Pierre Elliot Trudeau 1

THE POLITICS OF MY WAY

Unlike the United States, with its generalissimo politics-Washington, Jackson,
Grant, Eisehower- the martial arts have been conspicuously absent from Canadian
politics. But there in one exception: in 1968 Pierre Elliot Trudeau became the first
Canadian leader to bring the gunslinger-Lone Ranger ethos to Canadian politics.
Trudeau introduced to Canada the refined art of single combat; it was the
politics of "Doing It My Way"-the politics of going my way or being left behind.
Single-combat confrontation implied much mor than the loner or renegade in power, and
far far less than the shaman black tricks of Mackenzie King. Trudeau was always far
more the solo Philosopher King engaged in intellectual trial by combat than the Magus
Merlin conjuring up solutions by puffs of smoke, sleight of hand or divine
intervention. Ouijaboard politics was the occult domain of Mackenzie King, a man
virtually devoid of policy, a political palm reader forever checking the whims and
moods of his powerful baronial-Ralston Howe, St. Laurent-and sometimes Byronian
colleagues to see how best he could placate them, or calm them, or Heap his beatitudes
upon them.
Trudeau, from day one , was always more samurai than shaman. Even in his pre-
leadership days, Trudeau's love of trial by combat was predominant. Mackenzie King
would have never touched the unholy trinity of divorce, abortion and homosexuality:
each one of these issues is a sleeping dog best left to lie; each could only infuriate
conservative Canada from coast to coast. Since King dared not touch them seriatim
he certainly would not have touched them together-in an omnibus bill.
This, Trudeau did joyously. The myths-makers have it at this was Trudeau's
first deliberated joust, the kingship being the final prize. But Trudeau had no
leadership aspirations at the time; all that he had, still has, was the love of combat
for the sake of combat and religious scruples be damned. Trudeau the Catholic zealot
tackle divorce, abortion and homosexuality active Prime Minister in this country's
history, liberated the homosexual practitioners of black acts totally abhorrent to
him; ironically, in the process, Trudeau gave irrational Canada a pretext for branding
him a homosexual too.
P.E.T. has always hated the consensus building of Mackenzie King; even the
populist following of a Diefenbaker was an anathema to Trudeau. The single-combat
warrior "doing it my way" is always alone; he leads the people but is not of them;
like the prophet he wanders either in dessert or lush green pastures and often, like
the prophet, he watches his people march into the Promised Land without him. For
Trudeau, being alone is to be free; victory is a consequence of solitude;
companionship an act of weakness, cronyism even wise.
It is ironic that Trudeau, a devout Jansenist Roman Catholic, emotionally and
philosophically opposed to both divorce and abortion, should grant Canadians greatly
expanded divorce rights and their first right to legale abortion.
Trudeau took the unholy trinity then disturbing the bedrooms of the nation
because all three were trial combat, all three required one strong man to push them
through. In this minefield Canada's political loner had walked alone and apparently
loved it.
Canada's other solo flyer, John Diefenbaker, may or may not have been a renegade
in power, but the input his holitics received from Senate cronies and Kitchen cabinets
was enormous. The letters and advice that daily poured in to the chief were a
populist input that Diefenbaker slavishly adhered to. Trudeau was no Diefenbaker;
he was neither a populist nor a renegade. Trudeau was simply a man who brilliantly
massaged and manipulated others so that his single will appeared to be the will of
many, so that his will be always done.
The theme of my-way politics sheds much light on the vrai Trudeau, the Trudeau
that is, rather than the Trudeau people think there is. Trudeau has never been the
privacy-demanding recluse, the reluctant leader that herdsmen of Canadian journalism
insist he is.
In secular life Trudeau is no trinitarian; he has chosen his oneness because,
from the earliest politics, oneness worked for him so spectacular. Trudeau's personal
handling of the constriction crisis was a "my way" all the way. Trudeau, the self-
proclaimed socialist prophet of his people, waxed ever so eloquently against the sins
of conscription, and yet Trudeau seemingly could not see in War measures that
potential greater evil of a Canadian fascism that surly meant permanent conscription
and enslavement of all. Equally puzzling is the referral of Trudeau's nationalist
compatriots and colleagues in the years since to give him any credit for fighting in
1942 a good nationalist fight on behalf of the anti-conscription, quasi-separatist
candidacy of Jean Drapeau; not so puzzling in the refusal of Angelo Saxon patriots
to give Trudeau any credit at all for joining a reserve regiment before the war.
There was both a typical Trudeau "a plague on both your houses" in all this, and even
more of the gunslinger spraying bullets on both side of the saloon bar.
The style of the lone gunslinger was already apperant in Trudeau's early radical
posture. Cite libre was a radical editorial collective run completely by Trudeau.
Trudeau the then internationalist and socialist shared ideological bed and board with
David Lewis, Frank Scott, Eugene Forsey and Theresa Casgrain, but only Trudeau's CCF
and NDP membership cards mysteriously do not exist today. Even that minor bit of
collectivist discipline, the proud possession of a party card, was abhorrent to the
free-wheeling independent Trudeau.
The ideologically committed gunslinger found little in the democratic process
to nourish him. The social democratic Trudeau first entered the electoral lists only
only in the safest Liberal seat in the country. Trudeau knew that group dynamic,
group participation, in not ideologically and politically effective as when the few
shape the many.
This single-warrior syndrome explains many shifts and patterns in the Trudeau
character. Diefenbaker revelled in the democratic panorama; Diefenbaker failed to
keep urban Canada aboard his carousel and never really got french Canada aboard in
the first place, but the Chief's strengths and weakness flowed from the ordinary
people who loved him and the sophisticates and big city people who hated him. P.E.T.
never did deal in democratic norms; instead, the elitist Trudeau gave Quebec's
elitists the first crack at the bilingual club and transformed the federal
bureaucracy, at least on its highest levels, to be a bilingual workplace in which the
frankphone would be supreme.
INTRO

Canada, and its record of careful middle-of-the-road politics has
produced leaders who were careful and middle-of-the-road as well, until
1968 when Canada and the world was introduced to Prime Minister Pierre
Elliot Trudeau.
He had walked and cycled through Europe, and been on the wrong
side of the bars in foreign jails. Not your average guy. Not your
average Prime Minister.
The future Prime Minister was the second child and the elder son
of the family. He was born on October 18th, 1919. At a very young age
Trudeau was the current, attacking authority and not giving a "DAMN"
for the public opinion.
In 1940 Prime Minister Trudeau entered the law faculty at the
University of Montreal. He says that he hesitated between law &
psychology, but had to settle for law since Montreal didn't offer
psychology and the war kept him in Canada.
As a student he enlisted in the Canadian officers Training Corps.
He was given a commission on a lieutenant, a rank he held until his
retirement in 1947. LIFE
Joseph Philippe Pierre Elliote Trudeau to say his names in order
was born an October 18, 1919. Pierre wasn't the sort of person that
you think would become one of Canada's longest in office Prime
Ministers.
At home Pierre's mother spoke mainly English, although she was
fluent in french. His mother provided the English balance. Charles-
Emily Pierre's father taught him sports as Pierre was very good at
them. Pierre practised the art of KARATE and soon became a brown belt,
one below black belt. He also knew how to skin dive and could descend
150 feet off a cliff and come out without a scratch. Other than
teaching Pierre sports, Charles-Emile also put together a franchise of
gas stations that grew to include 15,000 members and filling $1,400,000
for his stations.
As a boy, living in Montreal, he favoured the English instead of
the French and when his friends were unhappy of the French losing,
Pierre was celebrating. Many of his teachers in primary school said
that Pierre was a headstrong individualist who involved himself
frequently in fights and practical jokes. In 1924 or 1925 Charles-
Emily, Pierre father died, and Pierre was only fourteen years old at
the time. Since his parents were so rich he got driven to school by a
chauffeur and ran with a crowd called LES SNOBS. As a student Pierre
joined the COTC, Canadian Officers Training Corps. Pierre lack of self
discipline got him into trouble a lot and he was soon kicked out of the
COTC. Pierre didn't always get into trouble actually as he was a very
smart kid and one of his teachers commented that Pierre was a pupil who
was good at every subject. In 1940 Pierre entered the law faculty at
the University of Montreal.