Matthew Perry death | Canadian PM Justin Trudeau grieves death of “school” friend, recalls duo’s childhood memories

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a press conference in New York, U.S., September 21, 2023; Matthew Perry at the Comedy Awards 2012 in New York, U.S., April 28, 2012
| Photo Credit: Mike Segar/REUTERS and LEE CELANO/REUTERS

The sudden demise of Friends star Matthew Perry left Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau extremely saddened. Not many know but Perry was Trudeau’s schoolmate.

After learning about the passing of Perry, Trudeau took to X and paid his heartfelt tribute to him.

Before moving to the United States and becoming famous for his acting chops on the iconic American sitcom Friends, Perry used to live in Canada. Earlier during a chat show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Perry had revealed that Trudeau had gone to the same school where he went, and he (Perry) used to be his senior, People reported.

Perry also recalled how he and a friend “beat up” the future Prime Minister when the actor was in fifth grade. “We both beat him up. I think he was excelling in a sport that we weren’t, so it was pure jealousy,” Perry explained then, adding, “I think he was the only kid in school that we could beat up. … I’m not bragging about this. This is terrible. I was a stupid kid. I didn’t want to beat him up.”

He went on to joke, “I think I was rather instrumental in him going to such great heights in becoming the Prime Minister. I think he said, ‘I’m going to rise above this and become Prime Minister.’

“Trudeau, to his credit, expressed a sense of humour about the childhood experience following Perry’s appearance, tweeting nearly two weeks later: “I’ve been giving it some thought, and you know what, who hasn’t wanted to punch Chandler? How about a rematch @MatthewPerry?”

Also, as per People, Perry’s mother, Suzanne Morrison, was press secretary to Trudeau’s father, former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Undoubtedly, Trudeau and Perry had shared a long association. Perry was found dead and unresponsive on October 29 in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home and could not be resuscitated, the LA Times citing law enforcement sources reported.