In these years, Trudeau devoted more and more time to the international stage. Then, in —84, he persuaded leaders in both the eastern and western blocs to negotiate the reduction of nuclear weapons and to lower Cold War tensions.
See also Disarmament. These activities led to his being awarded the Albert Einstein Peace Prize. This roused widespread opposition from Canadians concerned about the worsening nuclear arms race. Public opinion in Canada was largely hostile to Trudeau and the Liberals from on.
His personal style — sometimes charismatic; sometimes contemptuous of opposition; often arrogant, mercurial and unpredictable — became less of an asset in difficult economic times than it was early in his political career. On 29 February , Trudeau announced his intention to retire. On 30 June he left office; his successor, John Turner , was sworn in.
In , Trudeau was made a Companion of the Order of Canada. However, he intervened in public affairs with dramatic effect on two occasions. He did not, however, publicly intervene during the Quebec Referendum.
In , Trudeau published his book, Memoirs. It was based on a five-part CBC miniseries. In , he published Against the Current, a collection of his writings from to Trudeau died of prostate cancer at his home in Montreal on 28 September In , Justin Trudeau was elected leader of the Liberal Party.
In , he became prime minister. He served longer than every other contemporary leader in the Western world, becoming the elder statesman of the West. His achievements include official bilingualism ; the defeat of Quebec separatism ; the patriated Constitution ; and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. However, Trudeau was unable to alleviate regional alienation or to resolve the conflict between federal and provincial governments.
He left office much as he had entered it; a controversial figure with strong supporters and equally strong critics. That he was one of the dominant figures in 20th-century Canada is indisputable. From the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online. Search The Canadian Encyclopedia. Remember me. I forgot my password. Why sign up? Create Account. Suggest an Edit. Enter your suggested edit s to this article in the form field below.
Accessed 12 November No one who has ever seen him in action is likely to forget it. Even in retirement, a remote, private figure, he retained his power to fascinate. When he broke his customary silence to denounce the Meech Lake accord and later the Charlottetown accord, the whole country sat up and took notice. The old knight was back on his charger, roaring with anger and spitting venom at his enemies. Who else could rouse us that way? What explains the Trudeau magic? Certainly not charm.
Trudeau was an aloof, often arrogant leader who suffered fools never. He alienated many of his cabinet colleagues, treating them more like busboys than ministers of the Crown. He called members of Parliament "nobodies" and gave hecklers the finger. His highhanded manner soured relations between Ottawa and the provinces for a generation. Not his legislative achievements, either.
Trudeau's economic record was abysmal. Federal spending rose ninefold during his tenure. It was his spade that began digging the debt hole that still yawns before us. His tendency was to meddle and fuss with the economic engine. He distrusted business, businessmen and the free market in general. Thus the National Energy Program, wage and price controls and foreign-investment restrictions. He was far more interested in foreign policy than economics, but here too his record was disappointing.
He got along poorly with the United States, Canada's most important ally and partner. He thumbed his nose at Washington by courting Cuban dictator Fidel Castro. His one-man attempt to bridge the gulf between the Cold War superpowers was a well-intentioned flop, scorned by Washington and patronized by Moscow. Civil rights? The Charter of Rights and Freedoms ranks high on that list.
It was a case when he seemed to take the resonance of his surname too much for granted. As well, Pierre Trudeau has ranked first in polls on the reputations of recent prime ministers, scoring particularly well in Ontario—just where his son now needs to forge an election breakthrough.
Take the decision to stage that morning paddle on the Bow River. It would be something I would do to relax on a stressful day. In fact, Kenny says he was never a one-man show behind the scenes. From some angles, Pierre Trudeau had, compared with his eldest son, far deeper experience in public life before wading into the political fray.
He had long been a prominent Quebec intellectual and activist before being recruited by the federal Liberals in as a star candidate. The safe seat of Mount Royal was cleared for him through the personal intervention of then-prime minister Lester Pearson. Justin Trudeau was a schoolteacher and a well-paid public speaker before making the leap into politics. But there are other sorts of experience. And there are other ways of being tested.
Instead, he became better known for his massive Twitter following—giving thousands a sense of direct access to him that would have made his father recoil.
His triumphant leadership campaign in amounted to a concerted membership drive. Along the way, he came to fault his party for its long neglect of grassroots connections.
0コメント