Pierre Elliot Trudeau1968-1979

Introduction

• Pierre Trudeau will always be remembered in Canada

• His flamboyance as our 15th prime minister such as his pirouette behind Queen Elizabeth II’s back, being accused of using an obscenity leading to “fuddle duddle”, the October Crisis, and many more have left a mark in the politics of Canada

Bio• Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau was born October

18, 1919 in Montreal, Quebec to Charles-Émile Trudeau, a French Canadian businessman and lawyer, and Grace Elliott, who was of French and Scottish descent

• He had an elder sister, Suzette and a younger sibling Charles Jr• They lived on Rue Durocher and he started elementary school

at Academie Querbes • At the age of 12, his father sold his 30 gas stations to Imperial

Oil for $1.4 million ($18 million today). • They moved to Mount Royal and Trudeau entered the College

Jean-de-Brebeuf• Later, his father died and it was a traumatic loss for Pierre

Life in the 30’s to 40’s• When WWII started, Trudeau had resisted enlistment and rejected

conscription. • He earned a law degree at the Université de Montréal in 1943 • The National Resources Mobilization Act later conscripted him into

the Canadian Officers' Training Corps• He championed anti-conscription and was expelled from the corps

for lack of discipline. • When the war ended, he studied and received a master’s in political

economy at Harvard University• He studied at the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris, and finally

worked towards • Earned his doctorate at the London School of Economics• In 1943, he entered the Quebec bar

His Travels• In 1948, he decided to travel around the world• He did try to study Spanish in Mexico but ended up

hitchhiking • He was imprisoned in Yugoslavia for not having a visa• Studied in London, Paris• Got caught in crossfire in Jerusalem • He travelled around India by boat • Travelled around China• He encountered desert bandits in Iraq but outsmarted them.• In Moscow, he was followed everywhere by KGB agents

Return• He started as a lawyer in Montreal• He was an active vocal supporter of the workers in the

Asbestos Strike.• In the 50’s, he co-founded and edited a journal, the Cité Libre• He along with several others became leading figures who

opposed Duplessis’s rule. • Pierre Trudeau worked briefly in the Privy Council Office of

PM St. Laurent as an economic policy advisor from 1949 to 1951.

• At first, Trudeau supported the CCF but he joined the Liberals for his change for a liberal position

Return (II)

• From 1961-1965, Trudeau was the associate Professor of Law at University of Montreal and researcher at the Institut de recherches en droit public.

• Along with his friends Gérard Pelletier and Jean Marchand, these "three wise men" deicided to run for the Liberals in the 1965 election. Trudeau was elected in the safe Liberal riding of Mount Royal

Return (III)

• Trudeau was appointed as the parliamentary secretary during the time of PM Pearson

• He spent much of the next year traveling the world, representing Canada at international meetings and events

• In 1967, he was appointed as the Justice Minister.• Trudeau introduced the Criminal Law Amendment

Act, 1968-69• Trudeau also liberalized divorce laws at the federal

level.

Return (IV)

• When Pearson deicide to step down, Trudeau ran for the leadership of the Liberal Party.

• After four ballots, Trudeau won the leadership of the Liberal party with the support of 51% of the votes at April.

• He had defeated many senior candidates in the ballots

Rise To Power• Pierre Trudeau’s rise to power was unlike any other. • One of the circumstances for his election to the office was

the craze of “Trudeaumania”( a term coined by journalist Lubor J. Zink).

• Later to be “Trudeauphobia”• This occurred around 1968• His bravery at the 1968 annual Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day

parade in Montreal• He won the 1968 Canadian federal election with 154 seats• He became Prime Minister in April 20th, 1968

Acts, Crisis, and Issues• In 1969, he first passed the Official Languages Act

in 1969• In 1970, Canada was hit by the October Crisis. • Later he uses the War Measures Act• In 1970, he pushed and succeeds in making

Canada free of nuclear weapons• Also in 1970, Trudeau made an amendment to

the Canada Elections Act• Afterwards, the Public Order Act was passed

Acts, Crisis, and Issues (II)• Trudeau kept Canada firmly in NATO but

seeked self-independence• He established diplomatic relations with the

People's Republic of China• In 1971, he tried to establish the”

Opportunities for Youth” programs • Trudeau’s party was elected in 1972 as a

minority government with the NDP• The result was the government going left.

Acts, Crisis, and Issues (III)• The Energy Supplies Emergency Act• In 1974, the House of Commons passed a motion of

no confidence in his government• In 1974, another federal election occurred with

Trudeau with a majority government• He faced with inflation and during the election; • He mocked the Progressive Conservatives about

wage price control• In 1975; Trudeau introduced his own wage and price

control system• Trudeau got Canada into the G7 in 1976• In 1975, the Petroleum Administration Act passed

Fall of Trudeau

• A worsening economy by inflation and rising oil prices

• Growing national debt• Increasing public antipathy towards Trudeau's

perceived arrogance • Large budget deficits • High unemployment • Western Alienation

Work Cited • Sandra Phinney. (2006) Jack Fruit Press LTD Editor: Susan Hughs Canadian Prime

Ministers Warts&All: The Prankster who never flinched

• John English. (2009) Alfred A. Knopf Canada. Just Watch Me

• “The Pierre Trudeau Homepage” http://www.clevernet.net/pierre_trudeau/

• CBC.ca - Top Ten Greatest Canadians- Pierre Trudeau (2010) http://www.cbc.ca/greatest/top_ten/nominee/trudeau-pierre.html

• “First among equals The Right Honourable Pierre Elliot Trudeau” Pierre Elliot Trudeau Life Biography (2001) http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/2/4/h4-3375-e.html

• Richard W. Pound. Third Edition (2005) Fitzhenry&Whiteside. Fitzhenry and Whiteside Book of Canadian Facts and Dates

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Analysis

My analysis on Pierre Trudeau is that he did act on Canada`s interests.