Justin Trudeau left a women’s conference squirming as he told a story teaching schoolgirls who wore their ‘skirts too short.’
The former Canadian Prime Minister, 54, recalled the awkward anecdote while speaking at the 2026 Women Deliver Conference in Melbourne, Australia last month.
During a sit-down with his former Chief of Staff Katie Telford, Trudeau told a story about his time as a school teacher early in his career and founding a school newspaper.
Trudeau said he encountered a male student who was ‘always getting corrected’ about his appearance, saying the boy would constantly get in trouble for having an untucked shirt.
He said he allowed the student to share an essay in the school newspaper complaining about the ‘double standard’ he faced compared to girls, who he said would regularly break a rule saying that their skirts must be at their knee or below.
The awkward mention of the length of schoolgirls’ skirts led Telford – herself dressed in a short skirt – to squirm in her seat and interject Trudeau’s story.
‘God forbid,’ she added sarcastically.
Trudeau continued his telling of the story immediately after, brushing off the remark as he carried on talking about the ‘double standard’ of girls’ dress codes at his former school.
Justin Trudeau left a women’s conference squirming as he told a story about schoolgirls at a school he taught at who wore their ‘skirts too short’
The ex-Canadian Prime Minister left his former Chief of Staff Katie Telford (left) squirming in her seat and interjecting as he told the schoolgirl anecdote
Trudeau continued as Telford interjected: ‘No, no, you see, that was also the rule – you had to keep your shirt tucked in and then have the skirt to the knees.
‘And he (the male student) said it was totally unfair that there was a double standard on applying these rules.’
Trudeau, who is currently dating pop star Katy Perry, said the male student then wrote an essay explaining his thoughts, which included a risky theory about male teachers.
‘He wrote this essay, suggesting that maybe the predominantly male teaching staff was slightly uncomfortable pointing out to these teenage girls that their skirts were too short, and it was just awkward for a male teacher to be pointing that out,’ he said.
Telford was seen shifting uncomfortably at her seat and looking to the floor as Trudeau continued through his memories of the school.
The former Canadian Prime Minister said that despite the awkward nature of the story, he thought the male student’s theory was ‘a really interesting perspective.’
‘So, I had the student publish this, and the newspaper got chucked out,’ he said.
Trudeau 54, recalled the awkward anecdote while speaking at the 2026 Women Deliver Conference in Melbourne , Australia last month
Trudeau is dating pop superstar Katy Perry
The anecdote went viral across social media as many questioned whether the story was appropriate, particularly as Trudeau delivered it at a women’s activism conference.
One X user who shared the clip said: ‘You can bet this will be the last time this guy will ever be asked to speak at this event ever again. This is absolutely painful.
‘Katie Telford is visibly uncomfortable sitting there having to listen to this guy try and put sentences together… I’m stunned at how bad this is.’
Another said: ‘Trust Justin Trudeau to speak at a conference for women about how hard it is for male teachers to be around female students in short skirts… omg.’
The Daily Mail has contacted representatives for Trudeau for comment.
