Pierre Trudeau

Biography

Pierre Trudeau was born in Montreal in 1919 and grew up in Outremont. After the Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf he studied law at the Université de Montréal, graduating in 1943, then took a master's in political economy at Harvard and continued his studies at Sciences Po in Paris and briefly at the London School of Economics. In 1950 he co-founded the review Cité Libre, which opposed the conservative Union Nationale government of Quebec, and from 1961 to 1965 he taught law at the Université de Montréal.

He joined the Liberal Party in 1965 and was elected for Mount Royal. As justice minister from 1967 he liberalised the divorce and abortion laws and decriminalised homosexuality. Carried by 'Trudeaumania', he won the party leadership in April 1968 and succeeded Lester Pearson as prime minister.

He governed from 1968 to 1979 and again from 1980 to 1984. He introduced official bilingualism and multiculturalism, invoked the War Measures Act during the 1970 October Crisis, and led the federalist side to victory in the 1980 Quebec referendum. His economic record included wage and price controls, Petro-Canada and the National Energy Program, which angered western Canada. In 1982 he patriated the constitution and entrenched the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

After retiring in 1984 he practised law with the Montreal firm Heenan Blaikie and spoke out against the Meech Lake and Charlottetown accords. He died in 2000.