Pierre Trudeau, whom he described as the “coolest world leader going. He seems to be pretty cool, too,” Fox said of the younger Trudeau.

“When I lived in Canada, Pierre Trudeau was my prime minister for 14 years and he’s my hero,” said comedian Myers, who sported a head of snow white hair for his first White House state dinner, the first for Canada in nearly 20 years. “Now I’m thrilled to have his son as my prime minister. I think it’s going to be a great time for Canada and a great time for Canadian-US relations.”