1 / 19

The life of Pierre Trudeau

Mishka Nizar and Zack Secord Mr. Keery Grade 10 History. The life of Pierre Trudeau. "I believe a constitution can permit the co-existence of several cultures and ethnic groups with a single state."  --  Trudeau, September 30, 1965. Pierre Trudeau’s Early Years.

hiram-hurley
Download Presentation

The life of Pierre Trudeau

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Mishka Nizar and Zack Secord Mr. Keery Grade 10 History The life ofPierre Trudeau "I believe a constitution can permit the co-existence of several cultures and ethnic groups with a single state." --  Trudeau, September 30, 1965

  2. Pierre Trudeau’s 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

  3. The Start of Trudeau’s Career • 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 a n 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

  4. Continue • 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

  5. Continue • They won their seats, and in April 1967, Trudeau became Minister of Justice

  6. 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

  7. Continue • When explaining his decisions, Trudeau told reporters "The state has no place in the bedrooms of the nation."

  8. “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

  9. Official Languages Act • 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

  10. An October Crisis • 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

  11. Continue • 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

  12. 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 • 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

  13. The End of a Bad Patch • 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

  14. He Comes Back • 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

  15. 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

  16. Final Years as Prime Minister • 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

  17. Out of the Public Eye, but not Forgotten • 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 • Whenever Trudeau chose to speak publicly about an issue, Canadians still listened intently • 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

  18. Videos of Pierre 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

  19. Bibliography • http://www.collectionscanada.ca/primeministers/h4-3381-e.html • http://www.cbc.ca/greatest/top_ten/nominee/trudeau-pierre.html • http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0008141 • http://www.clevernet.net/pierre_trudeau/ • http://archives.cbc.ca/IDD-1-74-2192/people/trudeau/

More Related