Editing Pierre Trudeau (section)

{{Short description|Prime Minister of Canada (1968–1979; 1980–1984)}}
{{Redirect|Pierre Elliott Trudeau}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=September 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix    = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name                = Pierre Trudeau
| honorific_suffix    = {{post-nominals|country=CAN|PC|CC|CH|QC|FRSC|size=100%}}
| image               = Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau 1975 (UPI press photo) (cropped).jpg
| alt                 = A black and white photograph of Trudeau
| caption             = Trudeau in 1975
| order               = 15th
| office              = Prime Minister of Canada
| deputy              = [[Allan MacEachen]]
| predecessor         = [[Joe Clark]]
| successor           = [[John Turner]]
| term_start          = March 3, 1980
| term_end            = June 30, 1984
| monarch             = [[Elizabeth II]]
| governor_general    = {{plainlist|
* [[Edward Schreyer]]
* [[Jeanne Sauvé]]}}
| term_start2         = April 20, 1968
| term_end2           = June 4, 1979
| monarch2            = Elizabeth II
| governor_general2   = {{plainlist|
* [[Roland Michener]]
* [[Jules Léger]]
* Edward Schreyer
}}
| deputy2             = Allan MacEachen (1977–1979)
| predecessor2        = [[Lester B. Pearson]]
| successor2          = Joe Clark
| office3             = [[Leader of the Official Opposition (Canada)|Leader of the Opposition]]
| term_start3         = June 4, 1979
| term_end3           = March 3, 1980
| predecessor3        = Joe Clark
| successor3          = Joe Clark
| office4             = [[Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada|Leader of the Liberal Party]]
| term_start4         = April 6, 1968
| term_end4           = June 16, 1984
| predecessor4        = Lester B. Pearson
| successor4          = John Turner
| office5             = [[Minister of Justice (Canada)|Minister of Justice<br />Attorney General of Canada]]
| term_start5         = April 4, 1967
| term_end5           = July 5, 1968
| primeminister5      = Lester B. Pearson
| predecessor5        = [[Louis Cardin]]
| successor5          = John Turner
| riding8             = [[Mount Royal (electoral district)|Mount Royal]]
| parliament8         = Canadian
| term_start8         = November 8, 1965
| term_end8           = September 4, 1984
| predecessor8        = [[Alan Macnaughton]]
| successor8          = [[Sheila Finestone]]
| birth_name          = Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1919|10|18|mf=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Montreal]], Quebec, Canada
| death_date          = {{nowrap|{{death date and age|mf=yes|2000|9|28|1919|10|18}} }}
| death_place         = Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| restingplace        = [[St-Rémi-de-Napierville Cemetery|Saint-Rémi Cemetery]], [[Saint-Rémi, Quebec|Saint-Rémi]], Quebec
| party               = [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal]]
| father              = [[Charles-Émile Trudeau]]
| spouse              = {{marriage|[[Margaret Trudeau|Margaret Sinclair]]|1971|1984|end=div}}
| children            = 4, including [[Justin Trudeau|Justin]], [[Alexandre Trudeau|Alexandre]], [[Michel Trudeau|Michel]]
| alma_mater          = {{plainlist|
* [[Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf]] ([[Quebec College Diploma|DEC]])
* [[Université de Montréal]] ([[Bachelor of Laws|LLB]])
* [[Harvard University]] ([[Master of Arts|MA]])
* [[Sciences Po]]
* [[London School of Economics]]
}}
| occupation          = {{hlist|Politician|lawyer|jurist|academic|author|journalist}}
| profession          = 
| signature           = Pierre Trudeau Signature 2.svg
<!--Military service-->| allegiance          = Canada
| branch              = [[Canadian Army]]
| unit                = [[Canadian Officers' Training Corps]]
| serviceyears        = 1943–1945
| rank                = [[Officer cadet|Officer Cadet]]
| module              = {{Listen|pos=center|embed=yes|filename=Pierre Trudeau voice.ogg|title=Pierre Trudeau's voice|type=speech|description=Trudeau on tensions between the [[Warsaw Pact]] and [[NATO]]<br/>Recorded December 15, 1983}}
}}

'''Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau'''{{efn|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|r|uː|d|oʊ|,_|t|r|uː|ˈ|d|oʊ}} {{respell|TROO|doh|,_|troo|DOH}}; {{IPA|fr|pjɛʁ tʁydo|lang}}}} (October 18, 1919&nbsp;– September 28, 2000) was a Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 15th [[prime minister of Canada]] from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. Between his non-consecutive terms as prime minister, he served as the [[Leader of the Opposition (Canada)|leader of the Opposition]] from 1979 to 1980.

Trudeau was born and raised in [[Outremont]], Quebec, and studied politics and law. In the 1950s, he rose to prominence as a labour activist in Quebec politics by opposing the [[conservative]] [[Union Nationale (Quebec)|Union Nationale]] government. Trudeau was then an associate professor of law at the [[Université de Montréal]]. He was originally part of the [[social democratic]] [[New Democratic Party]] (NDP), but then joined the [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal Party]] in 1965, believing that the NDP could not achieve power. [[1965 Canadian federal election|That year]], he was elected to the [[House of Commons of Canada|House of Commons]], quickly being appointed as Prime Minister [[Lester&nbsp;B. Pearson]]'s [[parliamentary secretary]]. In 1967, he was appointed as [[Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada|minister of justice and attorney general]]. As minister, Trudeau liberalized [[divorce]] and [[Abortion in Canada|abortion]] laws and decriminalized homosexuality. Trudeau's outgoing personality and charisma caused a sensation, termed "[[Trudeaumania]]", which helped him win the leadership of the Liberal Party in [[1968 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election|1968]]. He then succeeded Pearson and became prime minister of Canada.

From the late 1960s until the mid-1980s, Trudeau dominated the Canadian political scene. After his appointment as prime minister, he won the [[1968 Canadian federal election|1968]], [[1972 Canadian federal election|1972]], and [[1974 Canadian federal election|1974]] elections, before narrowly losing in [[1979 Canadian federal election|1979]]. He won a fourth election victory shortly afterwards, in [[1980 Canadian federal election|1980]], and eventually retired from politics shortly before the [[1984 Canadian federal election|1984 election]]. Trudeau is the most recent prime minister to win four elections (having won three [[majority government]]s and one [[minority government]]) and to serve two non-consecutive terms. His tenure of 15 years and 164 days makes him Canada's [[List of Prime Ministers of Canada by time in office|third-longest-serving]] prime minister, behind [[John A. Macdonald]] and [[William Lyon Mackenzie King]].

In domestic policy, Trudeau's government responded to the [[October Crisis|1970 Quebec terrorist crisis]] by invoking the ''[[War Measures Act]]'', facilitated [[Metrication in Canada|Canada's conversion to the metric system]], established [[Via Rail]], and passed the ''[[Access to Information Act]]'' and the ''[[Canada Health Act]]''. In addition, Trudeau pioneered [[Official bilingualism in Canada|official bilingualism]] and [[Multiculturalism in Canada|multiculturalism]], fostering a pan-Canadian identity, and successfully campaigned against [[1980 Quebec referendum|Quebec's proposal to negotiate a sovereignty-association agreement with the federal government]]. In economic policy, Trudeau's government expanded social programs, introduced the [[capital gains tax]], and oversaw major increases in [[deficit spending]]. In a bid to move the Liberal Party towards [[economic nationalism]], Trudeau created [[Petro-Canada]] and launched the [[National Energy Program]], both of which generated uproar in [[Petroleum industry in Canada|oil]]-rich [[Western Canada]], leading to a rise in what many called "[[Western alienation]]". Trudeau's foreign policy included making Canada more independent. He presided over Canada's entry into the [[G7]], and in 1982 he [[patriated]] the [[Constitution of Canada|Canadian constitution]] and established the ''[[Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms]]'', actions that achieved full [[Canadian sovereignty]]. He also distanced Canada from the [[United States]], maintained cordial relations with the [[Soviet Union]], and formed strong ties with [[China]] and Cuban leader [[Fidel Castro]], which put him at odds with other [[capitalist]] [[Western world|Western]] nations.

Despite his personal motto, "Reason before passion",<ref name="NYT_Kaufman_20000929_Eulogy">{{cite news |newspaper=The New York Times |title=Pierre Trudeau Is Dead at 80; Dashing Fighter for Canada |first=Michael T. |last=Kaufman |date=September 29, 2000 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/29/world/pierre-trudeau-is-dead-at-80-dashing-fighter-for-canada.html|access-date=February 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130525032137/http://www.nytimes.com/2000/09/29/world/pierre-trudeau-is-dead-at-80-dashing-fighter-for-canada.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm |archive-date=May 25, 2013}}</ref> Trudeau aroused polarizing reactions throughout Canada during [[Premierships of Pierre Trudeau|his time in office]]. While critics accused him of arrogance, economic mismanagement, and unduly centralizing Canadian decision-making to the detriment of the culture of Quebec and the economy of the [[Canadian Prairies|Prairies]],{{sfn|Fortin (2000-10-09)|p=A17}} admirers praised what they considered to be the force of his intellect{{sfn|Mallick (2000-09-30)|p=P04}} and his political acumen that maintained national unity over the [[Quebec sovereignty movement]]. In his retirement, Trudeau practised law at the Montreal law firm of [[Heenan Blaikie]]. He also spoke out against the [[Meech Lake Accord|Meech Lake]] and [[Charlottetown Accord|Charlottetown]] accords (which proposed granting Quebec certain concessions), arguing they would strengthen [[Quebec nationalism]]. Trudeau died in 2000. He is ranked highly among scholars in [[Historical rankings of prime ministers of Canada|rankings of Canadian prime ministers]], though he remains a divisive figure in Canadian politics and is viewed less favourably in Western Canada and Quebec. His eldest son, [[Justin Trudeau]], served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025, and was the first prime minister of Canada to be a descendant of a previous prime minister.