Trudeau’s neon sneakers steal the spotlight during King Charles’s Canadian visit [Video]

If diplomacy is theater, Justin Trudeau walked onstage in costume to greet royalty.

The former Canadian prime minister made a head-turning entrance at Tuesday’s regal proceedings in Ottawa, attending King Charles III’s historic Speech from the Throne, not in the expected leather brogues or polished Oxfords but rather in a pair of turquoise and orange Adidas Gazelles. 

While Trudeau made headlines for his choice of footwear, King Charles III and Queen Camilla were in Canada for a significant two-day visit, his first since becoming monarch in 2022. 

The king, 76, is currently undergoing cancer treatment and has kept a limited schedule, but the decision to travel to Ottawa was widely seen as a symbolic gesture of support for Canada during a time of tension.

The visit follows repeated comments by President Donald Trump suggesting that Canada could become the 51st state of the United States, remarks that were publicly rejected by Canadian leaders.