How long was pierre trudeau in office

He began to criticize US foreign and defence policies more freely than in the past. In these years, Trudeau devoted more and more time to the international stage. Then, in —84, he persuaded leaders in both the eastern and western blocs to negotiate the reduction of nuclear weapons and to lower Cold War tensions. See also Disarmament. These activities led to his being awarded the Albert Einstein Peace Prize. This roused widespread opposition from Canadians concerned about the worsening nuclear arms race.

Public opinion in Canada was largely hostile to Trudeau and the Liberals from on. His personal style — sometimes charismatic; sometimes contemptuous of opposition; often arrogant, mercurial and unpredictable — became less of an asset in difficult economic times than it was early in his political career.

On 29 February , Trudeau announced his intention to retire. On 30 June he left office; his successor, John Turner , was sworn in. In , Trudeau was made a Companion of the Order of Canada. However, he intervened in public affairs with dramatic effect on two occasions. He did not, however, publicly intervene during the Quebec Referendum. In , Trudeau published his book, Memoirs. It was based on a five-part CBC miniseries.

In , he published Against the Current, a collection of his writings from to Trudeau died of prostate cancer at his home in Montreal on 28 September In , Justin Trudeau was elected leader of the Liberal Party. In , he became prime minister. He served longer than every other contemporary leader in the Western world, becoming the elder statesman of the West.

His achievements include official bilingualism ; the defeat of Quebec separatism ; the patriated Constitution ; and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. However, Trudeau was unable to alleviate regional alienation or to resolve the conflict between federal and provincial governments. He left office much as he had entered it; a controversial figure with strong supporters and equally strong critics.

That he was one of the dominant figures in 20th-century Canada is indisputable. From the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online.

Search The Canadian Encyclopedia. Remember me. I forgot my password. Why sign up? Create Account. Suggest an Edit. Enter your suggested edit s to this article in the form field below. John Crosbie, the PC finance minister whose budget was defeated in the vote that triggered the election, predicted the Liberals would again wear out their welcome with voters over the course of their new mandate. They're going to lose beyond all description in the next election Sure enough, in , the Progressive Conservatives would sweep to power , but with Brian Mulroney at the helm.

Archives When Pierre Trudeau became PM for a second time in Pierre Trudeau's dramatic return to power in came at the expense of Joe Clark -- the country's youngest-ever prime minister -- and his short-lived PC government. Social Sharing. One year he was yesterday's man, and the next he was the man for the new decade at hand.

Trudeau wrote in his memoirs that U. President Gerald Ford arranged this, and expressed sincere appreciation. A worsening economy, burgeoning national debt, and growing public antipathy towards Trudeau's perceived arrogance caused his poll numbers to fall rapidly in the mid and late s [ 38 ] Trudeau delayed calling the 31st Canadian general election as long as he could, but was forced to call one in the spring of In the election of , Trudeau's Liberal government was defeated by the Progressive Conservatives, led by Joe Clark, who formed a minority government.

Trudeau announced his intention to resign as Liberal Party leader; however, before a leadership convention could be held, Clark's government was defeated in the Canadian House of Commons by a Motion of Non-Confidence, in mid-December The Liberal Party persuaded Trudeau to stay on as leader and fight the election. Trudeau defeated Clark in the February election, and won a majority government.

The Liberal victory in highlighted a sharp geographical divide in the country: the party had won no seats west of Manitoba. Trudeau had to resort to having Senators appointed to Cabinet to ensure representation from all regions. A series of difficult budgets by long-time loyalist Allan MacEachen in the early s did not improve Trudeau's economic reputation. However, after tough bargaining on both sides, Trudeau did reach a revenue-sharing agreement on energy with Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed in Two very significant events for Canada occurred during Pierre Trudeau's final term in office.

Trudeau had attempted patriation of the Constitution earlier in his career with the Victoria Charter, but ran into a combined force of provincial premiers on the issue of an amending formula. After he threatened to go to London alone, a Supreme Court decision led Trudeau to meet with the premiers one more time. Further, officials in the United Kingdom indicated that the British parliament was under no obligation to fulfill any request for legal changes made by Trudeau, particularly if Canadian convention was not being followed.

Quebec's refusal to agree to the new constitution became a source of continued acrimony between the federal and Quebec governments. Even so, the patriation was achieved; the Constitution Act, was proclaimed by Queen Elizabeth on April 17, Following this, Trudeau commented in his memoirs "I always said it was thanks to three women that we were eventually able to reform our Constitution. The Queen, who was favourable, Margaret Thatcher, who undertook to do everything that our Parliament asked of her, and Jean Wadds, who represented the interests of Canada so well in London The Queen favoured my attempt to reform the Constitution.

I was always impressed not only by the grace she displayed in public at all times, but by the wisdom she showed in private conversation. Trudeau's approval ratings slipped after the bounce from the patriation, and by the beginning of , opinion polls showed the Liberals were headed for certain defeat if Trudeau remained in office. On February 29, after a "long walk in the snow", Trudeau decided to step down, ending his year tenure as Prime Minister.

He formally retired on June Trudeau retired from politics on June 30, and was succeeded by John Turner. Shortly after, he joined the Montreal law firm Heenan Blaikie as counsel. 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 and Charlottetown Accord proposals to amend the Canadian constitution, arguing that they would weaken federalism and the Charter of Rights if implemented.

His opposition was a critical factor leading to the defeat of the two proposals. In his final years, Trudeau commanded broad respect in Canada, but was regarded with suspicion in Quebec for his role in the constitutional deal which was seen as having excluded that province, while dislike for him remained commonplace in western Canada.

Trudeau also remained active in international affairs, visiting foreign leaders and participating in international associations such as the Club of Rome. He published his memoirs in ; the book sold hundreds of thousands of copies in several editions, and became one of the most successful Canadian books ever published.

Trudeau lived in the historic Maison Cormier in Montreal following his retirement from politics. In the last years of his life, he was afflicted with Parkinson's disease and prostate cancer, and became less active, although he continued to work at his law office until a few months before his death at the age of He was devastated by the death of his youngest son, Michel Trudeau, who was killed in an avalanche in November Later, when he travelled to Japan as Prime Minister, he was promoted to sho-dan first-degree black belt by the Kodokan, and then promoted to ni-dan second-degree black belt by Masao Takahashi in Ottawa before leaving office.

Trudeau began the night of his famous 'walk in the snow' before announcing his retirement in by going to Judo with his sons. Described as a "swinging young bachelor" when he became prime minister in , [ 46 ] Trudeau dated Hollywood star Barbra Streisand in [ 47 ] and ; [ 48 ] [ 49 ] Trudeau and Streisand had a serious romantic relationship although contrary to one published report , there was no express marriage proposal.

Stephen's Catholic church in North Vancouver. When his divorce was finalized in , Trudeau became the first Canadian Prime Minister to become a single parent as the result of divorce. In , Trudeau became a father again, with Deborah Coyne. This was his first and only daughter, named Sarah. His body was laid in state to allow Canadians to pay their last respects. Several world politicians, including Fidel Castro, attended the funeral. Trudeau was a Roman Catholic and attended church 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 "I believe in life after death, I believe in God and I'm a Christian.

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 St. Thomas University, has researched Trudeau's spirituality and finds that it incorporated elements of three Catholic traditions. The first of these was the Jesuits 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 Higgins, Trudeau was convinced of the centrality of meditation in a life fully lived. Bush, Trudeau's spirituality, according to Higgins, "suffused, anchored, and directed his inner life.

In no small part, it defined him. Trudeau remains well regarded by many Canadians. His strong personality, contempt for his opponents and distaste for compromise on many issues have made him, as historian Michael Bliss puts it, "one of the most admired and most disliked of all Canadian prime ministers.

In all, Trudeau is undoubtedly one of the most dominant and transformative figures in Canadian political history. Trudeau's most enduring legacy may lie in his contribution to Canadian nationalism, and of pride in Canada in and for itself rather than as a derivative of the British Commonwealth. Some consider Trudeau's economic policies to have been a weak point.

Inflation and unemployment marred much of his tenure as prime minister. Though his popularity had fallen in English Canada at the time of his retirement in , public opinion later became more sympathetic to him, particularly in comparison to his successor, Brian Mulroney. Pierre Trudeau is today seen in very high regard on the Canadian political scene. Many politicians still use the term "taking a walk in the snow", the line Trudeau used to describe his decision to leave office in Other popular Trudeauisms frequently used are "just watch me", the "Trudeau Salute", and "Fuddle Duddle".

One of Trudeau's most enduring legacies is the patriation of the Canadian constitution, including a domestic amending formula and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It is seen as advancing civil rights and liberties and, notwithstanding clause aside, has become a cornerstone of Canadian values for most Canadians. It also represented the final step in Trudeau's liberal vision of a fully independent and nationalist Canada based on fundamental human rights and the protection of individual freedoms as well as those of linguistic and cultural minorities.

Court challenges based on the Charter of Rights have been used to advance the cause of women's equality, re-establish French school boards in provinces such as Alberta and Saskatchewan, and to mandate the adoption of same-sex marriage all across Canada. 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.

Canadian conservatives claim the Constitution has resulted in too much judicial activism on the part of the courts in Canada. It is also heavily criticized by Quebec Nationalists, who resent that the Constitution was never ratified by any Quebec government and does not recognize a constitutional veto for Quebec. Bilingualism is one of Trudeau's most lasting accomplishments, having been fully integrated into the Federal government's services, documents, and broadcasting not, however, in provincial governments, except for Ontario, New Brunswick, 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.

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 with the help of legendary mandarin, Tom Kent.

Few outside the museum community recall the tremendous efforts Trudeau made, in the last years of his tenure, to see to it that the National Gallery of Canada and the Canadian Museum of Civilization finally had proper homes in the national capital. The Trudeau government also implemented programs which mandated Canadian content in film, and broadcasting, and gave substantial subsidies to develop the Canadian media and cultural industries. Though the policies remain controversial, Canadian media industries have become stronger since Trudeau's arrival.

Trudeau's posthumous reputation in the Western Provinces is notably less favourable than in the rest of English-speaking Canada. He is often regarded as the "father of Western alienation. Some of them are ideological. Some Canadians disapproved of official bilingualism and many other of Trudeau's policies, which they saw as moving the country away from its historic traditions and attachments, and markedly toward the political left.

Such feelings were perhaps strongest in the West. Other reasons for western alienation are more plainly regional in nature. To many westerners, Trudeau's policies seemed to favour other parts of the country, especially Ontario and Quebec, 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.

More particularly, two incidents involving Trudeau are remembered as having fostered Western alienation, and as emblematic of it. During a visit to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on July 17, , Trudeau met with a group of farmers who were protesting that the federal government was not doing more to market their wheat.

The widely remembered perception is that Trudeau dismissed the protesters' concerns with "Why should I sell your wheat? Trudeau's legacy in Quebec is mixed.

Trudeau is also credited by many for the defeat of the 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 Quebec seats in the federal election.

Since the signing of the Constitutional Act of Canada in , the Liberal Party of Canada has never succeeded in winning a majority of seats in Quebec. Trudeau made a number of contributions throughout his career to the intellectual discourse of Canadian politics. Trudeau was a strong advocate for a federalist 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.

Those who believe in federalism hold that different peoples do not need states of their own in order to enjoy self-determination. 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.

And since the future of Canadian federalism lies clearly in the direction of co-operation, the wise socialist will turn his thoughts in that direction, keeping in mind the importance of establishing buffer zones of joint sovereignty and co-operative zones of joint administration between the two levels of government [ 79 ].

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 chose the following jurists to be appointed as justices of the Supreme Court of Canada by the Governor General:. Trudeau was appointed a Companion of the Order of Canada on June 24, His citation reads: [ 96 ]. 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.

Through hours of archival footage and interviews with Trudeau himself, the recent 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 is depicted in two CBC Television mini-series.

The first one, Trudeau [ 97 ] with Colm Feore in the title role , depicts his years as Prime Minister. The documentary film Just Watch Me: Trudeau and the 70's Generation explores the impact of Trudeau's vision of Canadian bilingualism through interviews with eight young Canadians. Chat WhatsApp. Pearson Himself Preceded by Walter L. Axworthy, eds. Markham, Ont. Gerard Pelletier ed The Essential Trudeau. Ron Graham, ed. ISBN The asbestos strike.

Donald J. Johnston, ed. Toronto: General Paperbacks, ISBN Approaches to politics. Translated by I. Toronto: Oxford University Press, Foreword by Ivan L. Toronto, Buffalo: University of Toronto Press Toronto: Modern Canadian Library. David Crenna, editor.