Young Trudeau: 1919-1944: Son of Quebec, Father of Canada

An analytical biography of young Trudeau that successfully breaks down some of the myths behind the aura. Here are some of the myths dispelled: Trudeau as young rebel, as recalcitrant student. Trudeau was very much a product of his environment. The authors paint a picture of Quebec from the 1920's thru the early 1940's. That picture is not very ennobling. The French Canadians of Quebec were sequestered within a religious-ethnic cocoon. There was little contact with the outside world -with non-French and non-Catholics. Trudeau's Jesuit education was a form of religious indoctrination that led him to be a fervid French-Canadian nationalist of the time (the word today would be Quebecois). Trudeau spoke and wrote avidly of his French-Canadian national aspirations (for instance he was anti-conscription - hence rabidly despised MacKenzie King).Trudeau was also very proto-fascist, which was a good fit with the French-Canadian elite of the era who spoke well of Mussolini's fascism, Franco's Spain and later of Petain's `rule' of Nazi occupied France. Petain's policy favouring religion and family was well received by religious leader's in Quebec. This same elite was anti-British and saw Britain's opposition to Hitler's Germany as nothing more than a trick to lure French Canadian's into another colonial war. The myopia of these leaders overlooked the blatant evil of a Nazi-dominated Europe. It must be remembered that religion and education in Quebec at that time were closely linked - for all practical purposes Quebec was a religious state - at least for the French Canadians. There was little contact with English Quebecers who were viewed as aliens hardly to be trusted. The Brebeuf school that Trudeau attended had lists of restricted authors and books. As the authors sardonically mention - the Jesuit's at Brebeuf had absorbed nothing of France after the revolution of 1789. After graduation Trudeau continued to write to them for permission to read/study some of these restricted books while at Universite de Montreal. Seems like a very docile or conforming Trudeau to me - or quite different from the one encountered in the 1960-80's! So much for his `pretended' independence from authority as a young student. Another myth dispelled with is that Trudeau `stumbled' into political life in the early 1960's. Trudeau's entire young adult life is a thorough and conscious preparation for obtaining political office and power. There are some glimpses of the emerging leader we come to know. Even at Brebeuf school Trudeau believed in the `supremacy of the individual'. But at that time he felt the individual could best achieve full stature through a proto-fascist dictatorship - in his case a French-Canadian Catholic corporatist one. The author's emphasize that Trudeau encapsulated Quebec society in the early 1940's. He was barely aware of the rise to power of Hitler and the start of World War II. In all the pages of notes Trudeau made of the books and courses he took - t

As a law student in 1965 of Pierre E. Trudeau, Canada's former Prime Minister, I had more than a passing interest in reading Max and Monique Nemni's recent tome Young Trudeau Son of Quebec, Father of Canada 1919-1944: Volume One. Trudeau always fascinated me with his superb intellect, infinite knowledge and photographic memory. However, I must confess that I was likewise astounded and distressed, as were the Nemni's, pertaining to what they discovered from Trudeau's personal letters, notes, memoirs, and interviews with friends and relatives from the time he entered elementary school until he graduated from the Université de Montréal in 1944 with a degree in law, prior to his attending Harvard. As the Nemni's point out in their introduction, Trudeau played many roles during his lifetime, "magician, giant, writer, joker, flirt, superb athlete, playboy and outstanding intellect." When a poll was conducted as to who was Canada's sexiest male, Trudeau at the age of seventy won hands down! No doubt, when he left the political scene, there existed a charismatic void that has never been replaced by any other Canadian politician. What emerges from this absorbing tome is that contrary to what many believe that Trudeau was not interested in pursuing a political career, nothing could be further from the truth. When you read about his early student days and how he recognized the essential traits that an astute politician and statesman must possess, you come to a much different conclusion. He certainly was not dragged into politics in 1968 by the Liberal Party and he was very well-prepared for the role he was called upon to play in the years following his initial election. Perhaps, you can compare Trudeau to a kind of James Bond, whom by the way he greatly admired. This had been brought to my attention when we had completed our exams for his course on Constitutional Law and he asked some of the students what were their plans for the Christmas holidays. After listening for a few minutes, he confided to us that he loved James Bond movies and was going to catch up on all of them during the holidays. The Nemni's first volume meticulously researches and exposes Trudeau's early student days when he attended the French Canadian elitist Jesuit classical Collège Jean-de- Brébeuf until he left Montreal at the age of twenty-five to attend Harvard in Boston. It was here in the late 1930s and early 1940s where Trudeau was swept away by his Jesuit professors who were for the most part ultra-conservative, defensive, nationalistic and inward towards the past. The combined fundamental values that invested all the life of the college was nationalism and religion with Quebec separatism thrown in. Moreover, the Jesuits believed that it was their charge to cultivate those elite and from its ranks it was hoped that a leader would materialize who would mirror this Christian education and its values. The Catholic Church controlled the minds and souls of their parishioners from

Trudeau was an unmitigated disaster for Canada. A xenophobic anti-semite who lurched Canada to the radical left. Now is the time to reconsider what Canada is,what Trudeau was,where Canada is going,and if it`s not too late to undo the damage. Trudeaupia , or a truly free Canada ?