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.
Trudeau himself was a liberal. One of the core beliefs of liberal ideology is that of individual rights, meaning that
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The main reason why the white paper was brought in was because the federal government could no longer deny that Canada’s Aboriginal peoples were facing serious socio-economic troubles that the rest of Canadians were not. These issues included higher poverty and infant mortality rates, lower life expectancy and poorer education levels. Also at this time, the civil rights movement happening in the United States brought an increased level of public awareness to issues of social justice, and made many Canadians questioning the inequality and discrimination in Canada and how it pertained to First Nations people. In addition to the 1969 White Paper proposals, other landmark occurrences with Trudeau’s relationship to Canadian Aboriginals included the 1973 Calder case.
With the rise of awareness about social justice issues, the federal government commissioned anthropologist Harry Hawthorn in 1963 from the University of British Columbia to look into the social injustices faced by Aboriginal people across the country. In his report, Hawthorn discovered that Aboriginal peoples were incredibly marginalized due to their isolation from the rest of society caused by years of failed federal policies, which included the residential school system. Due to the abuse and neglect many Aboriginals faced at these residential schools, they were left with emotional trauma which made them unable to want to contribute to a society which had done nothing but
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.
In 1968 Pierre Trudeau liberalized laws on abortion, homosexuality and public lotteries. Trudeau’s most famous quote came from the legalization of homosexuality and that quote is “there's no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation”#. Trudeau views people’s lives as personal and their decision to have sexual intercourse, be in a relationship or marry whatever sex they prefer is their own decision and that is why this law is particularly a good one for the gay and lesbian population of Canada. Instead of being punished for liking the same sex they are now able to be with who they want to be with. Pierre Trudeau also brought in the abortion law which allows women to have an abortion granted that they get permission from three doctors who say that the pregnancy will negatively affect them
Very few Canadians have made the same impacts on Canadian quality of life as Pierre Trudeau did as his time as a politician. During his time as a prime minister, he brought forth many changes that greatly improved the quality of all Canadians living in the country. He made the diverse population of Canada feel safe and included. Pierre trudeau has caused a significant increase on Canadians’ quality of life by helping introduce legislation such as the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Official Languages act which made Canadians feel safe, protected and included. Although this influential Canadian has caused many and important positive impacts on the lives of Canadians, Pierre Trudeau has also brought forth negative, but temporary
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
Firstly, Pierre Elliott Trudeau was a significant prime minister in the view of the fact that
Pierre Trudeau made Canada what it is today in a positive manner by creating the Constitutions Act as well as the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Constitutions Act started in 1982. The act allowed everyone to have fundamental freedoms. Those fundamental freedoms included: freedom of conscience and religion, freedom of thought, belief, opinion, expression, freedom of peaceful assembly and the freedom of association as stated in the Constitution Act of 1982. The Act also includes mobility rights that include: every citizen of Canada has the right to enter, remain in and leave Canada itself with no troubles at all, and to move into any province with no troubles. The constitution act had equality rights as well, some in which were and are that every individual is equal under the law and has the right to protection of themselves and their families, as well as living with no discrimination based on their race, origin, nationality, religion, sex, age, or disability. The Constitution Act included the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the right and freedom to reasonable limits allowed by the law and can be certainly justified in a free and
Pierre Trudeau was the 15th prime minister of Canada. During his time as prime minister he changed a lot of Canadians lives for the better. He also, made history that will never be forgotten by past, present and future Canadians. Pierre Trudeau kept Canada united, avoiding Quebec to separate from Canada. Trudeau passed many the “Official Language Act” in 1969 making English and French Canada’s official languages. This act made government workers to offer services in both English and French. Trudeau passed many bills and acts, which adequately helped Canada to develop more as a nation. He abolished the death penalty in 1976 which didn’t make people die for the crimes they did or did not commit. He strengthened gun control laws so deaths by gun
Pierre Trudeau is one of Canada’s most renowned Prime Ministers. He was in office April 20, 1968, to June 4, 1979, and later on March 3, 1980, to June 30, 1984,.¹ An event that Pierre Trudeau is well known for is the enactment of the War Measures Act during the October Crisis. This decision to invoke the War Measures Act during the October Crisis has led to a great deal of controversy on whether the act was justified. The October Crisis was a series of events in October 1970, these events began with the kidnappings of James Cross and later Pierre Laporte by the group known as the FLQ (Front de libération du Québec) the group’s main goals were to create an independent Quebec.2 The group resorted to terrorist acts in order to achieve those goals, this later led to Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau invoking the War Measures Act. The War Measures Act was a federal statute adopted by parliament during WWI and has been used 3 times; during WWI, WWII and during the October Crisis. The act gives major power to the Canadian government to uphold security during times of great distress.3 Pierre Trudeau was justified in enacting the War Measures Act during the October Crisis. One reason that Pierre Trudeau was justified in invoking the War Measures Act is that the FLQ was essentially a terrorist organization responsible for the deaths and injuries of countless people. Since the group was formed in the early 1960’s, the terrorist group’s acts had only worsened from mailbox bombings to
Pierre Elliot Trudeau was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada. He served as Prime Minister from April 1968 to June 1984. During his time in office, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau introduced many new policies. Pierre Trudeau’s policies on the economy, the environment and multiculturalism greatly benefitted Canada.
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.
As Pierre Elliot Trudeau strived to patriate the Constitution, the opposition was a huge threat. “The Statute of Westminster (1931) and the Second World War (1939-1945) secured Canada 's independence. However, Canada continued to retain its links to Great Britain, since its Constitution could only be modified by the British Parliament” (Roch). Trudeau wanted to put an end to British control by modifying the Constitution. In the last few weeks of the 1979 election campaign, Trudeau was struggling and decided it was time to present his plan. As he put it in a Toronto speech, “a Constitution made in Canada, by Canadians, for Canadians” (Lewis 16). The idea was not popular among Canadians and Conservative leader Joe Clark became the youngest Prime Minister in Canadian history. This did not last very long though as a vote of non-confidence occurred after the government proposed tax increases. “As a result of his government 's defeat, Clark called a general election for Feb. 18, 1980. Trudeau led the Liberals in the campaign. He climaxed an
“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 Trudeau has had an impact on the Canadian legal system and society by bringing more of an attraction to lower status groups, having an influence on others, and changing laws in Canada. Many Canadians believe Trudeau did not have a positive effect on Canada but as the minister of justice and the prime minister of Canada, he has succeeded in his attempt of making Canada a safer and established country for all. Under the social welfare measures in 1968, Trudeau made the Divorce Act a federal law which previously was a provincial jurisdiction. Pierre Trudeau’s first move as prime minister was giving French and English equal status in Canada and making them the languages of parliament for debates and records. After failing at many attempts
His government become more independent from US politics and reduced its engagement with NATO. Trudeau pushed for French Canadians rights by making French one of the official languages in Canada.(Pierre Elliot Trudeau,Encyclopedia). This illustrates the political view and actions that Trudeau has as prime minister. Trudeau wanted Canada to be united and by making French an official language of Canada and becoming more independent in Canada and less dependent on US made
The concepts provided in the documentary “The Road To Patriation” was about the disagreement between the federal and provincial government of Canada on what to do with their constitution and how they would agree on a formula to bring back the Canadian Constitution from England. After the failure of five prime ministers and several conferences Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau took up the challenge of bringing back the constitution in early 1970 alongside with his Justice Minister