Do Canadian Politicians Exhibit Dark Triad Personality Traits?

There are a number of diagnosed personality disorders, covering a broad range of traits, that contribute to social toxicity.  They are grouped into three categories – clusters A, B, and C, with cluster B disorders being the most destructive.  Cluster B includes the psychopaths, malignant narcissists and machiavellian types.  A common term applied to this trio of malevolent styles is the Dark Triad.  The Dark Triad collectively makes up about 7% of the population – and they are all around us.   

People with Dark Triad personality traits may exhibit:

• an unhealthy fascination with themselves
• lack of empathy and respect for others
• a preoccupation with obtaining power by any means
• manipulation and lying
• stealing and potentially criminal behaviour 
• violence or explosive anger
• violating social norms, especially around empathy
• lack of remorse for any harm caused
• arrogance
• a need for praise and attention

Present day politicians appear to have many of these traits, including a strong desire for dominance over others.  Even though they can present as incredibly charming, they are almost always authoritarian and follow hardline policies. They try to subvert democracy, reduce the freedom of the press and clamp down on dissent. They are obsessed with prestige, often persecute minority groups and rely on classic divide and conquer techniques for control.

They don’t become leaders because of their ability or intelligence, but simply because they have a tremendous desire for power and are ruthless in their pursuit of it.  Honest politicians are easily marginalized in this environment. Dr. Robert Hare, Canadian forensic psychologist and creator of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist, believes that high power environments are attractive to individuals with anti-social traits: “[Dark Triad personalities are] social predators and like all predators, they are looking for feeding grounds. Wherever you get power, prestige and money, you will find them”.

Justin Trudeau is the subject of ongoing worldwide disdain, and his actions during the Trucker’s protest of 2022 have been widely condemned.  A recent ruling (January, 2024) by the Federal Court states: “The Liberal government’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act in response to the 2022 Freedom Convoy protests was unreasonable, unjustified and violated the Charter.”

Trudeau incited Canadians to support his actions by convincing them that the peaceful protest was dangerous.  The now infamous image of a Nazi flag was displayed repeatedly on national media in order to inflame the public.  A big issue for Trudeau was that no one actually saw the flag at the protests, in spite of hundreds of thousands of Canadians (most armed with camera phones) attending. Significant cash rewards were offered to anyone who witnessed the flag.  No one came forward.  In my view, the flag was almost certainly staged. Dirty tricks such as this are ridiculously easy to pull off and are classic Dark Triad political ploys. Trudeau relied on the image for months afterward, and the courts have recognized that Trudeau used the media to demonize innocent Canadians.

In September, a former Ukrainian Nazi SS officer was somehow honoured in parliament.  The speaker of the house, Anthony Rota took the fall for the scandal and Trudeau claimed he knew nothing about it. However, a report in the Globe and Mail alleged that the invitation came from the Prime Minister’s Office!  It seems that Trudeau cannot admit fault.  What kind of person flaunts Nazism in the most hallowed of Canadian institutions and then lies about it? 

People with narcissistic and psychopathic traits have a strong desire for dominance and are disproportionately common in leadership positions.  We know that politicians are rarely loved, admired or respected for long.  Their grandiose sense of self-worth initially comes across as confident and strong – features we look for in leaders.  It is not until their true nature leaks out that we realize how ruthless and manipulative they are.  They often capitalize on their position to benefit themselves and people within their inner circle.  Justin Trudeau’s net worth has grown substantially while in office, and was estimated to exceed $10 million CAD in 2019. This is in part due to family-owned real estate holdings and sky-high speaking fees.

Is the world we live in dominated by a team of Dark Triad leaders?  Pursuing damaging policy decisions, such as getting bogged down in foreign military entanglements, is easy for these leaders as long as it advances their personal agendas. What can we do?  We must educate ourselves about the reality of what we are dealing with.  How can we protect our political systems and prevent dominance by deviant personalities capable of deploying charm to win people over? Dr Robert Hare has asserted that even after decades of studying these personalities, he is still fooled by them. There is no political system safe from their influence, and they are largely untreatable.

There is some good news though.  In recent years, advances in neuroscience and medical imagery show clear anomalous brain patterns unique to various toxic personality disorders.  It is within our ability to predict from brain scans who might be unsuitable to the extremely important position of elected official. There are currently virtually no restrictions or prerequisites for individuals running for leadership roles in Canada today.  Perhaps a diagnostic brain scan could be implemented to screen candidates – for the greater good.