P+Pierre+Trudeau+-+The+Man+and+the+Myth



This page mainly focuses on the importance of Pierre Trudeau and his life. The topics covered are:

//**His 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. - Pierre earned a law degree at the University of Montreal, and a master's in political economy at Harvard.

- When Trudeau came back to Canada, he was a different person. - He had had the honor of traveling abroad, and politics were his main focus and goal. - 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. - He was a very harsh critic of the ultra-conservative Union National 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 to the public. - In 1965, he found a better place for his political views. - He taught law at the University of Montréal and was invited with his former colleague from Cité Libretto and ran as a Liberal candidate in the federal election. - He was dubbed the three wise men (Trudeau, March, and and Pelletier ) and won places in government that term - In April 1967, Trudeau became Minister of Justice.
 * //The Start of his Career//**

//**The Journey Alongside Lester B. Pearson**// - Since Pierre Trudeau was very smart, he had an ambitious head on his shoulders. - He became Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson’s parliamentary secretary, then his justice minister. - Since he was entrusted with reforming the Criminal Code, there was controversy 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."

//**"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. - 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.

- In 1969, Trudeau told Canadaians he believed in “two official languages and a pluralist society.” - He created the Official Languages Act, which served two purposes of giving civil servants the choice to speak in English, or French. - This protected Francophones' rights to speak French anywhere in Canada.
 * //Pierre Trudeau and the Official Languages Act//**

- In 1970, things got tough for Trudeau. - The Front de Libération du Quebec (the FLQ), a group of terrorists fighting for separatism, kidnapped British diplomat James Cross and Quebec cabinet minister Pierre Laporte. - Trudeau was angered by the FLQ and took drastic steps to stop them. - 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.
 * The October Crisis**

- 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 - 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
 * The 70's**

- 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. - 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. - 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.
 * His Resignation, and Returning from It**


 * Pierre Trudeau and the Constitution**

- In 1980, Trudeau began working to achieve this most ambitious foal: to create a new, Canadaian-controled 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. - When Queen Elizabeth II came to Canada on April 17, 1982 to proclaim Canada's new Constitution, it was the crowning moment for Trudeau.

- 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. - Following what he described as a "long walk in the snow," Trudeau made a very important decision to resign from Politics in February of 1984**.
 * His Final Years as a Prime Minister**

His Death** - Whenever Trudeau chose to speak publicly about an issue, Canadians still listened intently. - The Canadians had great respect for him and his mind of knowledge. - He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in September 2000. - 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.

__http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-73-2192-13243/politics_economy/trudeau/clip5 http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-73-2192-13256/politics_economy/trudeau/clip16 http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-73-2192-13259/politics_economy/trudeau/clip21__
 * Videos**

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