On Thursday September 28, Justin and Sacha Trudeau, the two living sons of the former Prime Minister issued this statement. “Justin and Sacha Trudeau deeply regret to inform you that their father, the Right Honorable Pierre Trudeau, passed away shortly after 3 pm today, September 28, 2000. In addition to Parkinson’s disease, Mr Trudeau suffered from prostate cancer. Funeral arrangements are being prepared and the details will be provided as soon as they are finalized.”
The passing of Pierre Trudeau saddened me. His political career spanned a good many years of my life. He was the first man I ever voted for. He was, in my opinion, the best Prime Minister that Canada has had during my lifetime and possibly in the 20th Century.
Pierre Elliot Trudeau was born on October 18, 1919. His father died while he was still a teenager. His mother, who died in 1973, was bilingual and spoke both French and English in the presence of her children. As a child, Trudeau was brilliant but physically weak. Yet in his 60’s, he was still canoeing, swimming and doing gymnastics. He would take on any challenge. This was a trait that stayed with him his entire life – the trait that made him a Prime Minister who danced behind the back of Queen Elizabeth II, dated Hollywood starlets and wore sandals in the House of Commons. Trudeau never wavered. He said what he thought and he didn’t care if people liked it or not. Truth was truth and Trudeau pulled no punches. The people of Canada were appalled when he answered a reporter’s question with the phrase, “fuddle duddle.” His way of showing his disapproval. “Fuddle duddle” became a fad in Canada for the duration of the Trudeau years.
Trudeau graduated from the University of Montreal with honors in law. He was called to the bar in 1944. He opposed conscription of Canadian soldiers during WWII and did not fight in the war. Later in life, this came back to haunt him. His opponents used it against him when he entered politics.
Trudeau attended the London School of Economics and Harvard University, after which he took a trip around the world. Trudeau loved adventure. For many years he dabbed in politics and writing. In 1961, he joined the staff at the University of Montreal as a professor of constitutional law.
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