The Essential Trudeau - Hardcover

Trudeau, Pierre Elliott

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0771085915 ISBN 13: 9780771085918

Publisher: McClelland & Stewart Ltd, 1999

Synopsis

Pierre Elliott Trudeau always opposed the dominant ideology and what passed for conventional wisdom. This was true when he spoke out against the oppressive rule of Maurice Duplessis in Quebec. It was true in his years in Ottawa, as justice minister and prime minister, when he introduced controversial measures ranging from wage-and-price controls and restrictions on foreign investments, to expanded rights for homosexuals. It remained true in the years after his retirement, particularly when he has took issue with the more provocative expressions of Quebec nationalism and with federal initiatives such as Meech Lake and the Charlottetown Accord.

Now neo-conservative ideas have taken over. Virtually every level of government in Canada is competing with the others to reduce the role of the state and eliminate constraints on business. Less government has come to mean a smaller role especially for the federal government. And the increased powers taken on by the provinces are being used, increasingly, to substitute private interests for the public good. The Canada that promoted equality, justice, and opportunity for all is under sustained attack. Never has the need for a clear statement of liberal principles been greater.

In this volume, Ron Graham brought together a selection of excerpts from Trudeau’s writings, speeches, and interviews – many of them never before published in book form – to make a highly readable, lucid, and compelling summary of Trudeau’s political beliefs. To each chapter in this selection Trudeau provided an introduction and to many of the excerpts he added a new commentary. The result is a book of remarkable power: rational, timely, and eloquent.

About this title

About the Author:

Pierre Elliott Trudeau was a politician, writer, constitutional lawyer, and prime minister of Canada (1968-79, 1980-84). It was his forthright approach and candid opposition to the dominant ideology and what passed for conventional wisdom that won him strong support as well as criticism. During his years in Ottawa, as justice minister and prime minister, he introduced controversial measures ranging from wage-and-price controls and restrictions on foreign investment, to expanded rights for homosexuals. Some of his major accomplishments include the 1980 defeat of Québec separatism, official bilingualism, the patriated Constitution, and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. He is also known for his opposition to the much-publicized Meech Lake and Charlottetown accords. Trudeau was awarded the Albert Einstein Peace

About this edition

• Publisher: McClelland & Stewart Ltd
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0771085915
• ISBN 13: 9780771085918
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 198
• Editor: Graham Ron