But a now series of scandals -- and a new neighbor in the White House -- have ushered in a good dose of gloom.

The afterglow burned for months. Then came Elbowgate.

It was a jaw-dropping counterpoint to Trudeau's carefully cultivated image of calm. And it was all caught on camera.

He apologized, twice, and the negative attention was mostly limited to Canada.

No such luck for Trudeau's next misstep.

Even before that ruckus could die down, Trudeau found himself in the middle of yet another scandal. His office confirmed that the Prime Minister spent his winter holiday on the private island of the Aga Khan -- and used the billionaire religious leader's private helicopter to get there. An ethics investigation is underway.

He got grilled, heckled and yelled at.

But some commentators saw it as a successful act of contrition after several weeks of damaging missteps.

"He's authentic," said Oliver, who has known Trudeau since childhood. "He has real good instincts about people and about politics."

As he works to dig out of his domestic rut, Trudeau faces new threats to his progressive politics. There's still a strain of nationalist populism that runs deep in Canada.

Oh, and then there's Donald Trump.

"The world's going to spend a lot of time looking to you, Prime Minister, as we see more and more challenges to the liberal international order since the end of World War II," Biden said.

But is Trudeau up to the task?

"There are things that we hold dear that the Americans haven't prioritized," he said at a town hall event. "And I'm never going to shy away from standing up for what I believe in -- whether it's proclaiming loudly to the world that I am a feminist, whether it's understanding that immigration is a source of strength for us and Muslim-Canadians are an essential part of the success of our country today and into the future."

"Almost everything that Trump represents, Trudeau resents," Oliver said.

As Trudeau preps for his meeting with Trump, some say he should remember the words of his late father, who in the 1960s said that living next to the United States was like "sleeping with an elephant" -- every "twitch and grunt" affects you.

"Agitating the President of the United States is not a good strategy especially when the President is Donald Trump because he has such a thin skin," pollster Nanos said.

"There's just so much riding on it," Oliver said. "You know, 75% of Canada's goods are sold in the United States. That border has to stay open for business."

For his part, Trudeau said as much last week during a public appearance ahead of his White House visit.

"We both got elected on commitments to strengthen the middle class and support those working hard to join it," the Prime Minister said. "And that's exactly what we're gonna be focused on in these meetings -- making sure that the millions of good, middle-class jobs on both side of our borders that are dependent on the smooth flow of goods and services and people back and forth across our border are reinforcing the deep connections and friendship between Canada and the United States."

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Liberal superhero Justin Trudeau is not immune to the forces of Trump - CNN