Pierre Elliott Trudeau :   Pierre Elliott Trudeau : The 15th Prime Minister of Canada 1919 -2000

Birth He was born on October 18, 1919 In Montreal, Quebec

Childhood and early life Trudeau was raised in the wealthy Montreal suburb of Outremont. His mother, Grace Elliott, was of both French and Scottish descent, so Trudeau and his two siblings grew up speaking both French and English. His family was quite wealthy by the time he was a teenager, as his father, a businessman and lawyer, had sold his gas station business to Imperial Oil some years prior to Pierre’s graduation .

Education Trudeau earned his law degree from the Université de Montréal in 1943. During his studies, he was conscripted into the Canadian Army as part of the National Resources Mobilization Act. It represented the government's response to the public clamor for a more effective Canadian war effort .

Career Trudeau briefly served as an adviser to the Privy Council Office in 1950–51 He returned to Montréal and devoted his energies to opposing the Union National government of Maurice Duplessis and agitating for social and political change. With other young intellectuals he founded the review Cité libre. In this and other forums, Trudeau sought to rouse opposition to what he believed were reactionary and inward-looking elites. He developed a reputation as a radical and a socialist, although the values he championed were closer to those of liberalism and democracy.

Politics and Government Mr. Trudeau was prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. Among other accomplishments, he is remembered for: the establishment of diplomatic relations with China (1970) Improved relations with France, the defeat of the French separatist movement, FLQ constitutional independence from the British Parliament, and the formation of a new Canadian constitution with the principal additions of a bill of rights and an amending formula. He then passed these policies Official Languages Act, 1969 Appointed Jeanne Sauvé as the first woman Governor-General, 1984

International involvement In these years Trudeau devoted more and more time to the international stage, first to encouraging a "North–South" dialogue between wealthy, industrialized nations and underdeveloped countries, and then, in 1983–84, to a personal peace initiative in which he visited leaders in both the eastern and western blocs to persuade them to negotiate the reduction of nuclear weapons and to lower Cold War tensions. These activities led to his being awarded the Albert Einstein Peace Prize. At the same time, his government was responsible for the decision to allow US testing of the cruise missile, which roused widespread opposition from Canadians concerned about the worsening nuclear arms race.

Contributions to Canada’s society and economy In other areas, Trudeau’s 1980–84 government was less successful. Continued inflation, high levels of unemployment, and large federal deficits cut deeply into his popular support. His government's National Energy Program, one of the major government interventions in the economy since the Second World War , further angered the energy-producing regions in Western Canada. A continuing problem that plagued his entire time in office was that of Canadian-American relations. Trudeau often played an ambiguous role with regard to the US, but during his last period in office he moved toward a more nationalist position in economic relations with the US, and began to criticize its foreign and defense policies more freely than in the past. At the same time the policies of US President Reagan's administration were becoming more damaging to many of Canada's economic interests.

Death Trudeau died of prostate cancer on 28 September 2000 at his home in Montréal.

Bibliography http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/pierre-elliott-trudeau/ https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau http://www.canadahistory.com/sections/Politics/pm/pierretrudeau.htm

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