When the news broke that Justin Trudeau was hiring his own nephew as advisor, Canadians were shocked and offended by the apparent nepotism present in the Prime Minister’s office. Many of us thought back to other nepotism babies we had forgotten about, like Bill Morneau’s son, who followed in his father’s footsteps as CEO of one of Canada’s largest banks at the young age of 28. That wasn’t the only time a Canadian family tree branched out into politics too – here are Canadian nepotism babies you probably forgot were related!
1) The Tragically Hip’s Gord Downie and Mike Downie
Gord Downie, the lead singer of The Tragically Hip, is also the father of Mike Downie, a filmmaker and music producer. Gord and his son had been working on a documentary about Canada for 15 years before he died in October.
Mike’s music production credits include albums by bands such as The Weakerthans and Wide Mouth Mason. He was also involved in making the film One Week (1998), which followed Gord on a tour with The Tragically Hip across Canada.
Gord and Mike are not related by blood but they’ve been close friends since they were children living in Kingston, Ontario. They once formed an alternative rock band called The Dinner Is Ruined together.
2) Avril Lavigne and Chad Kroeger
Avril Lavigne and Chad Kroeger are a very famous, albeit not so successful, couple in the music world. They met in 2002 at a party and were married in 2011. They had their first child together on September 29, 2013 and named him Maximilian. Avril is most well-known for her song Girlfriend while Chad has produced many albums with his band Nickelback. Together they have released four albums of combined work – Let Go (2002), Under My Skin (2004), The Best Damn Thing (2007) and Goodbye Lullaby (2011). She is ranked as one of the top 100 singers of all time by Rolling Stone magazine and one of only two women to be given such ranking; Elton John was also on this list. She was born in 1984, making her 31 years old, as he was born in 1973 which makes him 41 years old.
3) Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively
The two met on the set of Green Lantern, when Blake was starring as Carol Ferris. Their first child was born in 2014, after they were married in 2012.
With this being said, the story gets really interesting they’re also cousins! In 1996, when Blake was nine years old, her mother took her to a Christmas Eve party at Ryan’s house. While it seems that neither of them remembered meeting before that night, after just one conversation about their love for acting, they both knew this was the beginning of something special. There are many cases of family members being successful in entertainment or sports industries without knowing about the relation.
In contrast, Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively were upfront with their public regarding who they are related to through adoption–even though it has no relevance to anything else that might happen between them professionally.
4) Drake and Justin Bieber
They’re both Canadian and they’re related! Yes, the two of them are actually second cousins. If you take a look at the family tree, you can see that Drake’s mom is Patricia Graham and Justin Bieber’s mom is Pattie Mallette. Patricia Graham is the sister of Pattie Mallette’s mom, Linda Mallette. So if Drake and Justin Bieber were born to different moms, they would still be cousins because their grandmothers are sisters. But since they have the same mother, that makes them second cousins. That’s not all though: the Toronto-born rapper is also the uncle of Justin Bieber! In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine in 2010, Lil Wayne talked about how his daughter Reginae Carter was friends with Drake’s niece Sophie Brussaux and this led him to getting closer to her uncle.
5) Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg
Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg are two of the most successful, popular and hilarious comedic writers working in Hollywood. They’ve been making movies together since they were 19-year-old kids at Point Grey Secondary School in Vancouver, British Columbia. The two met during a summer screenwriting program in Los Angeles and bonded over their shared love of Monty Python, Marx Brothers films and Pulp Fiction. They’ve collaborated on screenplays for Superbad (2007), Pineapple Express (2008), Knocked Up (2007) and Funny People (2009). All four became major successes, earning more than $200 million at the box office combined. But it’s not just movies where these guys have connected– both have a deep love for weed.
6) James Cameron and Suzy Amis
James Cameron and Suzy Amis are children of directors John Amis and Margaret Trudeau. Both have been working in the entertainment industry since they were children.
Suzy got her first break on the show The Kids of Degrassi Street, which was followed by a role on the show 21 Jumpstreet. She has also appeared in films like A Few Good Men, Titanic, and Spider-Man 2.
James started out as a director for documentaries like Space Shuttle Columbia: Mission of Hope, but later went on to direct some huge blockbusters like Avatar, Aliens of the Deep (IMAX), Ghosts of the Abyss (IMAX), and Titanic 3D.
7) Jason Priestley and Shannen Doherty
Jason Priestley and Shannen Doherty dated for a period of time in the 1990s. They met on the set of 90210 and were together for about six years before breaking up. The two remained friends, especially when it came to their kids. In 2007, Jason Priestley’s son Brandon became engaged to Shannen Doherty’s daughter Quinton after meeting at a Christmas party. Despite dating since they were 16, the two married in 2008. To make things more interesting, Jason Priestley is also one of Shannen Doherty’s first cousins.
