The reign of Pierre Elliot Trudeau began in 1968 when he was elected as the replacement for the retiring Lester Pearson and it ended when he retired in 1984. Canada had never seen a politician like him before. He made jokes; he acted like he was twenty years younger then he actually was, he dated many women and he enjoyed fast cars and money. He did not fit the stereotype of the average Prime Minister. Loved by some, hated by many. This was the swan song of his career. Canadians realised that the joyous personality was only a cover masking an educated but senseless person. He had poor problem solving abilities and put our country into a deep debt that even now we are struggling to pay off. Trudeau danced behind the queen of England, enraged and offended the French Canadians, signed meaningless treaties with the Native Americans, and doing so, he made a mockery of Canada and the morals by which we stand.
Romania, Germany, Canada, Hungary
English: Pierre Trudeau speaking at a fundraising ...
CanadaSome people claim that he was the best Prime Minister that Canada ever had. They were simply blinded by the tremendous effort that he used to conceal his true immature self. He was a financial, moral and political burden to our country and one that should not be congratulated but rather pitied. Thank you Mr Trudeau, thank you for nothing.
Pierre Trudeau was a socialist. Perhaps the best thing that he did for Canadians was giving them money. He started welfare, a federal compensation program that helped citizens who could not get a job, those who could not find a job, and single parents who did not have the time or effort to look for employment. This generosity came out of the pockets of the rest of Canada's tax paying population. Welfare began to be abused however, and people started to realise that they could make more money living off of welfare then they could make working at a job. The Canadian government could not handle the amount of money being spent, so in turn taxes skyrocketed and this was the beginning of our National Debt. Trudeau in turn was not living a "welfare"ÃÂ appropriate lifestyle. He loved to spend money, and he drove fast cars, ate at expensive restaurants and lived a lavish life spending our hard earned money. Trudeau felt that Canada had to broaden its reputation as a peacekeeping, democratic country so that it was well known throughout the world. Doing so, he had to spend millions of dollars on a marketing campaign for Canada. He wanted to be the leader that brought our country out of the serious appearance crisis it was facing. Instead he simply spent more of our hard earned money on a problem that didn't even exist. So what if Canada had a reputation for being soft, moral and dependable? When we ended up deep in debt, did Trudeau feel that our reputation had improved? There was no doubt that Mr Trudeau was charismatic. He knew how to impress the Canadian population and whenever he graced us with his presence, he drew thousands and thousands of people of crowds. He was an excellent public speaker, and whenever he visited worldwide nations, we were certain that Canada was being represented appropriately. Was performing a pirouette behind the Queen of England appropriate? Trudeau almost craved the power and the respect that he received. The more respect given, the more he felt he could stretch the "appropriateness"ÃÂ of his actions. But dancing behind the Queen of England? Especially when relations between England and Canada were in such a fragile and delicate state. This was at the same time where Trudeau was attempting to gain Canada's independence from the British and his lack of respect looked bad on our country.
The basis of Trudeau's whole political career was the Separatist issue in Quebec. This was the beginning of the issue that has lasted over thirty years, and is still a serious issue plaguing the Federal government. Citizens of Quebec feel that they are different from the rest of Canada because of their language and want to be known as a unique society. Trudeau felt that the best way to make the French Canadians feel more a part of Canada was to create the Official languages act, where there would be bilingual federal facilities if 10 percent or more of the population spoke a minority language. This led to an even greater outcry from the French Canadians. The climax of their opposition occurred in October of 1970 when a Quebec extremist group kidnapped a British Diplomat and killed a Quebec minister. Trudeau, unable to handle the situation rationally, initiated the War Measures Act, where anyone who was suspicious or had anything to do with the problem at hand could be arrested and questioned by police. Over 450 innocent Quebecois, mostly the French Canadian elite were arrested and the kidnappers were finally arrested. French Canadians could not believe the humiliation that their elite had undergone by the Trudeau government, and a new political party, the Parti Quebecois grew drastically in strength until its official creation in 1976. The simple fact of the matter is that when all eyes were on Trudeau, when the country was faced with a serious crisis that needed careful attention and action, our devoted Prime minister crumbled under the pressure.
For years, the Native American tribes of Canada have felt that they were forced off of their land when settlers came to Canada in the early 1800's. They felt that they were unfairly compensated for these actions and wanted adequate compensation. Mr Trudeau, being such an extravagant socialist, believed that the best way to appease the many Tribes would be to sing treaties with them, promising them land and money, money which Canada did not have at the time and had to borrow, thus increasing our debt. The Native Americans then felt that they could use the fact that they were abused in the past, to raise their compensation. Even now, there are existing arguments over the treaties and the Natives feel that they were not only mistreated in the early 1800's when Canada was first created but also in the early Pierre Elliot Trudeau was charismatic, well educated and was a spectacular public speaker. He knew how to impress crowds and raise his popularity. But when one looks at the negative side of his career: Close meetings with Fidel Castro, especially when relations between Cuba and the United States were in such a fragile state; His constant mockery of the Queen of England, when Canada was striving to achieve independence from the British colonies; The endless supply of money that he felt Canada had, enough that he could spend it as readily as he did; The Soverenty issue in Quebec, and his proposed Official Languages Act, where the federal government would be bilingual if over 10 percent of the population spoke a minority language; and during his reign of Prime Minister, the creation of the Parti Quebecois, a seperatist party that has plagued Canada was referendum issues since 1976. This is the man that Canada was named our best Prime Minister? Trudeau was a disgrace, and if only our debt could be forgotten as easily as the many mistakes that he made.
DSC_7713 - View of Quebec City
Members of Pearson's cabinet, including Trudeau on...
English: American President Jimmy Carter and Canad...