Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET,
was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th
prime minister of Canada
The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the Confidence and supply, confidence of a majority the elected Hou ...
from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. He also briefly served as the
leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
from 1979 to 1980. He served as leader of the
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...
from 1968 to 1984.
Trudeau was born and raised in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
,
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
; he rose to prominence as a lawyer, intellectual, and activist in Quebec politics. Although he aligned himself with the
social democratic
Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soci ...
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* t ...
, he felt that they could not achieve power, and instead joined the Liberal Party. He was elected to the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
in
1965
Events January–February
* January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years.
* January 20
** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...
, quickly being appointed as Prime Minister
Lester B. Pearson's
parliamentary secretary. In 1967, he was appointed as
minister of justice and attorney general. As minister, Trudeau embraced
social liberalism
Social liberalism (german: Sozialliberalismus, es, socioliberalismo, nl, Sociaalliberalisme), also known as new liberalism in the United Kingdom, modern liberalism, or simply liberalism in the contemporary United States, left-liberalism ...
; his two most notable achievements were decriminalizing homosexual acts and legalizing
abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
. Trudeau's outgoing personality and charismatic nature caused a media sensation, inspiring "
Trudeaumania
Trudeaumania was the nickname given in early 1968 to the excitement generated by Pierre Elliott Trudeau's entry into the leadership race of the Liberal Party of Canada. Trudeaumania continued during the subsequent federal election campaign and d ...
", and helped him to win the leadership of the Liberal Party in
1968
The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide.
Events January–February
* January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
* Januar ...
, when he succeeded Pearson and became prime minister of Canada.
From the late 1960s until the mid-1980s, Trudeau's personality dominated the political scene to an extent never before seen in Canadian political life. After his appointment as prime minister, he won the
1968
The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide.
Events January–February
* January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
* Januar ...
,
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
, and
1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...
elections, before narrowly losing in
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
. He won a fourth election victory shortly afterwards, in
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC.
* January 9 – ...
, and eventually retired from politics shortly before the
1984 election. Trudeau is the most recent prime minister to win four elections (having won three
majority government
A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in a legislature. This is as opposed to a minority government, where the largest party in a legislature only has a plurality of seats. ...
s and one
minority government
A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and Cabinet (government), cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or Coalition government, coalition of parties do ...
) and to serve two non-consecutive terms. His tenure of 15 years and 164 days makes him Canada's
third-longest-serving prime minister, behind
John A. Macdonald
Sir John Alexander Macdonald (January 10 or 11, 1815 – June 6, 1891) was the first prime minister of Canada, serving from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 to 1891. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, he had a political career that sp ...
and
William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Li ...
.
Despite his personal motto, "Reason before passion",
Trudeau's personality and policy decisions aroused polarizing reactions throughout Canada during
his time in office. While critics accused him of arrogance, of economic mismanagement, and of unduly centralizing Canadian decision-making to the detriment of the culture of Quebec and the economy of the
Prairies
Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...
, admirers praised what they considered to be the force of his intellect and his political acumen that maintained national unity over the
Quebec sovereignty movement
The Quebec sovereignty movement (french: Mouvement souverainiste du Québec) is a political movement whose objective is to achieve the sovereignty of Quebec, a province of Canada since 1867, including in all matters related to any provision of ...
. Trudeau suppressed the
1970 Quebec terrorist crisis by controversially invoking the ''
War Measures Act
The ''War Measures Act'' (french: Loi sur les mesures de guerre; 5 George V, Chap. 2) was a statute of the Parliament of Canada that provided for the declaration of war, invasion, or insurrection, and the types of emergency measures that could t ...
'', the third and last time in Canadian history that the act was brought into force. In addition, Quebec's proposal to negotiate a sovereignty-association agreement with the federal government was overwhelmingly rejected in the
1980 Quebec referendum
The 1980 Quebec independence referendum was the first referendum in Quebec on the place of Quebec within Canada and whether Quebec should pursue a path toward sovereignty. The referendum was called by Quebec's Parti Québécois (PQ) government, whi ...
. In a bid to move the Liberal Party towards
economic nationalism
Economic nationalism, also called economic patriotism and economic populism, is an ideology that favors state interventionism over other market mechanisms, with policies such as domestic control of the economy, labor, and capital formation, incl ...
, Trudeau's government oversaw the creation of
Petro-Canada
Petro-Canada is a retail and wholesale marketing brand subsidiary of Suncor Energy. Until 1991, it was a federal Crown corporation (a state-owned enterprise). In August 2009, Petro-Canada merged with Suncor Energy, with Suncor shareholders rece ...
and launched the
National Energy Program
The National Energy Program (french: Programme énergétique national, NEP) was an energy policy of the Canadian federal government from 1980 to 1985. Created under the Liberal government of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau by Energy Minister Marc L ...
; the latter generated uproar in
oil
An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
-rich
Western Canada
Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada ...
, leading to what many coined "
Western alienation
In Canadian politics, Western alienation is the notion that the Western provinces – British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba – have been alienated, and in some cases excluded, from mainstream Canadian political affairs in fav ...
". In other domestic policy, Trudeau pioneered
official bilingualism
An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their ...
and
multiculturalism
The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for "Pluralism (political theory), ethnic pluralism", with the tw ...
, fostering a pan-Canadian identity. Trudeau's foreign policy included making Canada more independent; he
patriated the
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When ...
and established the ''
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (french: Charte canadienne des droits et libertés), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part o ...
'', actions that achieved full
Canadian sovereignty
The sovereignty of Canada is a major cultural matter in Canada. Several issues currently define Canadian sovereignty: the Canadian monarchy, telecommunication, the autonomy of Canadian provinces, provinces, and Canada's Arctic border.
Canada is a ...
. He formed close ties with the Soviet Union, China, and Cuban leader
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...
, putting him at odds with other
capitalist
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
nations.
In his retirement, Trudeau practised law at the Montreal law firm of
Heenan Blaikie
Heenan Blaikie LLP is a defunct Canadian law firm. It practiced in the areas of business, labour and employment, litigation, taxation, entertainment law and intellectual property law. The firm was founded in 1973 by Roy Heenan, Donald Johnston, a ...
. He also campaigned against the later-unsuccessful
Meech Lake
Meech Lake (french: Lac Meech) is located within Gatineau Park in the Municipality of Chelsea, Quebec, Canada. It is located about 20 km northwest of Gatineau. The lake was named after Reverend Asa Meech, an early settler in the area.
Near the ...
and
Charlottetown
Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in ...
Accords, arguing the Accords recognizing Quebec as a "
distinct society
Distinct society (in french: la société distincte) is a political term especially used during constitutional debate in Canada, in the second half of the 1980s and in the early 1990s, and present in the two failed constitutional amendments, the M ...
" would weaken
federalism
Federalism is a combined or compound mode of government that combines a general government (the central or "federal" government) with regional governments (Province, provincial, State (sub-national), state, Canton (administrative division), can ...
and strengthen
Quebec nationalism
Quebec nationalism or Québécois nationalism is a feeling and a political doctrine that prioritizes cultural belonging to, the defence of the interests of, and the recognition of the political legitimacy of the Québécois nation. It has been ...
. Trudeau died in 2000. He is ranked highly among scholars in
rankings of Canadian prime ministers. His eldest son,
Justin Trudeau
Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...
, became the 23rd and current prime minister, following the
2015 Canadian federal election
The 2015 Canadian federal election held on October 19, 2015, saw the Liberal Party, led by Justin Trudeau, win 184 seats, allowing it to form a majority government with Trudeau becoming the next prime minister.
The election was held to elect m ...
; Justin Trudeau is the first prime minister of Canada to be a descendant of a former prime minister.
Early life
The Trudeau family can be traced to
Marcillac-Lanville
Marcillac-Lanville () is a commune in the Charente department in southwestern France.
Population
See also
*Communes of the Charente department
* Canadian Prime Ministers Pierre and Justin Trudeau
Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born ...
in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
in the 16th century and to a Robert Truteau (1544–1589). In 1659, the first Trudeau to arrive in Canada was
Étienne Trudeau
Étienne, a French analog of Stephen or Steven, is a masculine given name. An archaic variant of the name, prevalent up to the mid-17th century, is Estienne.
Étienne, Etienne, Ettiene or Ettienne may refer to:
People
Scientists and inventors
* ...
or Truteau (1641–1712), a carpenter and home builder from
La Rochelle
La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...
.
Pierre Trudeau was born at home in
Outremont, Montreal,
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
, on October 18, 1919, to
Charles-Émile "Charley" Trudeau (1887–1935), a
French-Canadian
French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fr ...
businessman and lawyer, and Grace Elliott, who was of mixed
Scottish
Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including:
*Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland
*Scottish English
*Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
and French-Canadian descent. He had an older sister named Suzette and a younger brother named Charles Jr. Trudeau remained close to both siblings for his entire life. Trudeau attended the prestigious
Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf
, motto_translation = I chose the path of truth
, established =
, type = Private secondary school and Collegiate
, religious_affiliation = Non-denominational, formerly Jesuit
, endowment =
, dean ...
(a private French
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
school), where he supported
Quebec nationalism
Quebec nationalism or Québécois nationalism is a feeling and a political doctrine that prioritizes cultural belonging to, the defence of the interests of, and the recognition of the political legitimacy of the Québécois nation. It has been ...
. Trudeau's paternal grandparents were French-speaking Quebec farmers.
His father had acquired the B&A gas station chain (now defunct), some "profitable mines, the Belmont amusement park in Montreal and the
Montreal Royals
The Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team in Montreal, Quebec, during 1897–1917 and 1928–1960. A member of the International League, the Royals were the top farm club (Class AAA) of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939; pi ...
, the city's minor-league baseball team", by the time Trudeau was fifteen.
When his father died in
Orlando, Florida
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...
, on April 10, 1935, Trudeau and each of his siblings inherited $5,000, a considerable sum at that time, which meant that he was financially secure and independent. His mother, Grace, "doted on Pierre" and he remained close to her throughout her long life. After her husband died, she left the management of her inheritance to others and spent a lot of her time working for the Roman Catholic Church and various charities, travelling frequently to New York, Florida, Europe, and Maine, sometimes with her children. Already in his late teens, Trudeau was "directly involved in managing a large inheritance."
Early education
From the age of six until twelve, Trudeau attended the primary school, Académie Querbes, in
Outremont
Outremont is an affluent residential borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It consists entirely of the former city on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec. The neighbourhood is inhabited largely by franc ...
, where he became immersed in the Catholic religion. The school, which was for both English and French Catholics, was an exclusive school with very small classes and he excelled in mathematics and religion. From his earliest years, Trudeau was fluently bilingual, which would later prove to be a "big asset for a politician in bilingual Canada."
As a teenager, he attended the Jesuit
French-language
French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...
Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf, a prestigious secondary school known for educating elite francophone families in Quebec.
In his seventh and final academic year, 1939–1940, Trudeau focused on winning a
Rhodes Scholarship
The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom.
Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...
. In his application he wrote that he had prepared for public office by studying public speaking and publishing many articles in ''Brébeuf''. His letters of recommendations praised him highly. Father Boulin, who was the head of the college, said that during Trudeau's seven years at the college (1933–1940), he had won a "hundred prizes and honourable mentions" and "performed with distinction in all fields". Trudeau graduated from Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf in 1940 at the age of twenty-one.
Trudeau did not win the Rhodes Scholarship. He consulted several people on his options, including
Henri Bourassa
Joseph-Napoléon-Henri Bourassa (; September 1, 1868 – August 31, 1952) was a French Canadian political leader and publisher. In 1899, Bourassa was outspoken against the British government's request for Canada to send a militia to fight fo ...
, the economist Edmond Montpetit, and Father Robert Bernier, a Franco-Manitoban. Following their advice, he chose a career in politics and a degree in law at the
Université de Montréal
The Université de Montréal (UdeM; ; translates to University of Montreal) is a French-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university's main campus is located in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood of Côte-de ...
.
The Second World War
In his obituary, ''
The Economist
''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...
'' described Trudeau as "parochial as a young man", who "dismissed the second world war as a squabble between the big powers, although he later regretted 'missing one of the major events of the century'."
In his 1993 ''Memoir,'' Trudeau wrote that the outbreak of World War II in September 1939 and his father's death were the two "great bombshells" that marked his teenage years. In his first year at university, the prime topics of conversation were the
Battle of France
The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...
, the
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defende ...
, and the
London blitz
The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'.
The Germa ...
. He wrote that in the early 1940s, when he was in his early twenties, he thought, "So there was a war? Tough. It wouldn't stop me from concentrating on my studies so long as that was possible...
you were a French Canadian in Montreal
t that time
T, or t, is the twentieth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''tee'' (pronounced ), plural ''tees''. It is der ...
you did not automatically believe that this was a just war. In Montreal in the early 1940s, we still knew nothing about the Holocaust and we tended to think of this war as a settling of scores among the superpowers."
Young Trudeau opposed
conscription
Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
for overseas service, and in 1942 he campaigned for the anti-conscription candidate
Jean Drapeau
Jean Drapeau, (18 February 1916 – 12 August 1999) was Mayor of Montreal from 1954 to 1957 and 1960 to 1986.
Major accomplishments of the Drapeau Administration include the development of the Montreal Metro entirely underground mass transi ...
(later the
mayor of Montreal
The mayor of Montreal is head of the executive branch of the Montreal City Council. The current mayor is Valérie Plante, who was elected into office on November 5, 2017, and sworn in on November 16. The office of the mayor administers all c ...
) in
Outremont
Outremont is an affluent residential borough (''arrondissement'') of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It consists entirely of the former city on the Island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec. The neighbourhood is inhabited largely by franc ...
. Trudeau described a speech he heard in Montreal by
Ernest Lapointe
Ernest Lapointe (October 6, 1876 – November 26, 1941) was a Canadian lawyer and politician. A member of Parliament from Quebec City, he was a senior minister in the government of Prime Minister W. L. Mackenzie King, playing an importa ...
, minister of justice and Prime Minister
William Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Li ...
's Quebec lieutenant. Lapointe had been a Liberal MP during the 1917
Conscription Crisis, in which the Canadian government had deployed up to 1,200 soldiers to suppress the Quebec City anti-conscription Easter Riots in March and April 1918. In a final and bloody conflict, armed rioters fired on the troops, and the soldiers returned fire. At least five men were killed by gunfire and there were over 150 casualties and $300,000 in damage.
In 1939, it was Lapointe who helped draft the Liberals' policy against conscription for service overseas. Lapointe was aware that a new conscription crisis would destroy national unity that Mackenzie King had been trying to build since the end of World War I.
Trudeau believed Lapointe had lied and broken his promise. His criticisms of King's wartime policies, such as "suspension of habeas corpus", the "farce of bilingualism and French-Canadian advancement in the army," and the "forced 'voluntary' enrolment", was scathing.
As a university student Trudeau joined the
Canadian Officers' Training Corps The Canadian Officers' Training Corps (COTC) was, from 1912 to 1968, Canada's university officer training programme, fashioned after the University Officers' Training Corps (UOTC) in the United Kingdom. In World War Two the Canadian Army was able t ...
(COTC), which trained at the local armoury in Montreal during the school term and undertook further training at Camp Farnham each summer. Although the ''
National Resources Mobilization Act
The ''National Resources Mobilization Act, 1940'' (4 George VI, Chap. 13) was a statute of the Parliament of Canada passed to provide for better planning of a much greater Canadian war effort, both overseas and in military production at home.
Sco ...
'', enacted in 1940, originally provided that conscripts could not be required to serve outside of Canada, in 1942 Parliament amended the act and removed that restriction. The
Conscription Crisis of 1944
The Conscription Crisis of 1944 was a political and military crisis following the introduction of forced military service for men in Canada during World War II. It was similar to the Conscription Crisis of 1917, but not as politically damaging.
...
arose in response to the
invasion of Normandy
Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...
in June 1944.
Education
Trudeau continued his full-time studies in law at the Université de Montréal while in the COTC from 1940 until his graduation in 1943.
Following his graduation, Trudeau articled for a year and, in the fall of 1944, began his master's in
political economy
Political economy is the study of how Macroeconomics, economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and Economy, national economies) and Politics, political systems (e.g. law, Institution, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied ph ...
at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
's Graduate School of Public Administration (now the
John F. Kennedy School of Government
The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...
). In his ''Memoir'', he admitted that it was at Harvard's "super-informed environment", that he realized the "historic importance" of the war and that he had "missed one of the major events of the century in which
ewas living. Harvard had become a major intellectual centre, as fascism in Europe led to the great intellectual migration to the United States.
Trudeau's Harvard dissertation was on the topic of communism and Christianity. At Harvard, an American and predominantly Protestant university, Trudeau who was French Catholic and was for the first time living outside the province of Quebec, felt like an outsider. As his sense of isolation deepened, in 1947, he decided to continue his work on his Harvard dissertation in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. He studied at the
Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris
, motto_lang = fr
, mottoeng = Roots of the Future
, type = Public research university''Grande école''
, established =
, founder = Émile Boutmy
, accreditation ...
(Sciences Po). The Harvard dissertation remained unfinished when Trudeau briefly entered a doctoral program to study under the socialist economist
Harold Laski
Harold Joseph Laski (30 June 1893 – 24 March 1950) was an English political theorist and economist. He was active in politics and served as the chairman of the British Labour Party from 1945 to 1946 and was a professor at the London School of ...
at the
London School of Economics
, mottoeng = To understand the causes of things
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £240.8 million (2021)
, budget = £391.1 millio ...
(LSE). This cemented Trudeau's belief that
Keynesian economics
Keynesian economics ( ; sometimes Keynesianism, named after British economist John Maynard Keynes) are the various macroeconomic theories and models of how aggregate demand (total spending in the economy) strongly influences economic output an ...
and social sciences were essential to the creation of the "good life" in a democratic society. Over a five-week period he attended many lectures and became a follower of
personalism
Personalism is an intellectual stance that emphasizes the importance of human persons. Personalism exists in many different versions, and this makes it somewhat difficult to define as a philosophical and theological movement. Friedrich Schleierm ...
after being influenced most notably by
Emmanuel Mounier
Emmanuel Mounier (; ; 1 April 1905 – 22 March 1950) was a French philosopher, theologian, teacher and essayist.
Biography
Mounier was the guiding spirit in the French personalist movement, and founder and director of '' Esprit'', the magazine ...
. He also was influenced by
Nikolai Berdyaev
Nikolai Alexandrovich Berdyaev (; russian: Никола́й Алекса́ндрович Бердя́ев; – 24 March 1948) was a Russian Empire, Russian philosopher, theologian, and Christian existentialism, Christian existentialist who e ...
, particularly his book ''Slavery and Freedom''.
Max
Max or MAX may refer to:
Animals
* Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog
* Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE)
* Max (gorilla) ...
and
Monique Nemni
Monique Esther Nemni (March 27, 1936 – 2 November 2022) was an Egyptian-born Canadian linguist and writer, best known for a series of biographies of former Prime Minister of Canada Pierre Trudeau which she cowrote with her husband Max Nemni.< ...
argue that Berdyaev's book influenced Trudeau's rejection of nationalism and separatism.
In the summer of 1948, Trudeau embarked on world travels to find a sense of purpose. At the age of twenty-eight, he travelled to
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
where he visited Auschwitz, then
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
,
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
,
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
,
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
,
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
, and the Middle East, including
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, Jordan and southern
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
. Although he was wealthy, Trudeau travelled with a back pack in "self-imposed hardship".
He used his British passport instead of his Canadian passport in his travels through
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
, India, China, and
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, often wearing local clothing to blend in. According to ''The Economist'', when Trudeau returned to Canada in 1949 after an absence of five years, his mind was "seemingly broadened" from his studying at Harvard, the Institut d'Études Politiques, and the LSE and his travels. He was "appalled at the narrow nationalism in his native French-speaking Quebec, and the authoritarianism of the province's government.
Quiet Revolution
Beginning while Trudeau was travelling overseas, several events took place in Quebec that were precursors to the
Quiet Revolution
The Quiet Revolution (french: Révolution tranquille) was a period of intense socio-political and socio-cultural change in French Canada which started in Quebec after the election of 1960, characterized by the effective secularization of govern ...
in Quebec. These include the 1948 release of the anti-establishment manifesto
Refus global
Le Refus global ( en, Total Refusal, link=yes) was an anti-establishment and anti-religious manifesto released on August 9, 1948, in Montreal by a group of sixteen young Québécois artists and intellectuals that included Paul-Émile Borduas, Jea ...
, the publication of ''
Les insolences du Frère Untel
''Les insolences du Frère Untel'' is a book first published in Montreal by ''Les Éditions de l'Homme'' in 1960. In a very short time it sold more than 100,000 copies, in a society where a book with a 10,000 copy print run was considered a best s ...
'', the 1949
Asbestos Strike
The Asbestos strike of 1949, based in and around the town of Asbestos, Quebec, Canada, was a four-month labour dispute by asbestos miners. It has traditionally been portrayed as a turning point in Quebec history that helped lead to the Quiet Rev ...
, and the 1955
Richard Riot
The Richard Riot was a riot on March 17, 1955 (Saint Patrick's Day), in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The riot was named after Maurice Richard, the star ice hockey player for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). Following a v ...
. Artists and intellectuals in Quebec signed the ''Refus global'' on August 9, 1948, in opposition to the repressive rule of
Premier of Quebec
The premier of Quebec ( French: ''premier ministre du Québec'' (masculine) or ''première ministre du Québec'' (feminine)) is the head of government of the Canadian province of Quebec. The current premier of Quebec is François Legault of the ...
Maurice Duplessis
Maurice Le Noblet Duplessis (; April 20, 1890 – September 7, 1959), was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 16th premier of Quebec. A conservative, nationalist, anti-Communist, anti-unionist and fervent Catholic, he and his ...
and the decadent "social establishment" in Quebec, including the Catholic Church.
When he returned to Montreal in 1949, Trudeau quickly became a leading figure opposing Duplessis's rule. Trudeau actively supported the workers in the Asbestos Strike who opposed Duplessis in 1949. Trudeau was the co-founder and editor of ''
Cité Libre
''Cité Libre'' was an influential political journal published in Quebec, Canada, through the 1950s and 1960s. Co-founded in 1950 by editor and future Prime Minister of Canada Pierre Trudeau, the publication served as an organ of opposition to th ...
'', a dissident journal that helped provide the intellectual basis for the Quiet Revolution. In 1956, he edited an important book on the subject, ''La grève de l'amiante'', which argued that the asbestos miners' strike of 1949 was a seminal event in Quebec's history, marking the beginning of resistance to the conservative,
Francophone
French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...
clerical establishment and
Anglophone
Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the ''Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest language ...
business class that had long ruled the province.
Career
Because of his labour union activities in Asbestos, Trudeau was blacklisted by Premier Duplessis and was unable to teach law at the Université de Montréal.
He surprised his closest friends in Quebec when he became a civil servant in Ottawa in 1949. Until 1951 he worked in the
Privy Council Office of the Liberal Prime Minister
Louis St. Laurent
Louis Stephen St. Laurent (''Saint-Laurent'' or ''St-Laurent'' in French, baptized Louis-Étienne St-Laurent; February 1, 1882 – July 25, 1973) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 12th prime minister of Canada from 19 ...
as an economic policy advisor. He wrote in his memoirs that he found this period very useful later on, when he entered politics, and that senior civil servant
Norman Robertson
Norman Alexander Robertson, (March 4, 1904 – July 16, 1968) was a Canadians, Canadian diplomat and was one of Prime Minister Mackenzie King's advisers.
Background and early life
Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, he was educated at th ...
tried unsuccessfully to persuade him to stay on.
His progressive values and his close ties with
Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; french: Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif, FCC); from 1955 the Social Democratic Party of Canada (''french: Parti social démocratique du Canada''), was a federal democratic socialism, democra ...
(CCF) intellectuals (including
F. R. Scott
Francis Reginald Scott (1899–1985), commonly known as Frank Scott or F. R. Scott, was a lawyer, Canadian poet, intellectual, and constitutional scholar. He helped found the first Canadian social democratic party, the Co-operative Commonwe ...
,
Eugene Forsey
Eugene Alfred Forsey (May 29, 1904 – February 20, 1991) served in the Senate of Canada from 1970 to 1979. He was considered to be one of Canada's foremost constitutional experts.
Biography
Forsey was born on May 29, 1904, in Grand Bank in ...
,
Michael Kelway Oliver
Michael Kelway Oliver (February 2, 1925 – September 29, 2004) was a Canadian academic, political organizer and the sixth president of Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Oliver was born in North Bay, Ontario on February 2, 1925. ...
and
Charles Taylor) led to his support of and membership in that federal
democratic socialist
Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within a ...
party throughout the 1950s.
An associate professor of law at the Université de Montréal from 1961 to 1965, Trudeau's views evolved towards a liberal position in favour of individual rights counter to the state and made him an opponent of Québec nationalism. He admired the labour unions, which were tied to the
Cooperative Commonwealth Federation
The Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF; french: Fédération du Commonwealth Coopératif, FCC); from 1955 the Social Democratic Party of Canada (''french: Parti social démocratique du Canada''), was a federal democratic socialistThe follo ...
(CCF), and tried to infuse his Liberal party with some of their reformist zeal. By the late 1950s Trudeau began to reject social democratic and labour parties, arguing that they should put their narrow goals aside and join forces with Liberals to fight for democracy first. In economic theory he was influenced by professors
Joseph Schumpeter
Joseph Alois Schumpeter (; February 8, 1883 – January 8, 1950) was an Austrian-born political economist. He served briefly as Finance Minister of German-Austria in 1919. In 1932, he emigrated to the United States to become a professor at Ha ...
and
John Kenneth Galbraith
John Kenneth Galbraith (October 15, 1908 – April 29, 2006), also known as Ken Galbraith, was a Canadian-American economist, diplomat, public official, and intellectual. His books on economic topics were bestsellers from the 1950s through t ...
while he was at Harvard. In 1963, Trudeau criticized the Liberal Party of
Lester Pearson
Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972) was a Canadian scholar, statesman, diplomat, and politician who served as the 14th prime minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968.
Born in Newtonbrook, Ontario (now part of ...
when it supported arming
Bomarc missiles in Canada with
nuclear warheads
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either nuclear fission, fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and nuclear fusion, fusion reactions (Thermonuclear weapon, thermonu ...
.
Trudeau was offered a position at
Queen's University Queen's or Queens University may refer to:
*Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario, Canada
*Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK
**Queen's University of Belfast (UK Parliament constituency) (1918–1950)
**Queen's University of Belfast ...
teaching political science by
James Corry, who later became principal of Queen's, but turned it down because he preferred to teach in Quebec.
Early political career (1965–1967)
![Trudeau Nomination](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Trudeau_Nomination.jpg)
In 1965, Trudeau joined the Liberal party, along with his friends
Gérard Pelletier
Gérard Pelletier, (June 21, 1919 – June 22, 1997) was a Canadian journalist and politician.
Career
Pelletier initially worked as a journalist for ''Le Devoir'', a French-language newspaper in Montreal, Quebec. In 1961 he became editor-i ...
and
Jean Marchand
Jean Marchand, (December 20, 1918 – August 28, 1988) was a French Canadian public figure, trade unionist and politician in Quebec, Canada.
Life and career
During the 1949 Asbestos Strike in Quebec, Marchand led the striking workers as s ...
. Dubbed the "three wise men" by the media, they ran successfully for the Liberals in the
1965 election. Trudeau himself was elected in the safe Liberal riding of
Mount Royal
Mount Royal (french: link=no, Mont Royal, ) is a large intrusive rock hill or small mountain in the city of Montreal, immediately west of Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The best-known hypothesis for the origin of the name Montreal is the hi ...
, in Montreal. He would hold this seat until his retirement from politics in 1984, winning each election with large majorities. His decision to join the
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...
rather than the CCF's successor, the
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* t ...
(NDP) was partly based on his belief that the federal NDP could not achieve power. He also doubted the feasibility of the centralizing policies of the party. He felt that the party leadership tended toward a "''deux nations''" approach he could not support.
Upon arrival in Ottawa, Trudeau was appointed as Prime Minister Lester Pearson's parliamentary secretary, and spent much of the next year travelling abroad, representing Canada at international meetings and bodies, including the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
. In 1967, he was appointed to Pearson's
cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
as
minister of justice
A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...
and attorney general.
Minister of justice and attorney general (1967–1968)
As minister of justice and attorney general, Trudeau was responsible for introducing the landmark ''
Criminal Law Amendment Act
Criminal Law Amendment Act (with its many variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, Canada, India, Pakistan and South Africa which amends the criminal law (including both substantive an ...
'', an
omnibus bill
An omnibus bill is a proposed law that covers a number of diverse or unrelated topics. ''Omnibus'' is derived from Latin and means "to, for, by, with or from everything". An omnibus bill is a single document that is accepted in a single vote by a ...
whose provisions included, among other things, the decriminalization of homosexual acts between consenting adults, new gun ownership restrictions and the legalization of contraception, abortion and lotteries, as well as the authorization of breathalyzer tests on suspected drunk drivers. Trudeau famously defended the segment of the bill decriminalizing homosexual acts by telling reporters that "there's no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation", adding that "what's done in private between adults doesn't concern the Criminal Code". Trudeau paraphrased the term from Martin O'Malley's editorial piece in ''
The Globe and Mail
''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...
'' on December 12, 1967. Trudeau also liberalized divorce laws, and clashed with Quebec Premier
Daniel Johnson, Sr.
Francis Daniel Johnson Sr. (April 9, 1915 – September 26, 1968) was a Canadian politician and the 20th premier of Quebec from 1966 to his death in 1968.
Background
Johnson was born in Danville, Quebec, Canada. He was the son of Francis John ...
during constitutional negotiations.
Liberal leadership convention (1968)
At the end of Canada's centennial year in 1967, Prime Minister Pearson announced his intention to step down, and Trudeau entered the race for the Liberal leadership. His energetic campaign attracted widespread media attention and mobilized many young people, who saw Trudeau as a symbol of generational change. However, many Liberals still had reservations, given that he had joined the party as recently as 1965. During the convention, prominent Cabinet Minister
Judy LaMarsh
Julia Verlyn LaMarsh, (December 20, 1924 – October 27, 1980) was a Canadian politician, lawyer, author and broadcaster. In 1963, she was only the second woman to ever serve as a federal Cabinet Minister. Under Prime Minister Lester Pearson' ...
was caught on television profanely stating that Trudeau wasn't a Liberal.
Nevertheless, at the April
1968 Liberal leadership convention, Trudeau was elected leader on the fourth ballot, with the support of 51 percent of the delegates. He defeated several prominent and long-serving Liberals, including
Paul Martin Sr.
Joseph James Guillaume Paul Martin (June 23, 1903 – September 14, 1992), often referred to as Paul Martin Sr., was a noted Canadian politician and diplomat. He was the father of Paul Martin, who served as 26th prime minister of Canada fro ...
,
Robert Winters
Robert Henry Winters, (August 18, 1910 – October 10, 1969) was a Canadian politician, businessman, and businessman.
Life and career
Born in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, the son of a fishing captain, Winters went to Mount Allison University in Ne ...
and
Paul Hellyer
Paul Theodore Hellyer (August 6, 1923 – August 8, 2021) was a Canadian engineer, politician, writer, and commentator. He was the List of current members of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada#St. Laurent, longest serving member of the Quee ...
.
Prime Minister (1968–1979)
Swearing-in, subsequent election
As the new leader of the governing Liberals, Trudeau was sworn in as Prime Minister on April 20.
Trudeau soon called an election, for June 25. His election campaign benefited from an unprecedented wave of personal popularity called "
Trudeaumania
Trudeaumania was the nickname given in early 1968 to the excitement generated by Pierre Elliott Trudeau's entry into the leadership race of the Liberal Party of Canada. Trudeaumania continued during the subsequent federal election campaign and d ...
",
which saw Trudeau mobbed by throngs of youths. Trudeau's main national opponents were
PC leader
Robert Stanfield
Robert Lorne Stanfield (April 11, 1914 – December 16, 2003) was a Canadian politician who served as the 17th premier of Nova Scotia from 1956 to 1967 and the leader of the Official Opposition and leader of the federal Progressive Conservative ...
and
NDP
NDP may stand for:
Computing
* Neighbor Discovery Protocol, an Internet protocol
* Nortel Discovery Protocol, a layer two Internet protocol, also called SONMP
* Nondeterministic programming, a type of computer language
Government
* National Deve ...
leader
Tommy Douglas
Thomas Clement Douglas (20 October 1904 – 24 February 1986) was a Scottish-born Canadian politician who served as seventh premier of Saskatchewan from 1944 to 1961 and Leader of the New Democratic Party from 1961 to 1971. A Baptist min ...
, both popular figures who had been Premiers, respectively, of Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan (albeit in Trudeau's native Quebec, the main competition to the Liberals was from the
Ralliement créditiste
Historically in Quebec, Canada, there were a number of political parties that were part of the Canadian social credit movement. There were various parties at different times with different names at the provincial level, all broadly following the s ...
, led by
Réal Caouette
David Réal Caouette (September 26, 1917 – December 16, 1976) was a Canadian politician from Quebec. He was a member of Parliament (MP) and leader of the Social Credit Party of Canada and founder of the '' Ralliement des créditistes''. Outsid ...
). As a candidate Trudeau espoused
participatory democracy
Participatory democracy, participant democracy or participative democracy is a form of government in which citizens participate individually and directly in political decisions and policies that affect their lives, rather than through elected rep ...
as a means of making Canada a "
Just Society". He defended vigorously the newly implemented
universal health care
Universal health care (also called universal health coverage, universal coverage, or universal care) is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are assured access to health care. It is generally organized ar ...
and
regional development
Regional development is a broad term but can be seen as a general effort to reduce regional disparities by supporting (employ) economin regions. In the past, regional development policy tended to try to achieve these objectives by means developmen ...
programmes, as well as the recent reforms found in the Omnibus bill.
On the eve of the election, during the annual
Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day
Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day (french: Fête de la Saint-Jean-Baptiste, la Saint-Jean, Fête nationale du Québec), also known in English as ''St John the Baptist Day'', is a holiday celebrated on June 24 in the Canadian province of Quebec
Que ...
parade in Montreal, rioting
Quebec sovereignists threw rocks and bottles at the grandstand where Trudeau was seated, chanting "Trudeau au poteau!" (Trudeau – to the stake!). Rejecting the pleas of his aides that he take cover, Trudeau stayed in his seat, facing the rioters, without any sign of fear. The image of the defiant prime minister impressed the public. The next day, Trudeau handily won the
1968 election with a strong
majority government
A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in a legislature. This is as opposed to a minority government, where the largest party in a legislature only has a plurality of seats. ...
; this was the Liberals' first majority since
1953
Events
January
* January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma.
* January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo.
* January 14
** Marshal Josip Broz Tito i ...
.
Social policy
Bilingualism and multiculturalism
Trudeau's first major legislative push was implementing the majority of recommendations of Pearson's
Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism
The Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism (french: Commission royale d’enquête sur le bilinguisme et le biculturalisme, also known as the Bi and Bi Commission and the Laurendeau-Dunton Commission) was a Canadian royal commissio ...
via the ''
Official Languages Act'', which made French and English the co-equal official languages of the federal government. More controversial than the declaration (which was backed by the NDP and, with some opposition in caucus, the PCs) was the implementation of the Act's principles: between 1966 and 1976, the francophone proportion of the civil service and military doubled, causing alarm in some sections of anglophone Canada that they were being disadvantaged.
Trudeau's Cabinet fulfilled Part IV of the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism's report by announcing a "
Multiculturalism
The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for "Pluralism (political theory), ethnic pluralism", with the tw ...
Policy" on October 8, 1971. It was the first of its kind in the world, and was then emulated in several provinces, such as Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and other countries most notably Australia, which has had a similar history and immigration pattern. Beyond the specifics of the policy itself, this action signalled an openness to the world and coincided with a more open immigration policy that had been brought in by Trudeau's predecessor Lester B. Pearson. This recognized that while Canada was a country of two official languages, it recognized a plurality of cultures – "a multicultural policy within a bilingual framework". This annoyed public opinion in Quebec, which believed that it challenged Quebec's claim of Canada as a country of two nations.
Immigration
During the refugee crisis caused by the flight of the so-called "
boat people
Vietnamese boat people ( vi, Thuyền nhân Việt Nam), also known simply as boat people, refers to the refugees who fled Vietnam by boat and ship following the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. This migration and humanitarian crisis was at its h ...
" from Vietnam as thousands of people, mostly ethnic Chinese, fled Communist Vietnam in makeshift boats across the South China Sea, usually to the British colony of Hong Kong, the Trudeau government was generous in granting asylum to the refugees. By 1980, Canada had accepted about 44,000 of the "boat people", making it one of the top destinations for them.
Indigenous issues
In 1969, Trudeau along with his then
Minister of Indian Affairs
Minister may refer to:
* Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric
** Minister (Catholic Church)
* Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department)
** Minister without portfolio, a member of governme ...
Jean Chrétien
Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003.
Born and raised in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, Chrétien is a law graduate from Uni ...
, proposed the
1969 White Paper
The 1969 White Paper (officially entitled Statement of the Government of Canada on Indian Policy) was a policy paper proposal set forth by the Government of Canada related to First Nations. Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and his Minister of Indian A ...
(officially entitled "Statement of the Government of Canada on Indian policy"). Under the legislation of the White Paper, Indian Status would be eliminated. First Nations Peoples would be incorporated fully into provincial government responsibilities as equal Canadian citizens, and reserve status would be removed imposing the laws of private property in indigenous communities. Any special programs or considerations that had been allowed to First Nations people under previous legislation would be terminated, as the special considerations were seen by the Government to act as a means to further separate Indian peoples from Canadian citizens. This proposal was seen by many as racist and an attack on Canada's aboriginal population. The Paper proposed the general assimilation of First Nations into the Canadian body politic through the elimination of the ''
Indian Act
The ''Indian Act'' (, long name ''An Act to amend and consolidate the laws respecting Indians'') is a Canadian act of Parliament that concerns registered Indians, their bands, and the system of Indian reserves. First passed in 1876 and still ...
'' and Indian status, the parcelling of reserve land to private owners, and the elimination of the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs. The White Paper prompted the first major national mobilization of Indian and Aboriginal activists against the federal government's proposal, leading to Trudeau setting aside the legislation.
Death penalty
On July 14, 1976, after long and emotional debate, Bill C-84 was passed by the House of Commons by a vote of 130 to 124, abolishing the
death penalty
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
completely and instituting a life sentence without parole for 25 years for first-degree murder.
Quebec
October Crisis
Trudeau's first serious test came during the October Crisis of 1970, when a Marxist-influenced group, the ''
Front de libération du Québec
The (FLQ) was a Marxist–Leninist and Quebec separatist guerrilla group. Founded in the early 1960s with the aim of establishing an independent and socialist Quebec through violent means, the FLQ was considered a terrorist group by the Canadia ...
'' (FLQ) kidnapped British Trade Consul
James Cross
James Richard Cross (29 September 1921 – 6 January 2021) was an Irish-born British diplomat who served in India, Malaysia and Canada. While posted in Canada, Cross was kidnapped by members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) durin ...
at his residence on October 5. Five days later Quebec Labour Minister
Pierre Laporte
Pierre Laporte (25 February 1921 – 17 October 1970) was a Canadian lawyer, journalist and politician. He was deputy premier of the province of Quebec when he was kidnapped and murdered by members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) ...
was also kidnapped. Trudeau, with the acquiescence of Premier of Quebec Robert Bourassa, responded by invoking the ''
War Measures Act
The ''War Measures Act'' (french: Loi sur les mesures de guerre; 5 George V, Chap. 2) was a statute of the Parliament of Canada that provided for the declaration of war, invasion, or insurrection, and the types of emergency measures that could t ...
'' which gave the government sweeping powers of arrest and detention without trial. Trudeau presented a determined public stance during the crisis, answering the question of how far he would go to stop the violence by saying "
Just watch me
"Just watch me" is a phrase made famous by Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau on October 13, 1970, during the October Crisis. The term is still regularly used in Canadian political discussion.
Trudeau, who had in previous years been a stron ...
". Laporte was found dead on October 17 in the trunk of a car. The cause of his death is still debated. Five of the FLQ members were flown to Cuba in 1970 as part of a deal in exchange for James Cross' life, although they eventually returned to Canada years later, where they served time in prison.
Although this response is still controversial and was opposed at the time as excessive by parliamentarians like Tommy Douglas and
David Lewis, it was met with only limited objections from the public.
Quebec provincial affairs
After consultations with the provincial premiers, Trudeau agreed to attend a conference called by
British Columbia Premier
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
W. A. C. Bennett
William Andrew Cecil Bennett (September 6, 1900 – February 23, 1979) was a Canadians, Canadian politician. He was the 25th premier of British Columbia from 1952 to 1972. With just over 20 years in office, Bennett was and remains the longest-s ...
to attempt to finally
patriate
Patriation is the political process that led to full Canadian sovereignty, culminating with the Constitution Act, 1982. The process was necessary because under the Statute of Westminster 1931, with Canada's agreement at the time, the British parl ...
the
Canadian constitution
The Constitution of Canada (french: Constitution du Canada) is the supreme law in Canada. It outlines Canada's system of government and the civil and human rights of those who are citizens of Canada and non-citizens in Canada. Its contents a ...
. Negotiations with the provinces by Minister of Justice John Turner created a draft agreement, known as the
Victoria Charter
The Victoria Charter was a set of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada in 1971. This document represented a failed attempt on the part of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau to patriate the Constitution, add a bill of rights to it and entr ...
, that entrenched a charter of rights, bilingualism, and a guarantee of a veto of constitutional amendments for Ontario and Quebec, as well as regional vetoes for
Western Canada
Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West or the Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a Canadian region that includes the four western provinces just north of the Canada ...
and
Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (french: provinces de l'Atlantique), is the region of Eastern Canada comprising the provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec. The four provinces are New Brunswick, Newfoundlan ...
, within the new constitution. The agreement was acceptable to the nine predominantly-English speaking provinces, while Quebec's Premier Robert Bourassa requested two weeks to consult with his cabinet. After a strong backlash of popular opinion against the agreement in Quebec, Bourassa stated Quebec would not accept it.
Trudeau faced increasing challenges in Quebec, starting with bitter relations with Bourassa and his
Liberal
Liberal or liberalism may refer to:
Politics
* a supporter of liberalism
** Liberalism by country
* an adherent of a Liberal Party
* Liberalism (international relations)
* Sexually liberal feminism
* Social liberalism
Arts, entertainment and m ...
government in Quebec. After a rise in the polls after the rejection of the Victoria Charter, the Quebec Liberals had taken a more confrontational approach with the Federal government on the constitution,
French language laws, and the language of
air traffic control
Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...
in Quebec. Trudeau responded with increasing anger at what he saw as nationalist provocations against the Federal government's bilingualism and constitutional initiatives, at times expressing his personal contempt for Bourassa.
Partially in an attempt to shore up his support, Bourassa called a
surprise election in 1976 that resulted in
René Lévesque
René Lévesque (; August 24, 1922 – November 1, 1987) was a Québécois politician and journalist who served as the 23rd premier of Quebec from 1976 to 1985. He was the first Québécois political leader since Confederation to attempt ...
and the
Parti Québécois
The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...
(PQ) winning a majority government. The PQ had chiefly campaigned on a "good government" platform, but promised a referendum on independence to be held within their first mandate. Trudeau and Lévesque had been personal rivals, with Trudeau's intellectualism contrasting with Lévesque's more working-class image. While Trudeau claimed to welcome the "clarity" provided by the PQ victory, the unexpected rise of the sovereignist movement became, in his view, his biggest challenge.
As the PQ began to take power, Trudeau faced the prolonged failure of his marriage, which was covered in lurid detail on a day-by-day basis by the English language press. Trudeau's reserve was seen as dignified by contemporaries and his poll numbers actually rose during the height of coverage, but aides felt the personal tensions left him uncharacteristically emotional and prone to outbursts.
Economic policy
Trudeau's first government implemented many procedural reforms to make Parliament and the Liberal caucus meetings run more efficiently, significantly expanded the size and role of the Prime Minister's office, and substantially expanded social-welfare programs.
Trudeau was well known for running large budget
deficits throughout his tenure. After the
1968–1969 and
1969–1970 fiscal year budgets, the Trudeau government began running deficits over $1 billion, eliminating Canada's
balanced budget
A balanced budget (particularly that of a government) is a budget in which revenues are equal to expenditures. Thus, neither a budget deficit nor a budget surplus exists (the accounts "balance"). More generally, it is a budget that has no budge ...
. The budget would not be balanced again until fiscal year
1997–1998. Trudeau's government also introduced a
capital gains tax
A capital gains tax (CGT) is the tax on profits realized on the sale of a non-inventory asset. The most common capital gains are realized from the sale of stocks, Bond (finance), bonds, precious metals, real estate, and property.
Not all count ...
in the
1971 federal budget.
By the time Trudeau's first tenure ended in 1979, the deficit grew to $12 billion (fiscal year
1979–1980), a large number that sharply contrasted to his relatively small deficit of $667 million in his first budget (1968–1969).
On September 4, 1973, Trudeau requested
Western Canadian
The Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) underlies of Western Canada including southwestern Manitoba, southern Saskatchewan, Alberta, northeastern British Columbia and the southwest corner of the Northwest Territories. This vast sedimentary ...
provinces to agree to a voluntary freeze on oil prices during
the ongoing Arab oil embargo. Nine days after, the Trudeau government imposed a 40-cent tax on every barrel of
Canadian oil exported to the United States to combat rising inflation and oil prices. The tax was equivalent to the difference between domestic and international oil prices, and the revenues were used to subsidize oil imports for
Eastern
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
*Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
*Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
*Eastern Air Li ...
refiners. The
Premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
of oil-rich
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
,
Peter Lougheed
Edgar Peter Lougheed ( ; July 26, 1928 – September 13, 2012) was a Canadian lawyer and Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta, Progressive Conservative politician who served as the tenth premier of Alberta from 1971 to 1985, presiding ...
, called the decision "the most discriminatory action taken by a federal government against a particular province in the entire history of
Confederation
A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a union of sovereign groups or states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...
." While revenues decreased for Western provinces (particularly Alberta) and for the petroleum industry, Trudeau's government subsidized Eastern consumers, angering Alberta, who successfully fought for control of its natural resources in 1930.
While popular with the electorate, Trudeau's promised minor reforms had little effect on the growing rate of inflation, and he struggled with conflicting advice on the crisis. In September 1975 the popular
finance minister
A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation.
A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...
,
John Turner
John Napier Wyndham Turner (June 7, 1929September 19, 2020) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Canada from June to September 1984. He served as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and leader of t ...
, resigned over a perceived lack of support in
countervailing measures. In October 1975, in an embarrassing about-face, Trudeau and new Finance Minister
Donald Macdonald introduced wage and price controls by passing the ''
Anti-Inflation Act
The Anti-Inflation Act (french: Loi anti-inflation) was an Act of the Parliament of Canada, introduced by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's government and passed in 1975, which aimed to slow down the rapidly increasing price and wage inflation.
...
''. The breadth of the legislation, which touched on many powers traditionally considered the purview of the provinces, prompted
a Supreme Court reference that only upheld the legislation as an
emergency requiring Federal intervention under the ''
British North America Act
The British North America Acts 1867–1975 are a series of Acts of Parliament that were at the core of the constitution of Canada. Most were enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom and some by the Parliament of Canada. In Canada, some ...
''. During the annual 1975 Christmas interview with
CTV, Trudeau discussed the economy, citing market failures and stating that more state intervention would be necessary. However, the academic wording and hypothetical solutions posed during the complex discussion led much of the public to believe he had declared capitalism itself a failure, creating a lasting distrust among increasingly
neoliberal
Neoliberalism (also neo-liberalism) is a term used to signify the late 20th century political reappearance of 19th-century ideas associated with free-market capitalism after it fell into decline following the Second World War. A prominent fa ...
business leaders.
The government created
Petro-Canada
Petro-Canada is a retail and wholesale marketing brand subsidiary of Suncor Energy. Until 1991, it was a federal Crown corporation (a state-owned enterprise). In August 2009, Petro-Canada merged with Suncor Energy, with Suncor shareholders rece ...
.
Foreign affairs
In foreign affairs, Trudeau kept Canada in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
), but often pursued an independent path in international relations.
Trudeau was the first world leader to meet
John Lennon
John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
and his wife
Yoko Ono
Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野 洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking.
Ono grew up i ...
on their 1969 "tour for
world peace
World peace, or peace on Earth, is the concept of an ideal state of peace within and among all people and nations on Planet Earth. Different cultures, religions, philosophies, and organizations have varying concepts on how such a state would ...
". Lennon said, after talking with Trudeau for 50 minutes, that Trudeau was "a beautiful person" and that "if all politicians were like Pierre Trudeau, there would be world peace". The diplomat
John G. H. Halstead
John Gelder Horler Halstead (27 January 1922 – 9 February 1998) was a Canadian diplomat and academic.
Early career
Halstead was born in Vancouver into a middle-class family. In 1943, he graduated from the University of British Columbia, and jo ...
who worked as a close adviser to Trudeau for a time described him as a man who never read any of the policy papers submitted by the External Affairs department, instead preferring short briefings on the issues before meeting other leaders and that Trudeau usually tried to "wing" his way through international meetings by being witty. Halstead stated that Trudeau viewed foreign policy as "only for dabbing", saying he much preferred domestic affairs.
NATO
In August 1968, the Trudeau government expressed disapproval of the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, having the Canadian delegation at the United Nations vote for a resolution condemning the invasion, which failed to pass owing to a Soviet veto. However, Trudeau made it clear that he did not want an intensified Cold War as a result of the invasion, and worked to avoid a rupture with Moscow. In a speech in December 1968, Trudeau asked: "Can we assume Russia wants war because it invaded Czechoslovakia?".
In 1968–1969, Trudeau wanted to pull Canada out of NATO, arguing that the MAD (Mutually Assured Destruction) caused by a Soviet-American nuclear exchange made it highly unlikely that the Soviet Union would ever invade West Germany, thereby making NATO into an expensive irrelevance in his view. In March 1969, Trudeau visited Washington to meet President
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
, where the meeting went very civilly, through Nixon came to intensely dislike Trudeau over time, referring to him in 1971 as "that asshole Trudeau" Nixon made it clear to Trudeau that a Canada that remained in NATO would be taken more seriously in Washington than a Canada that left NATO. Trudeau himself noted during a speech given before the National Press Club during the same visit that the United States was by far Canada's largest trading partner, saying: "Living next to you is in some way like sleeping with an elephant; no matter how friendly and even-tempered the beast, one is affected by every twitch and grunt".
The NATO question badly divided the cabinet. The diplomat
Marcel Cadieux
Marcel Cadieux, (June 17, 1915 – March 19, 1981) was a Canadian civil servant and diplomat.
Early life and education
Cadieux was born in Montreal, Quebec. He studied at the Collège André Grasset, obtained a Master's degree in law from t ...
accused Trudeau of being "''ne semble pas croire du tout au danger soviétique''". As a diplomat, the devout Catholic Cadieux had served on the
International Control Commission
The International Control Commission (ICC), or in French la Commission Internationale de Contrôle (CIC), was an international force established in 1954. More formally called the International Commission for Supervision and Control, the organisati ...
in 1954–55, where his experiences of witnessing the exodus of 2 million Vietnamese Catholics from North Vietnam to South Vietnam made him into a very firm anti-Communist. In late March 1969, Trudeau's cabinet was torn by debate as ministers divided into pro-NATO and anti-NATO camps, and Trudeau's own feelings were with the latter. The Defence Minister
Léo Cadieux
Joseph Alphonse Léo Cadieux, (May 28, 1908 – May 11, 2005) was a Canadian politician.
A newspaper journalist and publisher who was born in Saint-Jérôme, Quebec, Cadieux was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada as the Libe ...
threatened to resign in protest if Canada did leave NATO, leading Trudeau who wanted to keep a French-Canadian in a high-profile portfolio such as the Defence department, to meet Cadieux on 2 April 1969 to discuss a possible compromise. Trudeau and Cadieux agreed to the compromise that Canada would stay in NATO, but drastically cut back its contributions, despite warnings from
Ross Campbell, the Canadian member of the NATO Council, that the scale of the cuts envisioned would break Canada's treaty commitments. Ultimately, the fact the United States would be more favourably disposed to a Canada in NATO and the need to maintain cabinet unity led Trudeau to decide, despite his own inclinations, to stay in NATO. After much discussion within the cabinet, Trudeau finally declared that Canada would stay within NATO after all on 3 April 1969, but he would cut back Canada's forces within Europe by 50%. The way that Canada cut its NATO contributions by 50% caused tensions with other NATO allies with the British government of Prime Minister
Harold Wilson
James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...
making a public protest at the cuts.
United States
Relations with the United States deteriorated on many points in the Nixon years (1969–74), including trade disputes, defence agreements, energy, fishing, the environment, cultural imperialism, and foreign policy. They changed for the better when Trudeau and
President Jimmy Carter (1977–81) found a better rapport. The late 1970s saw a more sympathetic American attitude toward Canadian political and economic needs, the pardoning of draft evaders who had moved to Canada, and the passing of old sore points such as Watergate and the Vietnam War. Canada more than ever welcomed American investments during the "
stagflation
In economics, stagflation or recession-inflation is a situation in which the inflation rate is high or increasing, the economic growth rate slows, and unemployment remains steadily high. It presents a dilemma for economic policy, since action ...
" (high inflation and high unemployment at the same time) that hurt both nations in the 1970s.
Trudeau continued his attempts at increasing Canada's international profile, including joining the
G7 group of major economic powers in 1976 at the behest of
U.S. President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...
.
On January 4, 1973, Trudeau voted for a resolution in the House of Commons that condemned the American
Christmas bombings
Operation Linebacker II was an aerial bombing campaign conducted by U.S. Seventh Air Force, Strategic Air Command and U.S. Navy Task Force 77 against targets in the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) during the final period of U. ...
against North Vietnam between 18 and 29 December 1972. As a consequence, Canadian-American relations which were already under stress because of the mutual contempt between Nixon and Trudeau, reached a post-war nadir. Nixon was infuriated by the resolution and refused to see the Canadian ambassador in Washington in protest. Prompted by Halstead, who was known as a proponent of economic "rebalancing" by seeking closer economic ties with the EEC, Trudeau made a visit to Brussels in October 1973 to see
François-Xavier Ortoli
François-Xavier Ortoli (; 16 February 1925 – 30 November 2007) was a French politician who served as the 5th President of the European Commission from 1973 to 1977. He served as Minister of the Economy of France from 1968 to 1969.
Ortoli ...
, the president of the European Commission. Ortoli refused Trudeau's request for a free trade agreement with the EEC, saying that was out of the question, but did agree to open talks on lowering tariffs between Canada and the EEC.
United Kingdom
Trudeau attached little importance to relations with Britain. While he shot down a suggestion by one of his ministers to turn Canada into a republic in 1968, he treated the monarchy with a certain bemused contempt. Britain's decision in 1973 to join the
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...
(EEC) as the European Union was then known, confirmed Trudeau's view that the United Kingdom was a declining power that had little to offer Canada while the way that Japan had replaced Britain as Canada's second-largest trading partner was taken as further confirmation of these views. However, Trudeau was attached to the Commonwealth, believing it was an international body that allowed Canada to project influence in the Third World.
Germany
Trudeau had an especially close friendship with the Social Democratic West German Chancellor
Helmut Schmidt
Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt (; 23 December 1918 – 10 November 2015) was a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), who served as the chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982.
Before becoming Cha ...
, whom he greatly liked both for his left-wing politics and as a practical politician who was more concerned about getting things done rather than with ideological questions. Schmidt was sympathetic towards Trudeau's "rebalancing" concept, telling Trudeau that he wanted West Germany to have two North American partners instead of one, and promised at a 1975 meeting to use West German influence within the EEC to grant Canada better trade terms in exchange for Canada spending more on its NATO commitments. After meeting Schmidt, Trudeau performed a ''volte-face'' on NATO, speaking at a press conference of how much he valued NATO as an alliance that was established for collective security in Europe. To show his approval of Schmidt, Trudeau not only agreed to spend more on NATO, but insisted that the Canadian Army buy the German-built Leopard tanks, which thereby boosted the West German arms industry, over the opposition of the Finance department, which felt that buying the Leopard tanks was wasteful. Schmidt's support was especially welcome as Wilson, once again back as the British prime minister, proved unwilling to lobby for the EEC lowering tariffs on Canadian goods, merely saying that he was willing "to interpret Canadian policy" to the other EEC leaders. By contrast, the West German Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher gave Trudeau a firm promise of West German support for an EEC-Canadian economic agreement. The major hold-out was France, which was stoutly opposed to an EEC-Canadian agreement, seeing giving EEC market access to Canadian agriculture as a threat to French agriculture. In July 1976 a Canadian-EEC Framework Economic Agreement was signed, which came into effect on 1 October 1976. Trudeau hoped would be the Framework Agreement would be the first step towards a Canadian-EEC free trade agreement, but the EEC proved to be uninterested in free trade with Canada.
China
Trudeau established Canadian diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China before the United States did in 1979, and went on an official visit to Beijing. On 10 February 1969, the government announced its wish to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic, and Trudeau was mortified when the Chinese refused to respond at first, which made him look foolish. Unknown to Trudeau, the Chinese diplomatic corps had been so thoroughly purged during the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution that the Chinese Foreign Ministry barely functioned by early 1969. On 19 February 1969, the Chinese finally responded and agreed to open talks in Stockholm on establishing diplomatic relations, which began on 3 April 1969. Trudeau expected the negotiations to be a mere formality, but relations were not finally established until October 1970. The delay was largely because the Chinese insisted that Canada have no relations whatsoever with "the Chiang Kai-shek gang" as they called the Kuomintang regime in
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
and agree to support the Chinese position that Taiwan was a part of the People's Republic, a position that caused problems on the Canadian side as it implied Canadian support for China's viewpoint that it had the right to take Taiwan by force into the People's Republic. On 10 October 1970, a statement was issued by the External Affairs department in Ottawa saying: "The Chinese government reaffirms that Taiwan is an inalienable part of the territory of the People's Republic of China. The Canadian government takes note of the Chinese position". After the statement was issued, China and Canada established diplomatic relations on the same day. In October 1973, Trudeau visited Beijing to meet
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...
and
Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 J ...
, where Trudeau was hailed as "old friend"-a term of high approval in China.
In 1976, Trudeau, succumbing to pressure from the Chinese government, issued an order barring
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
from participating as China in the
1976 Montreal Olympics
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...
, although technically it was a matter for the
IOC
The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
.
His action strained relations with the United States – from
President Ford
Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...
, future
President Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 19 ...
and the press – and subjected Canada to international condemnation and shame.
Africa
During the
Nigerian Civil War
The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Nigerian–Biafran War or the Biafran War, was a civil war fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a secessionist state which had declared its independence f ...
, Canada as a member of
the Commonwealth
The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the ...
was expected to take a stand on what was happening within a fellow Commonwealth nation. The war which attracted worldwide attention owing to the Nigerian tactic of starving into submission the people living in the self-proclaimed
Republic of Biafra
Biafra, officially the Republic of Biafra, was a partially recognised secessionist state in West Africa that declared independence from Nigeria and existed from 1967 until 1970. Its territory consisted of the predominantly Igbo-populated form ...
, causing a famine that killed millions. Despite the criticism of the Nigerian strategy of victory via starvation, Trudeau declared his support for a united Nigeria and indicated his disapproval of
Ibo separatism while expressing regret about the way that the Nigerian government had chosen to fight the war.
As a member of the Commonwealth, Canada was also expected to take a position on the white supremacist government of South Africa (which had belonged to the Commonwealth until 1961) and whose ''
apartheid
Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...
'' system had attracted worldwide criticism. Trudeau's ''Foreign Policy for Canadians'' white paper of April 1968 had declared that "social justice" in South Africa was a key priority, but much to the dismay of anti-apartheid activists, Trudeau never imposed
sanctions on South Africa. Trudeau was often criticized for his "duplicity" on South Africa as he criticized ''apartheid'', but refused to impose sanctions on South Africa.
In 1970–71, the Commonwealth was threatened with a split as a number of African Commonwealth nations supported by India denounced Britain's policy of selling arms to South Africa, which the British government argued was necessary because South Africa was one of the world's largest gold producers while the South African government was
anti-Communist
Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...
and pro-Western. The Labour
Wilson government had imposed an arms embargo on South Africa in 1964, which the new Conservative government ended in 1970. A number of African Commonwealth nations led by President
Kenneth Kaunda
Kenneth David Kaunda (28 April 1924 – 17 June 2021), also known as KK, was a Zambian politician who served as the first President of Zambia from 1964 to 1991. He was at the forefront of the struggle for independence from British rule. Dissat ...
of Zambia and President
Julius Nyerere
Julius Kambarage Nyerere (; 13 April 1922 – 14 October 1999) was a Tanzanian anti-colonial activist, politician, and political theorist. He governed Tanganyika as prime minister from 1961 to 1962 and then as president from 1962 to 1964, aft ...
of Tanzania threatened to leave the Commonwealth if Britain continued with the arms sales to South Africa. When British Prime Minister
Edward Heath
Sir Edward Richard George Heath (9 July 191617 July 2005), often known as Ted Heath, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conserv ...
visited Ottawa in December 1970, his meetings with Trudeau went badly. In what was described as a "no holds-barred" style, Trudeau told Heath that the British arms sales to white supremacist South Africa were threatening the unity of the Commonwealth. At a
Commonwealth summit in Singapore between 14 and 22 January 1971, Trudeau argued that ''apartheid'' was not sustainable in the long run given that the black population of South Africa vastly outnumbered the white population, and it was extremely myopic for Britain to be supporting South Africa, given that majority rule in South Africa was inevitable. However, Trudeau worked for a compromise to avoid a split in the Commonwealth, arguing that the Commonwealth needed to do more to pressure South Africa to end ''apartheid'' peacefully, saying that a "race war" in South Africa would be the worse possible way to end ''apartheid''. The conference ended with the compromise agreement that Britain would complete its existing arms contracts to South Africa, but henceforward sell no more weapons to South Africa; ultimately the British only sold South Africa five attack helicopters.
Lee Kuan Yew
Lee Kuan Yew (16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), born Harry Lee Kuan Yew, often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean lawyer and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1959 and 1990, and Secretary-General o ...
, the prime minister of Singapore and the host of the conference later praised Trudeau for his efforts at the Commonwealth summit to hold together the Commonwealth despite the passions caused by the South African issue.
In contrast to South Africa, Trudeau was more forceful on the white supremacist government of Rhodesia (modern Zimbabwe), saying during a visit to Jamaica about the question of accepting white refugees from Rhodesia: "I'm certainly not panting to have this immigration movement take place...If they're liberals, white liberals, they should stay and have nothing to fear after Rhodesian independence. If they're racist, why shouldn't you
amaicareceive them instead of us?"
Israel
In November 1978, the Israeli Prime Minister
Menachem Begin
Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'' (); pl, Menachem Begin (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ''Menakhem Volfovich Begin''; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of Likud and the sixth Prime Minister of Israel. B ...
visited Canada and during a speech on 12 November 1978 to a Jewish group in Toronto called upon Canadian Jews to lobby to have Canada move its embassy from
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
to
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
, saying that Jerusalem was the true capital of Israel, and that Jews should vote in the 1979 election for the candidates who wanted the Canadian embassy in Jerusalem. Trudeau saw Begin's speech as interference in Canada's internal politics, and came to develop what was described as a "really passionate hatred" of Begin. During his final government in 1980–84, Trudeau's government took markedly pro-Palestinian positions as Trudeau was described as being "pro-Arab" by this point.
Trudeau and Castro
Trudeau was known as a friend of
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...
, the leader of
Cuba
Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
. In January 1976, Trudeau visited Cuba to meet Castro and shouted to a crowd in Havana "''Viva Cuba! Viva Castro!''" ("Long Live Cuba! Long Live Castro!"). In November 1975, Cuba had intervened in the Angolan Civil War on the side of the Marxist MPLA government supported by the Soviet Union which was fighting against the UNITA and FNLA guerrilla movements supported by the United States, South Africa and Zaire (the modern Democratic Republic of the Congo). Though both Zaire and South Africa had also intervened in Angola, sending in troops to support the FLNA and UNITA respectively, it was the Cuban intervention in Angola that caused the controversy in the West. Many people in the West saw the Cuban intervention as "aggression", and as a power play by the Soviet Union to win a sphere of influence in Africa. Angola was amply endowed with oil, and many saw the victory of the MPLA/Cuban forces in the first round of the Angolan civil war in 1975–76 as a major blow to Western interests in Africa. Trudeau's remarks in Havana were widely seen in the West as not only expressing approval of Cuba's Communist government, but also the Cuban intervention in Angola. In fact, Trudeau did press Castro in private to pull his troops out of Angola, only for Castro to insist that Cuba would pull its forces out of Angola only when South Africa likewise pulled its forces out of not only Angola, but also Southwest Africa (modern Namibia) as well. Trudeau's embrace of Castro attracted much criticism in the United States, which allowed Trudeau to pose as a leader who was "standing up" to the United States without seriously damaging American-Canadian relations.
Reelections
1972 election
On September 1, 1972, over four years into the Liberals' five-year mandate, Trudeau called
an election for October 30. At the start of the campaign, polls showed the Liberals 10 points ahead of the
Progressive Conservatives led by
Robert Stanfield
Robert Lorne Stanfield (April 11, 1914 – December 16, 2003) was a Canadian politician who served as the 17th premier of Nova Scotia from 1956 to 1967 and the leader of the Official Opposition and leader of the federal Progressive Conservative ...
, who previously lost to Trudeau in the
1968 election. However, the results produced a Liberal
minority government
A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and Cabinet (government), cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or Coalition government, coalition of parties do ...
, with the Liberals winning 109 seats compared to the PCs' 107; this was one of the closest elections in Canadian history.
Trudeaumania
Trudeaumania was the nickname given in early 1968 to the excitement generated by Pierre Elliott Trudeau's entry into the leadership race of the Liberal Party of Canada. Trudeaumania continued during the subsequent federal election campaign and d ...
from the 1968 election had worn off, not least because of a slumping economy and rising unemployment. The
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party (NDP; french: Nouveau Parti démocratique, NPD) is a federal political party in Canada. Widely described as social democratic,The party is widely described as social democratic:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* t ...
led by
David Lewis held the
balance of power.
1974 election
In May 1974, the House of Commons passed a
motion of no confidence
A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
in the Trudeau government, defeating its budget bill after Trudeau intentionally antagonized Stanfield and Lewis. The
election of 1974 focused mainly on the
current economic recession. Stanfield proposed the immediate introduction of
wage and price controls
Incomes policies in economics are economy-wide wage and price controls, most commonly instituted as a response to inflation, and usually seeking to establish wages and prices below free market level.
Incomes policies have often been resorted to ...
to help end the increasing
inflation
In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reductio ...
Canada was currently facing. Trudeau mocked the proposal, saying to a newspaper reporter that it was the equivalent of a magician saying "Zap! You're frozen", and instead promoted a variety of small tax cuts to curb inflation. A campaign tour featuring Trudeau's wife and infant sons was popular, and NDP supporters scared of wage controls moved toward the Liberals.
The Liberals were re-elected with a majority government with 141 of the 264 seats, prompting Stanfield's retirement. The Liberals won no seats in Alberta, though, where
Peter Lougheed
Edgar Peter Lougheed ( ; July 26, 1928 – September 13, 2012) was a Canadian lawyer and Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta, Progressive Conservative politician who served as the tenth premier of Alberta from 1971 to 1985, presiding ...
was a vociferous opponent of Trudeau's 1974 budget.
Defeat in 1979
As the 1970s wore on, growing public exhaustion towards Trudeau's personality and the country's constitutional debates caused his poll numbers to fall rapidly in the late 1970s. At the
1978 G7 summit, he discussed strategies for the upcoming election with West German Chancellor
Helmut Schmidt
Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt (; 23 December 1918 – 10 November 2015) was a German politician and member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), who served as the chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982.
Before becoming Cha ...
, who advised him to announce several spending cuts to quell criticism of the large deficits his government was running.
After a series of defeats in by-elections in 1978, Trudeau waited as long as he could to call a statutory general election in 1979. He finally did so in 1979, only two months from the five-year limit provided under the ''
British North America Act
The British North America Acts 1867–1975 are a series of Acts of Parliament that were at the core of the constitution of Canada. Most were enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom and some by the Parliament of Canada. In Canada, some ...
''.
In the
election of 1979, Trudeau and the Liberals faced declining poll numbers and the
Joe Clark
Charles Joseph Clark (born June 5, 1939) is a Canadian statesman, businessman, writer, and politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Canada from 1979 to 1980.
Despite his relative inexperience, Clark rose quickly in federal polit ...
–led Progressive Conservatives focusing on "pocketbook" issues. Trudeau and his advisors, to contrast with the mild-mannered Clark, based their campaign on Trudeau's decisive personality and his grasp of the Constitution file, despite the general public's apparent wariness of both. The traditional Liberal rally at
Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was initially constructed in 1931 as an arena to host ice hockey games, though it has sinc ...
saw Trudeau stressing the importance of major constitutional reform to general ennui, and his campaign "photo-ops" were typically surrounded by picket lines and protesters. Though polls portended disaster, Clark's struggles justifying his party's populist platform and a strong Trudeau performance in the election debate helped bring the Liberals to the point of contention.
Though winning the popular vote by four points, the Liberal vote was concentrated in Quebec and faltered in industrial Ontario, allowing the PCs to win the seat-count handily and form a minority government.
Opposition (1979–1980)
Trudeau soon announced his intention to resign as Liberal Party leader and favoured
Donald Macdonald to be his successor.
However, before a
leadership convention {{Politics of Canada
In Canadian politics, a leadership convention is held by a political party when the party needs to choose a leader due to a vacancy or a challenge to the incumbent leader.
Overview
In Canada, leaders of a party generally rem ...
could be held, with Trudeau's blessing and
Allan MacEachen
Allan Joseph MacEachen (July 6, 1921 – September 12, 2017) was a Canadian politician and statesman who served as a senator and several times as a Cabinet minister. He was the first deputy prime minister of Canada and served from 1977 to 1979 ...
's manoeuvring in the house, the Liberals supported an NDP subamendment to
Clark's budget stating that the House had no confidence in the budget. In Canada, as in most other countries with a
Westminster system, budget votes are indirectly considered to be votes of confidence in the government, and their
failure
Failure is the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective (goal), objective, and may be viewed as the opposite of Success (concept), success. The criteria for failure depends on context, and may be relative to a parti ...
automatically brings down the government. Liberal and NDP votes and Social Credit abstentions led to the subamendment passing 139–133, thereby toppling Clark's government and triggering a new election for a House less than a year old. The Liberal caucus, along with friends and advisers persuaded Trudeau to stay on as leader and fight the election, with Trudeau's main impetus being the upcoming referendum on Quebec sovereignty.
Trudeau and the Liberals engaged in a new strategy for the
February 1980 election: facetiously called the "low bridge", it involved dramatically underplaying Trudeau's role and avoiding media appearances, to the point of refusing a televised debate. On election day Ontario returned to the Liberal fold, and Trudeau and the Liberals defeated Clark and won a
majority government
A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in a legislature. This is as opposed to a minority government, where the largest party in a legislature only has a plurality of seats. ...
.
Prime Minister (1980–1984)
![Pierre Elliot Trudeau-2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Pierre_Elliot_Trudeau-2.jpg)
The Liberal victory in 1980 highlighted a sharp geographical divide in the country: the party had won no seats west of
Manitoba
Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...
. Trudeau, in an attempt to represent Western interests, offered to form a coalition government with
Ed Broadbent
John Edward "Ed" Broadbent (born March 21, 1936) is a Canadian social-democratic politician, political scientist, and chair of the Broadbent Institute, a policy thinktank. He was leader of the New Democratic Party from 1975 to 1989. In the 200 ...
's NDP, which had won 22 seats in the west, but was rebuffed by Broadbent out of fear the party would have no influence in a majority government.
1980 Quebec referendum
The first challenge Trudeau faced upon re-election was the May 20,
1980 Quebec referendum
The 1980 Quebec independence referendum was the first referendum in Quebec on the place of Quebec within Canada and whether Quebec should pursue a path toward sovereignty. The referendum was called by Quebec's Parti Québécois (PQ) government, whi ...
on Québec sovereignty, called by the Parti Québécois government under René Lévesque. Trudeau immediately initiated federal involvement in the referendum, reversing the Clark government's policy of leaving the issue to the Quebec Liberals and
Claude Ryan
Claude Ryan, (January 26, 1925 – February 9, 2004) was a Canadian journalist and politician. He was the director of the newspaper ''Le Devoir'' from 1964 to 1978, leader of the Quebec Liberal Party from 1978 to 1982, National Assembly of ...
. He appointed Jean Chrétien as the nominal spokesman for the federal government, helping to push the "Non" cause to working-class voters who tuned out the intellectual Ryan and Trudeau. Unlike Ryan and the Liberals, he refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of the referendum question, and noted that the "association" required consent from the other provinces.
In the debates in the legislature during the campaign leading up to the referendum Lévesque said that Trudeau's middle name was Scottish, and that Trudeau's aristocratic upbringing proved that he was more Scottish than French.
A week prior to the referendum, Trudeau delivered one of his most well-known speeches, in which he extolled the virtues of federalism and questioned the ambiguous language of the referendum question. He described the origin of the name ''Canadian''.
Trudeau promised a new constitutional agreement should Quebec decide to stay in Canada, in which English-speaking Canadians would have to listen to valid concerns made by the Québécois. On May 20, sixty percent of Quebecers voted to remain in Canada. Following the announcement of the results, Trudeau said that he "had never been so proud to be a Quebecer and a Canadian".
Economy and oil
In their first budget, delivered in October 1980 by Trudeau's long-time loyalist, Finance Minister Allan MacEachen, the
National Energy Program
The National Energy Program (french: Programme énergétique national, NEP) was an energy policy of the Canadian federal government from 1980 to 1985. Created under the Liberal government of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau by Energy Minister Marc L ...
was introduced. It became one of the Liberals' most contentious policies. The NEP was fiercely protested by the Western provinces and was seen as unfairly depriving western provinces of the full economic benefit from their oil and gas resources, in order to pay for nationwide social programs, and make regional transfer payments to poorer parts of the country. Sentiments of this kind were especially strong in oil-rich
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
where unemployment rose from 4% to 10% following passage of the NEP.
The western provinces blamed the devastating oil bust of the 1980s on the NEP which led to what many termed "
Western alienation
In Canadian politics, Western alienation is the notion that the Western provinces – British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba – have been alienated, and in some cases excluded, from mainstream Canadian political affairs in fav ...
".
Peter Lougheed
Edgar Peter Lougheed ( ; July 26, 1928 – September 13, 2012) was a Canadian lawyer and Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta, Progressive Conservative politician who served as the tenth premier of Alberta from 1971 to 1985, presiding ...
, then premier of Alberta, entered into tough negotiations with Trudeau and they reached a revenue-sharing agreement on energy in 1982. Estimates have placed Alberta's losses between $50 billion and $100 billion because of the NEP.
This first budget, was one of a series of unpopular budgets delivered in response to the oil shock of 1979 and the ensuing
severe global economic recession which began at the start of 1980.
In his budget speech, MacEachen said that the global oil price shocks—in
1973
Events January
* January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...
and again in
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
—had caused a "sharp renewal of inflationary forces and real income losses" in Canada and in the industrial world...They are not just Canadian problems ... they are world-wide problems."
Leaders of developed countries raised their concerns at the Venice Summit, at meetings of Finance Ministers of the
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...
(IMF) and the
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries ...
(OECD).
The
Bank of Canada
The Bank of Canada (BoC; french: Banque du Canada) is a Crown corporation and Canada's central bank. Chartered in 1934 under the ''Bank of Canada Act'', it is responsible for formulating Canada's monetary policy,OECD. OECD Economic Surveys: Ca ...
wrote that there was a "deeply troubling air of uncertainty and anxiety" about the economy.
Amongst the policies introduced by Trudeau's last term in office were an expansion in government support for Canada's poorest citizens.
By the time Trudeau left office in 1984, the budget deficit was at a whopping $37 billion (fiscal year
1984–1985). Trudeau's first budget (fiscal year
1968–1969) only had a deficit of $667 million. Inflation and unemployment marred much of Trudeau's tenure as prime minister. When Trudeau took office in 1968 Canada had a debt of $18 billion (24% of GDP) which was largely left over from World War II, when he left office in 1984, that debt stood at $200 billion (46% of GDP), an increase of 83% in real terms.
Patriation of the constitution
In 1982, Trudeau succeeded in patriating the Constitution.
In response to a formal request from the Canadian Houses of Parliament, the British Parliament passed an act ceding to the governments of Canada the full responsibility for amending Canada's Constitution.
Earlier in his tenure, he had met with opposition from the provincial governments, most notably with the Victoria Charter. Provincial premiers were united in their concerns regarding an amending formula, a court-enforced Charter of Rights, and a further devolution of powers to the provinces. In 1980, Chrétien was tasked with creating a constitutional settlement following the Quebec referendum in which Quebecers voted to remain in Canada.
After chairing a series of increasingly acrimonious conferences with first ministers on the issue, Trudeau announced the intention of the federal government to proceed with a request to the British parliament to patriate the constitution, with additions to be approved by a referendum without input from provincial governments. Trudeau was backed by the NDP, Ontario Premier
Bill Davis
William Grenville Davis, (July 30, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was a Canadian politician who served as the 18th premier of Ontario from 1971 to 1985. Davis was first elected as the member of provincial Parliament for Peel in the 1959 provincia ...
, and New Brunswick Premier
Richard Hatfield
Richard Bennett Hatfield (April 9, 1931 – April 26, 1991) was a New Brunswick politician and the longest serving premier of New Brunswick from 1970 to 1987.Richard Starr, ''Richard Hatfield, The Seventeen Year Saga,'' 1987,
Early life
T ...
and was opposed by the remaining premiers and PC leader Joe Clark. After numerous provincial governments challenged the legality of the decision using their
reference power, conflicting decisions prompted a
Supreme Court decision that stated unilateral patriation was legal, but was in contravention of a
constitutional convention that the provinces be consulted and have general agreement to the changes.
After the court decision, which prompted some reservations in the British parliament of accepting a unilateral request, Trudeau agreed to meet with the premiers one more time before proceeding. At the meeting, Trudeau reached an agreement with nine of the premiers on patriating the constitution and implementing the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'', with the caveat that Parliament and the provincial legislatures would have the ability to use a
notwithstanding clause
Section 33 of the ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' is part of the Constitution of Canada. It is commonly known as the notwithstanding clause (french: clause dérogatoire, links=no or ), sometimes referred to as the override power, and ...
to protect some laws from judicial oversight. The notable exception was Lévesque, who, Trudeau believed, would never have signed an agreement. The objection of the Quebec government to the new constitutional provisions became a source of continued acrimony between the federal and Quebec governments, and would forever stain Trudeau's reputation amongst nationalists in the province.
The ''
Constitution Act, 1982
The ''Constitution Act, 1982'' (french: link=no, Loi constitutionnelle de 1982) is a part of the Constitution of Canada.Formally enacted as Schedule B of the ''Canada Act 1982'', enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Section 60 of t ...
'', including the ''
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
The ''Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' (french: Charte canadienne des droits et libertés), often simply referred to as the ''Charter'' in Canada, is a bill of rights entrenched in the Constitution of Canada, forming the first part o ...
'', was proclaimed by Queen Elizabeth II, as
Queen of Canada
The monarchy of Canada is Canada's form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is at the core of Canada's constitutional federal structure and Westminster-style parliamentary democracy. The monarchy is the foundat ...
, on April 17, 1982. With the enactment of the ''
Canada Act 1982
The Canada Act 1982 (1982 c. 11; french: Loi de 1982 sur le Canada) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and one of the enactments which make up the Constitution of Canada. It was enacted at the request of the Senate and House of ...
'', the British Parliament ceded all authority over Canada to the governments of Canada. The ''Constitution Act, 1982'', part of the ''Canada Act 1982'', established the supremacy of the Constitution of Canada, which now could only be amended by the federal and provincial governments, under the amending formula established by the ''Constitution Act, 1982''.
The Charter represented the final step in Trudeau's liberal vision of a fully independent Canada based on fundamental human rights and the protection of individual freedoms as well as those of linguistic and cultural minorities.
Section 35 of the ''Constitution Act, 1982'', has clarified issues of aboriginal and equality rights, including establishing the previously denied aboriginal rights of
Métis
The Métis ( ; Canadian ) are Indigenous peoples who inhabit Canada's three Prairie Provinces, as well as parts of British Columbia, the Northwest Territories, and the Northern United States. They have a shared history and culture which derives ...
. Section 15, dealing with equality rights, has been used to remedy societal discrimination against minority groups. The coupling of the direct and indirect influences of the charter has meant that it has grown to influence every aspect of Canadian life and the override (notwithstanding clause) of the Charter has been infrequently used.
Resignation
By 1984, the Progressive Conservatives held a substantial lead in opinion polls under their new leader
Brian Mulroney
Martin Brian Mulroney ( ; born March 20, 1939) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993.
Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studied political sci ...
, and polls indicated that the Liberals faced all-but-certain defeat if Trudeau led them into the next election.
On February 29, 1984, a day after what he described as a walk through the snowy streets of Ottawa, Trudeau announced he would not lead the Liberals into the next election. He was frequently known to use the term "walk in the snow" as a trope; he claimed to have taken a similar walk in December 1979 before deciding to take the Liberals into the 1980 election.
Trudeau formally retired on June 30, ending his 15-year tenure as Prime Minister. He was succeeded by John Turner, a former
Cabinet minister
A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, ...
under both Trudeau and Lester Pearson. Before handing power to Turner, Trudeau took the unusual step of appointing Liberal
Senators from Western provinces to his Cabinet. He advised
Governor General
Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...
Jeanne Sauvé
Jeanne Mathilde Sauvé (; April 26, 1922 – January 26, 1993) was a Canadian politician and journalist who served as Governor General of Canada, the 23rd since Canadian Confederation.
Sauvé was born in Prud'homme, Saskatchewan, and educate ...
to appoint over 200 Liberals to
patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...
positions. He and Turner then crafted a legal agreement calling for Turner to advise an additional 70 patronage appointments. The sheer volume of appointments, combined with questions about the appointees' qualifications, led to condemnation from across the political spectrum.
[''Mulroney: The Politics of Ambition'', by ]John Sawatsky
Ferdinand John Sawatsky (born 1948) is a Canadian author, journalist and interviewer.
Early career
Born in Winkler, Manitoba in 1948, he graduated from Mennonite Educational Institute in Abbotsford and attended Simon Fraser University in the late ...
, Toronto 1991, McFarlane, Walter, and Ross publishers. However, an apparent rebound in the polls prompted Turner to call
an election for September 1984, almost a year before it was due.
Turner's appointment deal with Trudeau came back to haunt the Liberals at the English-language debate, when Mulroney demanded that Turner apologize for not advising that the appointments be cancelled—advice that Sauvé would have been required to follow by convention. Turner claimed that "I had no option" but to let the appointments stand, prompting Mulroney to tell him, "
You had an option, sir
"You had an option, sir" (sometimes remembered as You had a choice, sir) was a phrase used by Brian Mulroney against John Turner during the English-language leaders debate in the 1984 Canadian federal election. The exchange is considered one of t ...
–to say 'no'–and you chose to say 'yes' to the old attitudes and the old stories of the Liberal Party." In the election, Mulroney won the largest majority government (by total number of seats) and second-largest majority (by proportion of seats) in Canadian history. The Liberals, with Turner as leader, lost 95 seats–at the time, the worst defeat of a sitting government at the federal level (by proportion of seats) at the time.
After politics (1984–2000)
Trudeau joined the Montreal law firm
Heenan Blaikie
Heenan Blaikie LLP is a defunct Canadian law firm. It practiced in the areas of business, labour and employment, litigation, taxation, entertainment law and intellectual property law. The firm was founded in 1973 by Roy Heenan, Donald Johnston, a ...
as counsel and settled in the historic
Maison Cormier
Cormier House (french: Maison Ernest-Cormier) is an Art Deco residence located at 1418 Pine Avenue West in the Golden Square Mile area of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Ownership
It was built by architect Ernest Cormier in 1930–31 as his own reside ...
in Montreal following his retirement from politics. Though he rarely gave speeches or spoke to the press, his interventions into public debate had a significant impact when they occurred. Trudeau wrote and spoke out against both the
Meech Lake Accord
The Meech Lake Accord (french: Accord du lac Meech) was a series of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada negotiated in 1987 by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and all 10 Canadian provincial premiers. It was intended to persuade the gove ...
and
Charlottetown Accord
The Charlottetown Accord (french: Accord de Charlottetown) was a package of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada, proposed by the Canadian federal and provincial governments in 1992. It was submitted to a public referendum on October ...
proposals to amend the Canadian constitution, arguing that they would weaken federalism and the Charter of Rights if implemented. The Meech Lake Accord granted Quebec the constitutional right to be a "distinct society" within Canada, which theoretically could have been the basis of a wide-ranging devolution of power to Quebec. The Quebec government potentially could have been allowed to pass any law short of secession to protect Quebec's constitutional right to be a "distinct society". Trudeau claimed in his speeches that giving Quebec the constitutional status of a "distinct society" would lead to the Quebec government deporting members of Quebec's English-speaking minority. His opposition to both accords was considered one of the major factors leading to the defeat of the two proposals.
He also continued to speak against the Parti Québécois and the sovereignty movement with less effect.
Trudeau also remained active in international affairs, visiting foreign leaders and participating in international associations such as the
Club of Rome
The Club of Rome is a nonprofit, informal organization of intellectuals and business leaders whose goal is a critical discussion of pressing global issues. The Club of Rome was founded in 1968 at Accademia dei Lincei in Rome, Italy. It consists ...
. He met with Soviet leader
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...
and other leaders in 1985; shortly afterwards Gorbachev met President
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
to discuss easing world tensions.
He published his memoirs in 1993. The book sold hundreds of thousands of copies in several editions, and became one of the most successful Canadian books ever published.
In his
old age
Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...
, he was afflicted with
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...
and
prostate cancer
Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...
, and became less active, although he continued to work at his law practice until a few months before his death at the age of 80. He was devastated by the death of his youngest son,
Michel Trudeau
Michel Charles-Émile Trudeau (October 2, 1975 – November 13, 1998) was the youngest son of Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and Margaret Trudeau and the younger brother of current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He died in an avalanc ...
, who was killed in an avalanche on November 13, 1998.
Death
![Trudeau family mausoleum in Saint-Remi-de-Napierville](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Trudeau_family_mausoleum_in_Saint-Remi-de-Napierville.jpg)
Pierre Elliott Trudeau died on September 28, 2000, and was buried in the Trudeau family crypt,
St-Rémi-de-Napierville Cemetery
St-Rémi-de-Napierville Cemetery is a small Catholic cemetery in Saint-Rémi-de-Napierville, Quebec and located on the southside of rue Saint-André east of rue Saint-Paul (232 rue Saint-André).
It is the final resting place of 15th Canadian Pri ...
,
Saint-Rémi, Quebec.
His body lay in state in the Hall of Honour in Parliament Hill's
Centre Block
The Centre Block (french: Édifice du Centre) is the main building of the Canadian parliamentary complex on Parliament Hill, in Ottawa, Ontario, containing the House of Commons and Senate chambers, as well as the offices of a number of members ...
to allow Canadians to pay their last respects. Several world politicians, including former US President
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
and
Fidel Castro
Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...
, attended the funeral. His son Justin delivered the eulogy during the
state funeral
A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...
which led to widespread speculation in the media that a career in politics was in his future.
Personal life
Religious beliefs
Trudeau was a Roman Catholic and attended Mass throughout his life. While mostly private about his beliefs, he made it clear that he was a believer, stating, in an interview with the ''United Church Observer'' in 1971: "I believe in life after death, I believe in God and I'm a Christian." Trudeau maintained, however, that he preferred to impose constraints on himself rather than have them imposed from the outside. In this sense, he believed he was more like a Protestant than a Catholic of the era in which he was schooled.
Michael W. Higgins, a former President of Catholic
St. Thomas University, researched Trudeau's spirituality and finds that it incorporated elements of three Catholic traditions. The first of these was the
Jesuits
The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
who provided his education up to the college level. Trudeau frequently displayed the logic and love of argument consistent with that tradition. A second great spiritual influence in Trudeau's life was
Dominican. According to Michel Gourgues, professor at
Dominican University College
The Dominican University College (DUC; french: Collège universitaire dominicain) is a bilingual university located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Since 2012, Dominican University College has been an affiliated college of Carleton University.
Fou ...
, Trudeau "considered himself a lay Dominican". He studied philosophy under Dominican Father
Louis-Marie Régis
Louis-Marie Régis (December 8, 1903 – February 2, 1988) was a Canadian philosopher, medievalist, and Dominican priest. He was the founder of the Institute for Medieval Studies in 1942 and served as its director from 1943 until 1952. In 19 ...
and remained close to him throughout his life, regarding Régis as "spiritual director and friend". Another skein in Trudeau's spirituality was a
contemplative
In a religious context, the practice of contemplation seeks a direct awareness of the divine which transcends the intellect, often in accordance with prayer or meditation.
Etymology
The word ''contemplation'' is derived from the Latin word '' ...
aspect acquired from his association with the
Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
tradition. According to Higgins, Trudeau was convinced of the centrality of
meditation
Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally cal ...
in a life fully lived. Trudeau meditated regularly after being initiated into
Transcendental Meditation
Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a form of silent mantra meditation advocated by the Transcendental Meditation movement. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi created the technique in India in the mid-1950s. Advocates of TM claim that the technique promotes a ...
by the
. He took retreats at
Saint-Benoît-du-Lac, Quebec and regularly attended
Hours and the
Eucharist
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...
at Montreal's Benedictine community.
Although never publicly theological in the way of
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...
or
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
, nor evangelical, in the way of
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
or
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
, Trudeau's spirituality, according to Michael W. Higgins, "suffused, anchored, and directed his inner life. In no small part, it defined him."
Marriage and children
Described as a "swinging young bachelor" when he became prime minister, in 1968; Trudeau was reportedly dating Hollywood star
Barbra Streisand
Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List ...
in 1969 and 1970. While a serious romantic relationship, there was no express marriage proposal, contrary to one contemporary published report.
On March 4, 1971, while Prime Minister, Trudeau quietly married 22-year-old
Margaret Sinclair, who was 29 years younger, at St. Stephen's Roman Catholic parish church in
North Vancouver.
Belying his publicized social exploits, and nicknames like "Swinging Pierre" and "Trendy Trudeau";
he was an intense intellectual with robust work habits and little time for family or fun. As a result, Margaret felt trapped and bored in the marriage, feelings that were exacerbated by her bipolar depression, with which she was later diagnosed.
![Justint Pierre Elliott Trudeau (1)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Justint_Pierre_Elliott_Trudeau_%281%29.jpg)
The couple had three sons: the first two,
23rd and current Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
Justin
Justin may refer to: People
* Justin (name), including a list of persons with the given name Justin
* Justin (historian), a Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire
* Justin I (c. 450–527), or ''Flavius Iustinius Augustus'', Eastern Rom ...
(born 1971), and
Alexandre Alexandre may refer to:
* Alexandre (given name)
* Alexandre (surname)
* Alexandre (film)
See also
* Alexander
* Xano (disambiguation) Xano is the name of:
* Xano, a Portuguese hypocoristic of the name "Alexandre (disambiguation) Alexandre may re ...
(born 1973), were both born on Christmas Day two years apart. Their third son,
Michel
Michel may refer to:
* Michel (name), a given name or surname of French origin (and list of people with the name)
* Míchel (nickname), a nickname (a list of people with the nickname, mainly Spanish footballers)
* Míchel (footballer, born 1963), ...
(1975–1998), died in an avalanche while skiing in
Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park
Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park is one of the oldest provincial parks in British Columbia, established in 1922. The park has an area of and is located in the Selkirk Mountains in the West Kootenays region of BC. The park has three glaciers (Koka ...
. Trudeau and Margaret separated in 1977, and were divorced in 1984.
When his divorce was finalized in 1984, Trudeau became the first Canadian Prime Minister to become a single parent as the result of divorce. In 1984, Trudeau was romantically involved with
Margot Kidder
Margaret Ruth Kidder (October 17, 1948 – May 13, 2018), known professionally as Margot Kidder, was a Canadian-American actress whose career spanned five decades. Her accolades include three Canadian Screen Awards and one Daytime Emmy Awa ...
(a Canadian actress famous for her role as
Lois Lane
Lois Lane is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, she first appeared in ''Action Comics'' #1 (June 1938). Lois is an award-winning journalist for ...
in ''
Superman: The Movie'' and its sequels) in the last months of his prime-ministership and after leaving office.
In 1991, Trudeau became a father again, with
Deborah Margaret Ryland Coyne, to his only daughter, Sarah. Coyne later stood for the
2013 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election
The 2013 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election was triggered by Michael Ignatieff's announcement on May 3, 2011, of his intention to resign as leader following the party's defeat in the 2011 federal election. On May 25, 2011, Bob Rae was ...
and came fifth
in a poll won by Justin.
Trudeau began practising
judo
is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...
sometime in the mid-1950s when he was in his mid-thirties, and by the end of the decade, he was
ranked
A ranking is a relationship between a set of items such that, for any two items, the first is either "ranked higher than", "ranked lower than" or "ranked equal to" the second.
In mathematics, this is known as a weak order or total preorder of o ...
''ikkyū'' (brown belt). Later, when he travelled to Japan as Prime Minister, he was promoted to ''shodan'' (first-degree black belt) by the
Kodokan
The , or ''Kōdōkan'' (講道館), is the headquarters of the worldwide judo community. The ''kōdōkan'' was founded in 1882 by Kanō Jigorō, the founder of judo, and is now an eight-story building in Tokyo. Etymology
Literally, ''kō'' ( ...
, and then promoted to ''nidan'' (second-degree black belt) by
Masao Takahashi
Masao Takahashi (June 24, 1929 – February 14, 2020) was a Canadian judoka, author, coach, and founder of the Takahashi School of Martial Arts (Est. 1969) in Ottawa, Ontario. He was involved in judo for more than 70 years, and was ranked ''hachi ...
in Ottawa before leaving office. Trudeau began the night of his famous "walk in the snow" before announcing his retirement in 1984 by going to judo with his sons.
Intellectual contributions
Trudeau was a strong advocate for a
federalist
The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters called themselves ''Federalists''.
History Europe federation
In Europe, proponents of de ...
model of government in Canada, developing and promoting his ideas in response and contrast to strengthening Quebec nationalist movements, for instance the social and political atmosphere created during Maurice Duplessis' time in power.
Federalism in this context can be defined as "a particular way of sharing political power among different peoples within a state...Those who believe in federalism hold that different peoples do not need states of their own in order to enjoy self-determination. Peoples ... may agree to share a single state while retaining substantial degrees of self-government over matters essential to their identity as peoples".
As a social democrat, Trudeau sought to combine and harmonize his theories on
social democracy
Social democracy is a Political philosophy, political, Social philosophy, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocati ...
with those of federalism so that both could find effective expression in Canada. He noted the ostensible conflict between socialism, with its usually strong centralist government model, and federalism, which expounded a division and cooperation of power by both federal and provincial levels of government. In particular, Trudeau stated the following about socialists:
Trudeau pointed out that in sociological terms, Canada is inherently a federalist society, forming unique regional identities and priorities, and therefore a federalist model of spending and jurisdictional powers is most appropriate. He argues, "in the age of the mass society, it is no small advantage to foster the creation of quasi-sovereign communities at the provincial level, where power is that much less remote from the people."
Trudeau's idealistic plans for a cooperative Canadian federalist state were resisted and hindered as a result of his narrowness on ideas of identity and socio-cultural pluralism: "While the idea of a 'nation' in the sociological sense is acknowledged by Trudeau, he considers the allegiance which it generates—emotive and particularistic—to be contrary to the idea of cohesion between humans, and as such creating fertile ground for the internal fragmentation of states and a permanent state of conflict".
[Gagnon (2000), 16–17.]
This position garnered significant criticism for Trudeau, in particular from Quebec and First Nations peoples on the basis that his theories denied their rights to nationhood.
First Nations communities raised particular concerns with the proposed 1969 White Paper, developed under Trudeau by Jean Chrétien.
Legacy
Trudeau remains well regarded by many Canadians. However, the passage of time has only slightly softened the strong antipathy he inspired among his opponents. Trudeau's strong personality, contempt for his opponents and distaste for compromise on many issues have made him, as historian
Michael Bliss
John William Michael Bliss (1941–2017) was a Canadian historian and author. Though his early works focused on business and political history, he subsequently authored several important medical biographies, including of Sir William Osler. Bliss ...
puts it, "one of the most admired and most disliked of all Canadian prime ministers". "He haunts us still", biographers
Christina McCall
Christina McCall (29 January 193527 April 2005) was a Canadian political writer.
Biography
Christina McCall was born on 29 January 1935 in Toronto, Ontario, to Orlie Alma (Freeman) and Christopher Warnock McCall. She studied English language an ...
and
Stephen Clarkson
Stephen Clarkson, (21 October 1937 – 28 February 2016) was one of Canada’s preeminent political scientists and a professor of political economy at the University of Toronto.
Life and career
Clarkson's work focused mainly on two areas: the ev ...
wrote in 1990. Trudeau's electoral successes were matched in the 20th century only by those of
William Lyon Mackenzie King
William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Li ...
.
Trudeau's most enduring legacy may lie in his contribution to
Canadian nationalism
Canadian nationalism seeks to promote the unity, independence, and well-being of Canada and the Canadian people. Canadian nationalism has been a significant political force since the 19th century and has typically manifested itself as seeking t ...
, and of pride in Canada in and for itself rather than as a derivative of the
British Commonwealth
The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...
. His role in this effort, and his related battles with Quebec on behalf of Canadian unity, cemented his political position when in office despite the controversies he faced—and remain the most remembered aspect of his tenure afterwards.
Many politicians still use the term "taking a walk in the snow", the line Trudeau used to describe how he arrived at the decision to leave office in 1984. Other popular Trudeauisms frequently used are "
just watch me
"Just watch me" is a phrase made famous by Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau on October 13, 1970, during the October Crisis. The term is still regularly used in Canadian political discussion.
Trudeau, who had in previous years been a stron ...
", the "
Trudeau Salute", and "
Fuddle Duddle
The fuddle duddle incident in Canadian political history occurred on February 16, 1971, when Prime Minister of Canada Pierre Trudeau was alleged to have spoken or at least mouthed unparliamentary language in the House of Commons, causing a minor sc ...
".
Maclean's
''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian perspe ...
1997 and 2011 scholarly surveys ranked him twice as the fifth best Canadian prime minister, and in 2016, the fourth best. The CBC's special on ''
The Greatest Canadian
''The Greatest Canadian'' is a 2004 television series consisting of 13 episodes produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) to determine who is considered to be the greatest Canadian of all time, according to those who watched and p ...
'' saw him ranked as the third greatest Canadian of all time, behind Tommy Douglas and
Terry Fox
Terrance Stanley Fox (July 28, 1958 June 28, 1981) was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist. In 1980, with one leg having been amputated due to cancer, he embarked on an east-to-west cross-Canada run to raise money ...
, from the over 1.2 million votes cast by watchers of the program.
Bilingualism
Bilingualism is one of Trudeau's most lasting accomplishments, having been fully integrated into the Federal government's services, documents, and broadcasting (though not, however, in provincial governments, except for full bilingualism in New Brunswick and some French language service rights in Ontario and Manitoba). While official bilingualism has settled some of the grievances Francophones had towards the federal government, many Francophones had hoped that Canadians would be able to function in the official language of their choice no matter where in the country they were.
However, Trudeau's ambitions in this arena have been overstated: Trudeau once said that he regretted the use of the term "bilingualism", because it appeared to demand that all Canadians speak two languages. In fact, Trudeau's vision was to see Canada as a bilingual confederation in which ''all'' cultures would have a place. In this way, his conception broadened beyond simply the relationship of Quebec to Canada.
Constitutional legacy
The ''Charter of Rights and Freedoms'' was one of Trudeau's most enduring legacies.
It is seen as advancing
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...
and liberties and has become a cornerstone of Canadian values for most Canadians. Court challenges based on the ''Charter'' have been used to advance the cause of women's equality, establish French school boards in provinces with majority anglophone populations, and provide constitutional protection to English school boards in Quebec. Court actions under the Charter resulted in the adoption of
same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...
all across Canada by the federal Parliament.
Legacy in western Canada
Trudeau's posthumous reputation in the western provinces is notably less favourable than in the rest of English-speaking Canada, and he is sometimes regarded as the "father of Western alienation". To many westerners, Trudeau's policies seemed to favour other parts of the country, especially
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
and Québec, at their expense. Outstanding among such policies was the National Energy Program, which was seen as unfairly depriving western provinces of the full economic benefit from their oil and gas resources, in order to pay for nationwide social programs, and make regional transfer payments to poorer parts of the country. Sentiments of this kind were especially strong in oil-rich
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
.
More particularly, two incidents involving Trudeau are remembered as having fostered Western alienation, and as emblematic of it. During a visit to
Saskatoon
Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...
, Saskatchewan on July 17, 1969, Trudeau met with a group of farmers who were protesting the
Canadian Wheat Board
The Canadian Wheat Board (french: Commission canadienne du blé, links=no) was a marketing board for wheat and barley in Western Canada. Established by the Parliament of Canada on 5 July 1935, its operation was governed by the Canadian Wheat Bo ...
. The widely remembered perception is that Trudeau dismissed the protesters' concerns with "Why should ''I'' sell your wheat?" – however, he had asked the
question rhetorically and then proceeded to answer it himself. Years later, on a train trip through
Salmon Arm, British Columbia
Salmon Arm is a city in the Columbia Shuswap Regional District of the Southern Interior of the Canadian province of British Columbia that has a population of 17,706 (2016). Salmon Arm was incorporated as a municipal district on May 15, 1905. The c ...
, he "gave the finger" to a group of protesters through the carriage window less widely remembered is that the protesters were shouting anti-French slogans at the train.
Legacy in Quebec
Trudeau's legacy in Quebec is mixed. Many credit his actions during the October Crisis as crucial in terminating the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) as a force in Quebec, and ensuring that the campaign for Quebec separatism took a democratic and peaceful route. However, his
imposition of the ''War Measures Act''—which received majority support at the time—is remembered by some in Quebec and elsewhere as an attack on democracy. Trudeau is also credited by many for the defeat of the 1980 Quebec referendum.
At the federal level, Trudeau faced almost no strong political opposition in Quebec during his time as Prime Minister. For instance, his Liberal party captured 74 out of 75 Québec seats in the
1980 federal election. Provincially, though, Québécois twice elected the pro-sovereignty
Parti Québécois
The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...
. Moreover, there were not at that time any pro-sovereignty federal parties such as the
Bloc Québécois
The Bloc Québécois (BQ; , "Québécois people, Quebecer Voting bloc, Bloc") is a list of federal political parties in Canada, federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty movement, Que ...
. Since the signing of the ''Constitution Act, 1982'' in 1982 and until 2015, the Liberal Party of Canada had not succeeded in winning a majority of seats in Quebec. He was disliked by the Québécois nationalists.
In popular culture
''
Trudeau'' is a 2002 television miniseries which aired on
CBC Television
CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...
. It was written by
Wayne Grigsby
Wayne Grigsby (born 1947) is a Canadian screenwriter and producer, mainly for television.
Career
Grigsby, who comes from Calgary, Alberta, started primarily in arts and entertainment journalism. His goal had always been to write fiction. He had ...
, directed by Jerry Ciccoritt and features
Colm Feore
Colm Joseph Feore (; born August 22, 1958) is a Canadian actor. A 15-year veteran of the Stratford Festival, he is known for his Gemini-winning turn as Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in the CBC miniseries '' Trudeau'' (2002), his portrayal of G ...
in the title role.
A
prequel
A prequel is a literary, dramatic or cinematic work whose story precedes that of a previous work, by focusing on events that occur before the original narrative. A prequel is a work that forms part of a backstory to the preceding work.
The term " ...
, ''Trudeau II: Maverick in the Making'', was released in 2005. The four-hour CBC production examines Trudeau's early life.
Stéphane Demers
Stéphane Demers (born 1966) is a Canadian actor best known for having portrayed Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in the television mini-series '' Trudeau II: Maverick in the Making''. He also appeared in the television series ''Trauma'', ...
performs in the role.
Supreme Court appointments
Trudeau chose the following jurists to be appointed as justices of the
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada (SCC; french: Cour suprême du Canada, CSC) is the Supreme court, highest court in the Court system of Canada, judicial system of Canada. It comprises List of Justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, nine justices, wh ...
by the Governor General:
*
Bora Laskin
Bora Laskin (October 5, 1912 – March 26, 1984) was a Canadian jurist who served as the 14th chief justice of Canada from 1973 to 1984. Laskin was appointed a puisne justice of the Supreme Court in 1970, and served on the Ontario Court of A ...
(March 19, 1970 – March 17, 1984; as Chief Justice, December 27, 1973)
*
Joseph Honoré Gérald Fauteux
Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the mo ...
(as Chief Justice, March 23, 1970 – December 23, 1973; appointed a
Puisne Justice
A puisne judge or puisne justice (; from french: puisné or ; , 'since, later' + , 'born', i.e. 'junior') is a dated term for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. Use
The term is used almost exclusively in common law ...
December 22, 1949)
*
Brian Dickson
Robert George Brian Dickson (May 25, 1916 – October 17, 1998) was a Canadian lawyer, military officer and judge. He was appointed a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada on March 26, 1973, and subsequently appointed the 15th Chief Jus ...
(March 26, 1973 – June 30, 1990; as Chief Justice, April 18, 1984)
*
Jean Beetz
Jean-Marie Philémon Joseph Beetz, , c.r. (March 27, 1927 – September 30, 1991) was a Canadian lawyer, academic and judge from Quebec. He served as a puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada from 1974 to 1988.
Family and early life
Bo ...
(January 1, 1974 – November 10, 1988)
*
Louis-Philippe de Grandpré (January 1, 1974 – October 1, 1977)
*
Willard Zebedee Estey
Willard Zebedee "Bud" Estey (October 10, 1919 – January 25, 2002) was a Canadian justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.
Estey was born in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. He was the son of James Wilfred Estey, a puisne justice of the Supreme C ...
(September 29, 1977 – April 22, 1988)
*
Yves Pratte
Yves Pratte (7 March 1925 – 26 June 1988) was a Canadian lawyer and jurist who served briefly as a Puisne Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada.
Early life
Born in Quebec City, Quebec, he was the son of Garon Pratte and G. Rivard.
He ...
(October 1, 1977 – June 30, 1979)
*
William McIntyre (January 1, 1979 – February 15, 1989)
*
Antonio Lamer
Joseph Antonio Charles Lamer (July 8, 1933 – November 24, 2007) was a Canadian lawyer, jurist and the 16th Chief Justice of Canada.
Career
Lamer practised in partnership at the firm of Cutler, Lamer, Bellemare and Associates and was a full p ...
(March 28, 1980 – January 6, 2000)
*
Bertha Wilson
Bertha Wernham Wilson (September 18, 1923April 28, 2007) was a Canadian jurist and the first female puisne justice of the Supreme Court of Canada. Before her ascension to Canada's highest court, she was the first female associate and partner at ...
(March 4, 1982 – January 4, 1991)
*
Gerald Le Dain
Gerald Eric Le Dain, (November 27, 1924 – December 18, 2007) was a Canadian lawyer and judge, who sat on the Supreme Court of Canada from 1984 to 1988.
Life and education
Born in Montreal, Quebec, the son of Eric George Bryant Le Dain and ...
(May 29, 1984 – November 30, 1988)
Honours
According to Canadian protocol, as a former Prime Minister, he was styled "
The Right Honourable
''The Right Honourable'' ( abbreviation: ''Rt Hon.'' or variations) is an honorific style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations. The term is ...
" for life.
![Blason de Pierre Elliot Trudeau](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Blason_de_Pierre_Elliot_Trudeau.svg)
The following honours were bestowed upon him by the Governor General, or by
Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...
herself:
* Trudeau was made a member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada on April 4, 1967, giving him the style "The Honourable" and post-nominal "PC" for life.
* He was styled "
The Right Honourable
''The Right Honourable'' ( abbreviation: ''Rt Hon.'' or variations) is an honorific style traditionally applied to certain persons and collective bodies in the United Kingdom, the former British Empire and the Commonwealth of Nations. The term is ...
" for life on his appointment as Prime Minister on April 20, 1968.
* Trudeau was made a Order of the Companions of Honour, Companion of Honour in 1984.
* He was made a Companion of the Order of Canada (post-nominal "CC") on June 24, 1985.
* He was granted arms, crest, and supporters by the Canadian Heraldic Authority on December 7, 1994.
Other honours include:
* The Canadian news agency Canadian Press named Trudeau "Canadian Newsmaker of the Year, Newsmaker of the Year" a record ten times, including every year from 1968 to 1975, and two more times in 1978 and 2000. In 1999, CP also named Trudeau "Newsmaker of the 20th Century". Trudeau declined to give CP an interview on that occasion, but said in a letter that he was "surprised and pleased." In informal and unscientific polls conducted by Canadian Internet sites, users also widely agreed with the honour.
* In 1983–84, he was awarded the Albert Einstein Peace Prize, for negotiating the reduction of nuclear weapons and Cold War tension in several countries.
* In 2004, viewers of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, CBC series ''
The Greatest Canadian
''The Greatest Canadian'' is a 2004 television series consisting of 13 episodes produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) to determine who is considered to be the greatest Canadian of all time, according to those who watched and p ...
'' voted Trudeau the third greatest Canadian.
* Trudeau was awarded a 2nd dan black belt in judo by the Takahashi School of Martial Arts in Ottawa.
* Trudeau was ranked No.5 of the first 20 Prime Ministers of Canada (through Jean Chrétien in a survey of Canadian historians. The survey was used in the book ''Prime Ministers: Ranking Canada's Leaders'' by Jack Granatstein and Norman Hillmer.
* In 2009 Trudeau was posthumously inducted into the Q Hall of Fame Canada, Canada's Prestigious National LGBT Human Rights Hall of Fame, for his pioneering efforts in the advancement of human rights and equality for all Canadians.
Honorary degrees
Trudeau received several Honorary Degrees in recognition of his political career.
;Honorary Degrees
Honorific eponyms
;Geographic locations
*British Columbia: Mount Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Premier Range, Cariboo Mountains
;Schools
*
Manitoba
Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...
: Collège Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau, Winnipeg.
*
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
: École élémentaire Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau, Toronto.
*
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
: Pierre Elliott Trudeau French Immersion Public School, St. Thomas, Ontario, St. Thomas.
*
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
: Pierre Elliott Trudeau High School, Markham, Ontario, Markham.
*
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
: Pierre Elliott Trudeau Public School (Oshawa), Pierre Elliott Trudeau Public School, Oshawa.
*
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
: Pierre Elliott Trudeau Public School (Blainville), Pierre Elliott Trudeau Public School, Blainville, Quebec, Blainville.
*
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...
: Pierre Elliott Trudeau Public School (Gatineau), Pierre Elliott Trudeau Public School, Gatineau.
;Parks
*
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
: Pierre Elliot Trudeau Park, Vaughan, Ontario – park also has a statue of Trudeau.
;Organisations
* Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation
* Montréal–Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL) in Dorval, Montreal (renamed January 1, 2004).
Order of Canada citation
Trudeau was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada on June 24, 1985. His citation reads:
Lawyer, professor, author and defender of human rights this statesman served as Prime Minister of Canada for fifteen years. Lending substance to the phrase "the style is the man," he has imparted, both in his and on the world stage, his quintessentially personal philosophy of modern politics.
Major biographies
In 1990, Stephen Clarkson and Christina McCall published a major biography ''Trudeau and Our Times'' in two volumes. Volume 1, ''The magnificent obsession'' reprinted in 1997, was the winner of the Governor General's Award.
The most recent reprint was in 2006.
In film
Through hours of archival footage and interviews with Trudeau himself, the 1990 documentary ''Memoirs'' details the story of a man who used intelligence and charisma to bring together a country that was very nearly torn apart.
Trudeau's life was also depicted in two
CBC Television
CBC Television (also known as CBC TV) is a Canadian English-language broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcaster. The network began operations on September 6, 1952. Its French-l ...
mini-series. The first, ''
Trudeau'' (2002, with
Colm Feore
Colm Joseph Feore (; born August 22, 1958) is a Canadian actor. A 15-year veteran of the Stratford Festival, he is known for his Gemini-winning turn as Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in the CBC miniseries '' Trudeau'' (2002), his portrayal of G ...
in the title role), depicts his years as Prime Minister. ''Trudeau II: Maverick in the Making'' (2005, with
Stéphane Demers
Stéphane Demers (born 1966) is a Canadian actor best known for having portrayed Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in the television mini-series '' Trudeau II: Maverick in the Making''. He also appeared in the television series ''Trauma'', ...
as the young Pierre, and Tobie Pelletier as Trudeau in later years) portrays his earlier life.
The 1999 feature-length documentary by the National Film Board (NFB) entitled ''Just Watch Me: Trudeau and the '70s Generation'' explores the impact of Trudeau's vision of Canadian bilingualism through interviews with eight Canadians—including John Duffy—on how Trudeau's concept of nationalism and bilingualism affected them personally in the 1970s.
[ Icarus Films (2011), 76 minutes.]
In the documentary mini-series ''The Champions (documentary miniseries), The Champions'' directed by Donald Brittain, Trudeau was the co-subject along with René Lévesque.
In 2001, the CBC produced a full-length documentary entitled ''Reflections''.
Writings
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* (À contre-courant: textes choisis, 1939–1996)
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* (''Grève de l'amiante'')
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* Introd. by Ramsay Cook. Prefatory note by Jacques Hébert (Canadian politician), Jacques Hébert. Translated by I. M. Owen. from the French ''Cheminements de la politique''.
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Electoral record
See also
* History of the Quebec sovereignty movement
* Judo in Canada
* List of Canadian federal general elections
* List of prime ministers of Canada
* List of years in Canada
* Politics of Canada
* Prime Minister nicknaming in Quebec
References
Citations
Sources
Books
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News media
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Other online sources
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Further reading
* Adams, Annmarie and Cameron Macdonnell, "Making Himself At Home: Cormier, Trudeau and the Architecture of Domestic Masculinity," Winterthur Portfolio 50 No 2/3 (Summer/Autumn 2016): 151–89.
* Aivalis, Christo. ''The Constant Liberal: Pierre Trudeau, Organized Labour, and the Canadian Social Democratic Left.'' Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2018.
* Aivalis, Christo. "In the Name of Liberalism: Pierre Trudeau, Organized Labour, and the Canadian Social Democratic Left, 1949–1959." ''Canadian Historical Review'' (2013) 94#2 pp: 263–288.
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* Chapter on Trudeau.
* . Essays by experts.
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* Donaldson, Gordon (1997). ''The Prime Ministers of Canada''. Chapter on Trudeau
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* Laforest, Guy (1995). ''Trudeau and the end of a Canadian dream''. Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press.
* Chapter on Trudeau
* Moscovitch,Allan; Jim Albert eds. (1987). ''The Benevolent State: The Growth of Welfare in Canada.''
* Munroe, H. D. "Style within the centre: Pierre Trudeau, the ''War Measures Act'', and the nature of prime ministerial power." ''Canadian Public Administration'' (2011) 54#4 pp: 531–549.
* Nemni, Max and Nemi, Monique (2006). ''Young Trudeau: Son of Quebec, Father of Canada, 1919–1944''. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart.
* Nemni, Max and Nemi, Monique (2011).''Trudeau Transformed: The Shaping of a Statesman 1944–1965''. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart
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* Ricci, Nino (2009). ''Extraordinary Canadians: Pierre Elliott Trudeau''. Toronto: Penguin Canada.
* Sawatsky, John (1987). ''The Insiders: Government, Business, and the Lobbyists''. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. 0-77107-949-4.
* Simpson, Jeffrey (1984). ''Discipline of power: the Conservative interlude and the Liberal restoration''. Toronto: Macmillan of Canada. .
* Stewart, Walter (1971). ''Shrug: Trudeau in power''. Toronto: New Press. . A critique from the left.
Editorial cartoons and humour
* Humorous stories.
* McIlroy, Thad, ed. (1984). '' A Rose is a rose: a tribute to Pierre Elliott Trudeau in cartoons and quotes''. Toronto: Doubleday. .
* Peterson, Roy (1984). ''Drawn & quartered: the Trudeau years''. Toronto: Key Porter Books. .
Archives
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Archival videos of Trudeau
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External links
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canadahistory.com biography*
CBC Digital Archives—Pierre Elliott Trudeau: Philosopher and Prime Minister*
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