In their own words: The warm personal relationship between Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Justin Trudeau

OTTAWA — With Canada’s Ukrainian community one of the largest in the world, there was no doubt President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would tug on that personal connection in his historic address to Parliament on Tuesday.

But he also pulled on another — his personal relationship with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

In the opening lines of his emotional plea to Canada to increase its pressure on Russia following its invasion of his country, the Ukrainian president urged Trudeau to put himself in Zelenskyy’s place.

“Justin, can you imagine you and your children hearing all these severe explosions, the bombing of airports, the bombing of the Ottawa airport, in tens of other cities in your wonderful country?” he asked, according to a translation of his remarks about him.

“Can you imagine that?”

And he went on, repeatedly using Trudeau’s first name as he implored the Canadian government and its citizens to continue to stand by Ukraine.

The two countries have a relationship that dates back decades — Canada was the first Western nation to recognize Ukraine’s independence in 1991. Ukrainian settlers first arrived in Canada in the late 1800s, the origin of a community that now numbers upwards of 1.3 million people.

While the relationship between Trudeau and Zelenskyy may not quite rise to the level of the storied “bromance” between Trudeau and former US president Barack Obama, it has been deepening nonetheless.

The first time the pair met in person, it was Trudeau who pointed out some similarities between them. That was July 2019, just months after an election in which Zelenskyy had made the historic leap from popular comedian to president.

Among his first trips abroad was to Canada for that year’s Ukrainian Reform Conference, an international forum aimed at helping the country make political, economic and social reforms.

Trudeau then was in the waning days of his first term, one that he’d secured with an aspirational message of change and hope, and he was then gearing up for that fall’s election.

At a news, Trudeau appeared to be reaching back to his early conference days in office as he offered what he called a personal note of thanks to Zelenskyy for attending the event.

It demonstrated something important, Trudeau said: “Positive campaigns, and the kind of approach that inspires people with hope, is what citizens around the world need to see.”

It was a sentiment Zelenskyy appeared to share, posting his own note to social media that day of a photo of himself and Trudeau and the words: “@JustinTrudeau was one of those leaders who inspired me to join politics.”

At a gala dinner later that night, Trudeau would make a more personal joke about their similarities.

“Mr. President, you played a history teacher who goes into politics before being elected yourself,” he said during a toast, a reference to Zelenskyy’s show business resume.

“And I’m a teacher too, although I taught math and French. Regardless, I think we can both say the classroom brought us here today.”

Trudeau and Zelenskyy have spoken often since that meeting in Toronto, especially as Russia continued to exert itself in the region and Ukraine sought more support.

There was also the tragedy of Ukrainian Airlines Flight 752, an airplane shot down by Iran in what was declared an accident. The flight was en route to Canada, and both countries continue to press for accountability from Iran.

While the official descriptions of their calls are written in stern diplomatic tones, the looser environment of social media has allowed some warmth to shine through — Trudeau wishing Zelenskyy well when he got COVID-19 in the fall of 2020, Zelenskyy wishing Trudeau a happy birthday that same year.

There have been tensions though. Canada’s refusal to lift visa requirements on Ukrainian nationals is a long-standing irritant that Zelenskyy has repeatedly pressed Trudeau to change, and while millions of dollars’ worth of lethal aid is now flowing to help repel the Russian invasion, Ukraine has been asking for those weapons for years.

Trudeau and Zelenskyy last saw each other in person in November 2021 at the global environmental summit in Glasgow, where they awkwardly bumped elbows by way of a pandemic-appropriate greeting.

Trudeau apologized for having been unable to accept Zelenskyy’s repeated invitations to visit Ukraine, and then made a few remarks in French.

And then, a bit like he did Tuesday, the Ukrainian president put Trudeau on the spot.

“I don’t know French,” Zelenskyy said, “but I think you said that you will eat.”