PIERRE TRUDEAU

PRIME MINISTER: April 2oth 1968 – June 4 th 1979 March 3 rd 1980 – June 30 th 1984 Very popular Prime Minister Replaced Lester B. Pearson as leader of the Liberal Party Individual freedom, government should not interfere with personal liberty

TRUDEAU CONTINUED…. Dynamic and youthful, with a strong sense of humour Wore sandals and an open-necked shirt Drove a flashy sports car and dated Barbara Streisand Cool under pressure and scholarly Had wit and confidence He was an outdoorsman People treated him like a rock star 1972, lowered federal voting age from “Trudeaumania” swept the nation

BIOGRAPHY: Father was a French lawyer and owned a prosperous gas station, his mother was French and Scottish. He attended a rich private religious school, his father died when he was a teenager. He travelled the world after graduating including England, France and the US. Has been described as an “intellectual rebel, anti- establishment advocate, supporting unions and religious freedom”.

BIOGRAPHY CONT… He received a law degree at university and was trained in the army during WWII but did not serve abroad In his younger years, he was banned from entering the US because he attended a conference in Moscow (USSR) and due to his leftist views. Became Canadian Minister of Justice and decriminalized homosexuality, abortion, contraception, lotteries and instituted laws in which gun ownership was restricted and breathalyzers were legally allowed to be used against drunk drivers.

MAJOR EVENTS DURING HIS TIME IN OFFICE: Establishment of CIDA Removal of nuclear weapons from Canada Foreign policy and trade with China and Cuba Official Languages Act makes Canada a bilingual country War Measures Act October Crisis – FLQ kidnappings and murder Canada as a “middle power” Repatriation of the Constitution

FOREIGN POLICY: wanted foreign policy less dependent on the United States Recognized communist government of People’s Republic of China because they were a strong trading partner/great power Wanted to scale back Canada’s participation in the nuclear arms race in order to ease cold war tensions : nuclear missiles removed from Canada’s Nato forces in Europe

FOREIGN POLICY CONTINUED… Bomarc missiles dismantled Reduced National defence budget Reduced Nato contingent Canada as a Middle Power: During this time, the world was split between East and West politically and North and South economically Trudeau aimed to bridge the gap and promote world peace

FOREIGN POLICY CONTINUED…. “Trade and Aid” “Tied Aid” aid given to countries must be used to purchase Canadian made products aid to developing countries: : $277 million in 1969 $2 billion in 1984 SALT I: Strategic Arms limitation Treaty (1972) – Us and Soviet Union agreed to reduce number of nuclear weapons

VOCABULARY: “Trudeaumania” “Youthquake” National Action Committee on the Status of Women (NAC) The Women’s Movement The Environmental Movement Refer to pages and define these terms.

QUESTIONS: In what ways was Pierre Trudeau different from previous Canadian leaders when he entered the political scene in 1968? Why were Canadians so fascinated with Pierre Trudeau in 1968? What qualities did Pierre Trudeau possess that made him an effective political leader? What qualities did he possess that sometimes worked against him?

“Dief the Chief” versus “Mike” 1.___________ Believed in “unhyphenated Canadianism” 2.___________ Saw himself as someone who listened to and spoke for ordinary people. 3.___________ Appealed to younger, urban, central Canadian voters. 4.___________ Believed in severing ties with the British monarchy or influence in Canada 5.___________ Improved Canada’s social welfare system. 6.___________ Had first female Cabinet minister. 7.___________ Was committed to building up social welfare programs. 8.___________ Believed Canada needed a distinct identity, encompassing multiculturalism.

ANSWERS: 1. Dief 2. Dief 3. Mike 4. Mike 5. Mike 6. Dief 7. Mike 8. Mike