NOT SO NICE

Why is Everyone Hating on Canada’s First Lady?

Sophie Trudeau is facing a massive online backlash for saying she needs ‘help.’

Political leaders and Internet trolls across Canada are mocking the country’s First Lady, all for a seemingly inoffensive comment.

“I want to be everywhere, but I can't,” Sophie Gregoire Trudeau told Le Soleil, the French-speaking Canadian newspaper. “I have three kids at home, and I have a husband who is prime minister. I need a team to help me serve people.”

That last part, in which Trudeau said she needed a “team to help” her, was apparently too much for the Canadian blogosphere.

Soon after her comment was published, the sarcastic hashtag #PrayForSophie began circulating on Twitter, attached to suggestions for how to help her. Examples include lemonade stands, bake sales, charity concerts, and telethons.

Even political officials began piling on.

“The kind of statements we heard from the prime minister's wife… speak to that disconnect with the reality that Canadian women face,” Member of Parliament Niki Ashton told CBC News. “If we're going to talk about being overwhelmed, let's talk about everyday Canadian women feeling overwhelmed.”

From an American perspective, the reaction may appear overblown. Trudeau has a total of four people working for her—two publicly funded nannies, a chef, and a personal assistant. Michelle Obama, meanwhile, has over 20 staff members.

It all makes for a peculiar reminder that, placid as it may seem, Canada's politics can pack its own brand of maple-flavored vitriol.

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Nathan Place

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