Top Ten (10) PIERRE ELLIOTT TRUDEAU (The Greatest to me, Please vote him)
In October 1970, Pierre Elliott Trudeau defiantly declared "just watch me." The nation complied, transfixed by the man who was prime minister.
Elected to parliament on the freewheeling heels of Expo '67, Trudeau was just the shot of adrenaline Canada needed in radical, changing times. After decades of prim, stuffed-shirt prime ministers, here was a leader who wore ascots and capes, drove a convertible and dated celebrities.
Early years
Born October 18, 1919 in Montreal, Joseph Philippe Pierre Ives Elliott Trudeau was the son of a Francophone father and Scottish mother. As a boy, Trudeau was shy and skinny - some even called him "sickly" - but what he lacked in prowess, he more than made up for with intelligence. After studying at the Jean de Brebeuf College in Montreal, Pierre earned a law degree at the University of Montreal, and a master's in political economy at Harvard. He followed these achievements with stints at the Ecole des Sciences Politiques in Paris and a year at the London School of Economics.
The political life beckons
Trudeau arrived back in Canada a changed man. Armed with the sharp intellect he had honed at school and the cosmopolitan views he'd acquired while travelling abroad, he was now drawn to politics. He took a job as an advisor to the Privy Council in Ottawa and became a vocal supporter of workers involved in the Asbestos Strike in 1949 Quebec. Trudeau was a harsh critic of the ultra-conservative Union Nationale regime headed by Quebec premier Maurice Duplessis, and when he helped to found the progressive intellectual journal Cité Libre, he could air his grievances and anti-nationalist sentiments in print.
In 1965, he would find a better venue for his political views. While teaching law at the University of Montreal, Trudeau was invited, along with his former Cité Libre colleague Gerard Pelletier and labour leader Jean Marchand, to run as Liberal candidates in the federal election. Dubbed the "three wise men," Trudeau, Marchand and Pelletier all won places in government.
Trudeaumania
Trudeau didn't stay in his Mount Royal seat for long. Ambitious and smart, he quickly became Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson's parliamentary secretary, then his justice minister. Entrusted with reforming the Criminal Code, Trudeau raised some eyebrows when he changed divorce laws and liberalized laws regarding abortion and homosexuality. When explaining his decisions, Trudeau told reporters "The state has no place in the bedrooms of the nation."
Canada was soon in the grips of a phenomenon known as "Trudeaumania." Teenage girls swooned and screamed at Trudeau's public appearances. A gang of middle-aged autograph seekers even chased him across the Parliament Hill grounds.
His charisma knew no bounds, and when Trudeau ran for the Liberal leadership in 1968, he became Canada's 15th prime minister. Two months later, he won a majority government in a general election. Now he could start making his mark.
Official Languages Act
Once he arrived at 24 Sussex Drive, Trudeau stated his aim to create a "just society" in Canada. For a Montreal native and firm believer in federalism, the first item on the agenda was promoting bilingualism. In 1969, Trudeau told Canadians he believed in "two official languages and a pluralist society." To illustrate his point, he created the Official Languages Act, which served the dual purpose of giving civil servants the choice to speak in English or French at work and protecting Francophones' rights to speak French anywhere in Canada.
During his rousing Official Languages Act speech, he emphasized federalism, making the cautionary remark "French Canada can survive not by turning in on itself but by reaching out to claim every aspect of Canadian life."
October crisis
In 1970, things got tough and Trudeau got tougher.
The Front de Libée;ration du Quebec (the FLQ), a group of terrorists fighting for separatism, kidnapped British diplomat James Cross and Quebec cabinet minister Pierre Laporte. Never one to tolerate people who didn't use reason to further their cause, Trudeau was angered by the FLQ and took drastic steps to stop them.
Urged by Quebec premier Robert Bourassa to resolve the emergency situation quickly, Trudeau invoked the War Measures Act in the early hours of October 16, 1970. The Act gave the government permission to temporarily suspend the Canadian Bill of Rights and make hundreds of arrests if necessary.
The FLQ responded to the government's actions by murdering Laporte. Though Trudeau's popularity soared as a result of his swift actions, some people wondered aloud how the prime minister could resort to such unlawful means to resolve a crisis.
The seventies
Things were peaceful in 1971, and Trudeau found time to secretly wed Margaret Sinclair, the 22-year-old flower child daughter of a former Liberal cabinet minister.
The wedding came at a time when Trudeaumania was waning. Although he made landmark achievements in his first three years as prime minister, Trudeau's sometimes flippant attitude towards the press worked against him. This was the case when he responded to a group of protesting farmers in the Prairies saying, "Why should I sell your wheat?". With this, he alienated many western voters.
When he was re-elected in a minority government in 1972, it was a wake-up call. Trudeau worked closely with the NDP to create popular social programs, which succeeded in winning him another majority government in 1974. But social security and welfare were expensive, and by the mid-70s, the Liberal government had built up huge deficits. To cut debts, Trudeau prescribed "strong medicine," implementing wage and price controls in 1975.
Canadians weren't impressed, and things got worse for Trudeau when he went through a very public separation from Margaret, following a wild night when she ran off with the Rolling Stones.
As the decade drew to a close, René Lévesque was leader of the Parti- Québécois and was gaining support for his vision of an independent Quebec.
After he was elected to a minority government once more in 1979, Trudeau announced his resignation from politics, a move that was out of character for a man who believed in ending things with a bang not a whimper.
A triumphant return
Trudeau didn't go gently after all. Only a few months into his retirement, Trudeau was called back to government after Prime Minister Joe Clark lost a vote of confidence.
Winning a majority government in 1980, Trudeau returned to his federalist cause with renewed vigour. In May 1980, René Lévesque would be holding a referendum on sovereignty-association, effectively asking Quebecers to separate from Canada. In a series of characteristically passionate, cutting speeches, Trudeau swayed the public's vote to "No," and when the referendum took place, 60 per cent of Canadians were against separatism.
The Constitution
The victory at the 1980 referendum was just the beginning.
Energized, Trudeau began working to achieve his most ambitious goal: to "patriate" the British North America Act and create a new, Canadian-controlled Constitution. He wanted to include a Charter of Canadian Rights and Freedoms in the Constitution, one that would ensure individual rights were protected within a large, government-ruled country.
He had his work cut out for him. It would take 18 months of battling before any kind of resolution could be reached. Notably, Lévesque and seven other premiers formed the "Gang of Eight," in an effort to stop Trudeau's Constitution from being approved. During a series of last-chance negotiations in November 1981, a compromise was reached and all of the premiers, with the exception of Lévesque, signed Trudeau's Constitutional Resolution.
When Queen Elizabeth II came to Canada on April 17, 1982 to proclaim Canada's new Constitution, it was the crowning moment for Trudeau.
A long walk in the snow
Despite his Constitution glory, Trudeau was, for the first time, no longer fashionable. Unemployment was on the rise, inflation was still high, the deficit still huge and Trudeau introduced a National Energy Program that was widely loathed.
In his final years as prime minister, Trudeau devoted his energies to global matters, launching his own peace initiative in 1983. He paid personal visits to leaders worldwide, urging them to reduce their production of nuclear weapons.
Following what he described as a "long walk in the snow," Trudeau made a decision. He announced his resignation from politics in February 1984.
Though he left the public eye, he was not forgotten. Whenever Trudeau chose to speak publicly about an issue, Canadians still listened intently. In fact, many feel it was Trudeau's harsh condemnations that eventually helped to sink Brian Mulroney's proposed Meech Lake (1987) and Charlottetown (1992) Accords.
In his final years, Trudeau practiced at a Montreal law firm and spent time writing his memoirs. When his son, Michel, died in an avalanche in 1998, the already ailing Trudeau looked frail and defeated.
He succumbed to prostate cancer on September 28, 2000, and the unprecedented public outpouring of grief that followed proved that no matter whether they loved or hated him, Canadians never grew tired of watching Trudeau.
In October 1970, Pierre Elliott Trudeau defiantly declared "just watch me." The nation complied, transfixed by the man who was prime minister.
Elected to parliament on the freewheeling heels of Expo '67, Trudeau was just the shot of adrenaline Canada needed in radical, changing times. After decades of prim, stuffed-shirt prime ministers, here was a leader who wore ascots and capes, drove a convertible and dated celebrities.
Early years
Born October 18, 1919 in Montreal, Joseph Philippe Pierre Ives Elliott Trudeau was the son of a Francophone father and Scottish mother. As a boy, Trudeau was shy and skinny - some even called him "sickly" - but what he lacked in prowess, he more than made up for with intelligence. After studying at the Jean de Brebeuf College in Montreal, Pierre earned a law degree at the University of Montreal, and a master's in political economy at Harvard. He followed these achievements with stints at the Ecole des Sciences Politiques in Paris and a year at the London School of Economics.
The political life beckons
Trudeau arrived back in Canada a changed man. Armed with the sharp intellect he had honed at school and the cosmopolitan views he'd acquired while travelling abroad, he was now drawn to politics. He took a job as an advisor to the Privy Council in Ottawa and became a vocal supporter of workers involved in the Asbestos Strike in 1949 Quebec. Trudeau was a harsh critic of the ultra-conservative Union Nationale regime headed by Quebec premier Maurice Duplessis, and when he helped to found the progressive intellectual journal Cité Libre, he could air his grievances and anti-nationalist sentiments in print.
In 1965, he would find a better venue for his political views. While teaching law at the University of Montreal, Trudeau was invited, along with his former Cité Libre colleague Gerard Pelletier and labour leader Jean Marchand, to run as Liberal candidates in the federal election. Dubbed the "three wise men," Trudeau, Marchand and Pelletier all won places in government.
Trudeaumania
Trudeau didn't stay in his Mount Royal seat for long. Ambitious and smart, he quickly became Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson's parliamentary secretary, then his justice minister. Entrusted with reforming the Criminal Code, Trudeau raised some eyebrows when he changed divorce laws and liberalized laws regarding abortion and homosexuality. When explaining his decisions, Trudeau told reporters "The state has no place in the bedrooms of the nation."
Canada was soon in the grips of a phenomenon known as "Trudeaumania." Teenage girls swooned and screamed at Trudeau's public appearances. A gang of middle-aged autograph seekers even chased him across the Parliament Hill grounds.
His charisma knew no bounds, and when Trudeau ran for the Liberal leadership in 1968, he became Canada's 15th prime minister. Two months later, he won a majority government in a general election. Now he could start making his mark.
Official Languages Act
Once he arrived at 24 Sussex Drive, Trudeau stated his aim to create a "just society" in Canada. For a Montreal native and firm believer in federalism, the first item on the agenda was promoting bilingualism. In 1969, Trudeau told Canadians he believed in "two official languages and a pluralist society." To illustrate his point, he created the Official Languages Act, which served the dual purpose of giving civil servants the choice to speak in English or French at work and protecting Francophones' rights to speak French anywhere in Canada.
During his rousing Official Languages Act speech, he emphasized federalism, making the cautionary remark "French Canada can survive not by turning in on itself but by reaching out to claim every aspect of Canadian life."
October crisis
In 1970, things got tough and Trudeau got tougher.
The Front de Libée;ration du Quebec (the FLQ), a group of terrorists fighting for separatism, kidnapped British diplomat James Cross and Quebec cabinet minister Pierre Laporte. Never one to tolerate people who didn't use reason to further their cause, Trudeau was angered by the FLQ and took drastic steps to stop them.
Urged by Quebec premier Robert Bourassa to resolve the emergency situation quickly, Trudeau invoked the War Measures Act in the early hours of October 16, 1970. The Act gave the government permission to temporarily suspend the Canadian Bill of Rights and make hundreds of arrests if necessary.
The FLQ responded to the government's actions by murdering Laporte. Though Trudeau's popularity soared as a result of his swift actions, some people wondered aloud how the prime minister could resort to such unlawful means to resolve a crisis.
The seventies
Things were peaceful in 1971, and Trudeau found time to secretly wed Margaret Sinclair, the 22-year-old flower child daughter of a former Liberal cabinet minister.
The wedding came at a time when Trudeaumania was waning. Although he made landmark achievements in his first three years as prime minister, Trudeau's sometimes flippant attitude towards the press worked against him. This was the case when he responded to a group of protesting farmers in the Prairies saying, "Why should I sell your wheat?". With this, he alienated many western voters.
When he was re-elected in a minority government in 1972, it was a wake-up call. Trudeau worked closely with the NDP to create popular social programs, which succeeded in winning him another majority government in 1974. But social security and welfare were expensive, and by the mid-70s, the Liberal government had built up huge deficits. To cut debts, Trudeau prescribed "strong medicine," implementing wage and price controls in 1975.
Canadians weren't impressed, and things got worse for Trudeau when he went through a very public separation from Margaret, following a wild night when she ran off with the Rolling Stones.
As the decade drew to a close, René Lévesque was leader of the Parti- Québécois and was gaining support for his vision of an independent Quebec.
After he was elected to a minority government once more in 1979, Trudeau announced his resignation from politics, a move that was out of character for a man who believed in ending things with a bang not a whimper.
A triumphant return
Trudeau didn't go gently after all. Only a few months into his retirement, Trudeau was called back to government after Prime Minister Joe Clark lost a vote of confidence.
Winning a majority government in 1980, Trudeau returned to his federalist cause with renewed vigour. In May 1980, René Lévesque would be holding a referendum on sovereignty-association, effectively asking Quebecers to separate from Canada. In a series of characteristically passionate, cutting speeches, Trudeau swayed the public's vote to "No," and when the referendum took place, 60 per cent of Canadians were against separatism.
The Constitution
The victory at the 1980 referendum was just the beginning.
Energized, Trudeau began working to achieve his most ambitious goal: to "patriate" the British North America Act and create a new, Canadian-controlled Constitution. He wanted to include a Charter of Canadian Rights and Freedoms in the Constitution, one that would ensure individual rights were protected within a large, government-ruled country.
He had his work cut out for him. It would take 18 months of battling before any kind of resolution could be reached. Notably, Lévesque and seven other premiers formed the "Gang of Eight," in an effort to stop Trudeau's Constitution from being approved. During a series of last-chance negotiations in November 1981, a compromise was reached and all of the premiers, with the exception of Lévesque, signed Trudeau's Constitutional Resolution.
When Queen Elizabeth II came to Canada on April 17, 1982 to proclaim Canada's new Constitution, it was the crowning moment for Trudeau.
A long walk in the snow
Despite his Constitution glory, Trudeau was, for the first time, no longer fashionable. Unemployment was on the rise, inflation was still high, the deficit still huge and Trudeau introduced a National Energy Program that was widely loathed.
In his final years as prime minister, Trudeau devoted his energies to global matters, launching his own peace initiative in 1983. He paid personal visits to leaders worldwide, urging them to reduce their production of nuclear weapons.
Following what he described as a "long walk in the snow," Trudeau made a decision. He announced his resignation from politics in February 1984.
Though he left the public eye, he was not forgotten. Whenever Trudeau chose to speak publicly about an issue, Canadians still listened intently. In fact, many feel it was Trudeau's harsh condemnations that eventually helped to sink Brian Mulroney's proposed Meech Lake (1987) and Charlottetown (1992) Accords.
In his final years, Trudeau practiced at a Montreal law firm and spent time writing his memoirs. When his son, Michel, died in an avalanche in 1998, the already ailing Trudeau looked frail and defeated.
He succumbed to prostate cancer on September 28, 2000, and the unprecedented public outpouring of grief that followed proved that no matter whether they loved or hated him, Canadians never grew tired of watching Trudeau.
