Pierre Trudeau: Canadian Prime Minister

Trudeau was strongly devoted to a strain of individualism based on the Catholic principle of personalism and was committed to human rights. He condemned the character of nationalism and argued in favour of federalism as the ultimate form of organization. The strength of Trudeau’s personality and his determination to transform Canada lead him to defend a ‘rational messianism” founded on the idea that Canada had the moral responsibility to defeat Quebec nationalism (Monsterrat, 36) .Many Anglophone Canadians greeted Trudeau’s proposals of a new pan-Canadian identity that would strengthen Canadian unity. Trudeau offered a new image of Canada at a time when British connection had weakened as a result of the disassembly of the British Empire.

Pierre Elliot Trudeau was the fifteenth prime minister of Canada. He had many accomplishments that benefited all of Canada which include the official language act of Canada where he made French and English the official languages, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom, and the liberalization of laws on abortion, homosexuality and the legalization of lotteries. These are only a few of the many accomplishments that Pierre Trudeau achieved for Canada while his position in Parliament that was important.

Pierre Trudeau was Prime Minister from April 20, 1968, to June 4, 1979, and again from March 3, 1980, to June 30, 1984. He was known as a womanizer and a super star. This was extremely odd for a Canadian politician getting this much attention especially in this time period. While he was an entertainer and a bachelor, he was also a very smart man. He began his journey into joining the liberal party and was appointed Lester B. Pearson’s parliamentary secretary and later became

“The choice, however, is as clear now for nations as it was once for the individual: peace or extinction. ” 1 and Lester B. Pearson was definitely a man of peace. To those who don’t know who Lester B. Pearson is, he’s the fourteenth Prime Minister of Canada, that served from April 22. 1963 - April 20. 1968 2. During his time as Prime Minister, he’s accomplished many things, and that’s why I believe that Lester B. Pearson is the greatest Canadian.

The Front de Libération du Québec, or the FLQ was the main group that was responsible for the October Crisis. This group of French Canadians were violent to reach their goals. FLQ members were trained by revolutionaries who supported Che Guevara, and some were trained by Palestinian commandos. They’ve committed 200 violent actions, have robbed banks, and participated in bombings. Not only did they commit those actions but they also kidnapped British Trade Commissioner James Cross and kidnapped Pierre Laporte. Laporte was found dead on October 17, 1970 which led to Prime Minister Trudeau broadcasting the FLQ manifesto and transporting five FLQ terrorists to Cuba to release James Cross. The government responded to this crisis by implementing the War Measures Act. This gave the government the power to take people’s civil rights away. They responded with the crisis using the War Measures Act as they believed that the people wanted to overthrow the Canadian government. French-English relations were greatly affected from the October

In 1980, he and his party, Parti Quebecois, called a referendum on the topic of Quebec sovereignty. He asked the Quebecois to present his government with a mandate to negotiate with Canada for a new agreement based on sovereignty-association. This meant that Quebec would become independent from Canada politically but stay closely associated with Canada economically. The partnership would mean free trade between Quebec and Canada; both nations would have the same currency and both would have the same tariffs on imported goods. Prime Minister Trudeau promised the negotiation of a new constitution that would recognize Quebec as a distinct society in Canada and an equal partner in confederation. Then, during the referendum, only 40% of the Quebecois actually voted for sovereignty-association. This referendum caused a rift between the people in Quebec because it led to Trudeau making an opposing argument that split Quebecois opinions. They remained divided on the issue as shown by the close vote for the referendum, which shows the separation in views. Additionally, the referendum not only caused tensions among fellow Quebecois, but also between the Quebecois and English Canadians. Quebec was trying to separate from Canada in order to distance itself from other Canadian cultures and preserve its own. So the fact that

Pierre Trudeau was an effective prime minister because he created the Constitution Act as well as the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, made the Official Languages Act and decided to use the War Measures Act during the October crisis. These made Canada what it is today because of Pierre Trudeau.

For some time, many Quebecois had faith in the FLQ, believing the group would speed the process of separation from Canada; however the FLQ’s loyalty to these beliefs is questionable. Ultimately, it was perceived that the FLQ’s only goal was to give Quebec its justice; they wanted to see them united in a free society. On the other hand, during the October Crisis, they had not been able to prove that. When the FLQ kidnapped British diplomat James Cross, it publicized 7 demands, of which only one concerned French-Canadians, pertaining to fairer working conditions which was later dropped (Tetley, 2007). The rest concerned the FLQ themselves: publication of the Manifesto (a public declaration of policy and aims), the name of an informer, $500,000 in gold, the release of 23 jailed terrorists, and to transport them to either Algeria or Cuba (Knowlton, 1990). A goal of Quebec’s at the time, the protection of the French language, was a cause that preoccupied much of the nation, but was not a particular concern for the FLQ. In fact, the 1970 Manifesto was written in and proclaimed in informal French and “Fringlish” (Knowlton, 1990). The FLQ’s dedication to their cause is doubtful. FLQ believed that they weren’t going to get caught, hence their slogan “Independence or death” (Brown, 2011). However, when justice prevailed, the members chose exile rather than martyrdom. This made it clear that the FLQ’s dedication

Pierre Trudeau is the greatest Canadian of the twentieth century due to the fact that he declared Canada’s independence from Great Britain, he abolished the death penalty, and he created the Official Languages Act, making our nation entirely bilingual.

In October 1970, Canada faced a pressing terrorist attack in Montreal, Quebec by a group known as the Front de Liberation du Quebec, or the FLQ for short. The group committed multiple attacks starting in 1963 that slowly escalated until the October Crisis, where they kidnapped two government officials and proceeded to murder one of them. The Canadian government responded harshly and rapidly. The prime minister of Canada, Pierre Trudeau, issued the War Measures Act which along with various things allowed the police and military full reign to arrest people and hold them with no explanation. The Canadian population was highly supportive of the government’s action believing that this extreme state repression would bring a finish to the October

“The past is to be respected and acknowledged but not to be worshipped. It is our future in which we find our greatness.” These words were written by Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, who paved the way for the great Canadian future present today. Pierre Elliott Trudeau was an indispensable leader who guided Canada to greatness, he brought biculturalism and bilingualism to Canada, believed in equality and protecting human rights. Pierre Elliott Trudeau’s accomplishments paved the way for a greater Canadian future because he became the leader Canada needed for protecting human rights, evolving Canada's language and by giving Canada the confidence it needed to succeed.

Pierre Elliot Trudeau was arguably one of the most vivacious and charismatic Prime Ministers Canada has ever seen. He wore capes, dated celebrities and always wore a red rose boutonniere. He looked like a superhero, and often acted like one too. Some of the landmark occurrences in Canadian history all happened during the Trudeau era, such as patriating the constitution, creating the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the 1980 Quebec Referendum. However, it is Trudeau’s 1969 “white paper” and the Calder legal challenge which many consider to be one of his most influential contributions to Canadian history.

The power that had been given to the government turned it into something that did not resemble what could be recognized as democracy today. The Act also allowed for the civil liberties of the people to be taken away. Also, the Act was abused quite a bit by the government. The War Measures Act was used only two times after this: during World War Two, and during the October Crisis. During its use in World War Two Canada once again had internment camps, but this time for the Germans and Italians. After the bombing of Pearl Harbour many Japanese were also placed into the internment camps. During the october Crisis Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau used the War Measures Act to be able to arrest people without having to give proof of wrongdoing. He did this because he was searching for members of the terrorist group, Front de Liberation du Quebec, because they had kidnapped, “British trade commissioner James Cross, and kidnapped and murdered Quebec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte”(Smith). Trudeau used the Act for a good reason, but it was still a serious infringement of the people's rights. Once again there was a suspension of civil liberties in both World War Two and the October Crisis. However, since 1988 the War Measures Act has been replaced by the Emergencies Act. This Act limits and specifies the certain powers the government has so that the government

In the midst of the October Crisis Pierre Trudeau handled the time of terrorism well. In this essay one will see how Trudeau handled the crisis excellently by examining the first domestic use of the War Measures Act which led to improvements on the Act, ensuring that Quebec did not become its own independent country, and how Canada stood behind and supported Quebec and Pierre Trudeau through the acts of violence led by the FLQ.

The FLQ requested demands for his release on behalf of the captors, which included release of 23 prisoners who were part of the FLQ, $500,000 in gold, publication of the FLQ’s manifesto, and a plane to take them to Cuba (a one-party Marxist-Leninist state), also adding they had 48 hours to fulfill the requests. Despite the pressure of some of the Canadian public and some sources, the government refused to fulfill them. Their refusal might have caused the next incident five days later, where four armed members kidnapped Deputy Premier and Minister of Labour of Quebec Pierre Laporte. The government still refused to fulfill the requests made by the FLQ with the kidnapping of James Cross after the second kidnapping of Laporte. Laporte was executed by the FLQ on October 17, perhaps intended as a consequence to the government's noncompliance, or a warning that they are serious with these