dō`), 1919–2000, prime minister of Canada (1968–79, 1980–84), b. Montreal. He attended the Univ. of Montreal, Harvard, the École des Sciences Politiques in Paris, and the London School of Economics. A lawyer and law professor known for championing liberal causes, Trudeau was elected (1965) to the House of Commons as a Liberal and became (1967) concurrently minister of justice and attorney general in Lester Pearson Pearson, Lester Bowles, 1897–1972, Canadian diplomat and political leader, b. Ontario prov. He served in the Canadian army in World War I. Pearson taught history at the Univ. of Toronto from 1924 to 1928 and then joined the Canadian diplomatic service...... Click the link for more information. 's government. Trudeau succeeded Pearson as Liberal party Liberal party, Canadian political party. Prior to confederation in 1867, reform parties advocating greater local participation in provincial governments, free trade, and increased separation of church and state existed in Canada West, Canada East, and the Maritime
..... Click the link for more information. leader and prime minister in 1968. A vigorous and even dashing young leader, he won a landslide victory in elections called shortly after he took office and became the focus of a popular enthusiasm that came to be called "Trudeaumania."
Pursuing independence from U.S. influence, he recognized (1970) the People's Republic of China and promoted Canadian control of its own economy and culture. He also campaigned for world peace and nuclear disarmament. In 1970, after terrorist activities by the Front de Libération du Québec Front de Libération du Québec (FLQ) , Canadian separatist group formed in the 1960s to bring about the independence of Quebec, which has a French heritage, from the rest of Canada, which has a primarily British tradition.
..... Click the link for more information. , he temporarily instituted martial law. Although the Liberal party lost its majority in parliament in the general elections of Oct., 1972, Trudeau remained in office, relying on the support of the small New Democratic party New Democratic party (NDP), Canadian political party, founded in 1961 when the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) reorganized itself and entered into close ties with Canadian labor unions, especially the Canadian Labor Congress (CLC).
..... Click the link for more information. to give him a parliamentary majority. His government was defeated (May, 1974) on a motion of no confidence brought against the budget, but in the ensuing elections (July, 1974) Trudeau and the Liberals regained their parliamentary majority.
Briefly out of office (1979–80) after the Progressive Conservatives won the 1979 election, he returned to power in 1980. Defending his concept of a unified federalist nation against the forces of separatism, he successfully campaigned for the rejection of independence by Quebec voters in a referendum in his native province. That year he also proposed a new constitution for Canada, independent of the British Parliament, and on Apr. 17, 1982, Queen Elizabeth II signed the Constitution Act, 1982 (see Canada Act Canada Act, also called the Constitutional Act of 1982, which made Canada a fully sovereign state. The British Parliament approved it on Mar. 25, 1982, and Queen Elizabeth II proclaimed it on Apr. 17, 1982.
..... Click the link for more information. ), which gave Canada complete independence. Sensitive to the linguistic preferences of his fellow French Canadians, he led Canada to become an officially bilingual nation in 1984 and was a consistent supporter of multiculturalism. Trudeau retired that same year, having played a pivotal role in the political development of Canada in the 20th cent. He was succeeded as prime minister and party leader by John Turner Turner, John Napier, 1929–, Canadian prime minister (1984). Born in England, he emigrated to Ontario with his Canadian-born mother in 1932. Trained as a lawyer, he entered the House of Commons as a Liberal in 1962.
..... Click the link for more information. .
Bibliography
See his Conversation with Canadians (1972), Memoirs (1993), and Against the Current: Selected Writings 1939–1996, ed. by G. Pelletier (1997).
Trudeau, Pierre Elliott
Born Oct. 18, 1919, in Montreal. Canadian statesman. Leader of the Liberal Party since 1968. Of bourgeois origins, Trudeau studied law and worked as a lawyer and journalist. From 1949 to 1951 he was on the staff of the Privy Council of Prime Minister St. Laurent. He was an associate professor of law at the University of Montreal from 1961 to 1965. In 1965, Trudeau was elected to the Canadian Parliament and from 1967 to 1968 he was minister of justice. In 1968 he became prime minister of Canada.
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