Trudeaumania: The Rise to Power of Pierre Elliott Trudeau

by Robert A. Wright

Finalist for the J.W. Dafoe Book Prize

A Hill-Times Best Book of the Year

Nearly twenty years after his death and more than thirty since his retirement from active politics, Pierre Elliott Trudeau is at long last receding from the lived memory of Canadians. But despite the distance of time, he still holds court in the minds of many, and today his son Justin now lives at 24 Sussex Drive, his own man, though still a Trudeau holding Canada’s highest office.

Trudeaumania is about Pierre Trudeau’s rise to power in 1968. This is a story we thought we knew—the epic saga of the hipster Montrealer who drove up to Ottawa in his Mercedes in 1965, wowed the country with his dictum that “the state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation,” rocked the new medium of television like no one since JFK, and in scant months rode the crest of Canadians’ Centennial-era euphoria into power. This is Canada’s own Camelot myth. It embodies the quirkiness, the passion and the youthful exuberance we ascribe to the 1960s even now. Many of us cherish it. Unfortunately, it is almost entirely wrong. In 1968 Trudeau put forward his vision for Canada’s second century, without guile, without dissembling and without a hard sell. Take it or leave it, he told Canadians. If you do not like my ideas, vote for someone else. We took it.

By bestselling and award-winning author Robert Wright, Trudeaumania sets the record straight even as it illuminates this important part of our history and shines a light on our future.

Genres: History, Politics, Canada, Biography, Nonfiction

384 pages, Hardcover

Published September 20, 2016

About the author

Robert Wright, PhD, is professor of history at Trent University Durham in Oshawa, Ontario. He is the author of the national bestsellers Three Nights in Havana and The Night Canada Stood Still, both of which won the Canadian Authors Association’s Lela Common Award for Canadian History, and Our Man in Tehran, which was made into an award-winning documentary film. He lives in Toronto with his wife and children.

Reviews

[Joshua Loong · Rating 4 out of 5]

A chronicle of Pierre Elliot Trudeau’s remarkable rise to power in the lead up to the 1968 election, this is a compelling work of biography that explores one of the most controversial and impactful figures of Canadian history. The book doesn’t talk about his time in office, so it sort of avoids all the parts about Trudeau people mostly hate about him, and gets to focus on the fun stuff. His rise in politics is nothing short of remarkable, and I doubt would ever happen again. His campaign was one that galvanized Canadians into excitement (and division). It was one of the first to leverage new media (TV) to its full extent, while also centered deeply on politics (i.e. the constitutional question of Quebec).

I came out of reading this with two orthogonal thoughts: 1) politics hasn’t changed at all 2) politics is so different. Politics haven’t changed because the political infighting, smear campaigns, and dumb political posturing looks identical to the politics of today. The promotion of conspiracy theories around Trudeau being a closet communist or demon spawn wouldn’t look too foreign to the social media driven conspiracies we know now.

But politics was also radically different. The tense political climate of the late 60s was particularly unique. The revolutionary, anti-colonial struggles across the world had fomented a very similar, very real undercurrent in Quebec politics that Trudeau faced head on. Violence in the name of separatism was very real, and it was present in the minds of many Canadians especially in the context of MLK and RFK’s assassinations. Politics is incredibly partisan and divisive now, but it is nothing like the 60s.

It’s also remarkable to hear Trudeau and other politicians of the time speak deeply about politics and policy. In the book you’ll see Trudeau getting into it on tricky constitutional questions regarding Quebec in stump speeches, debates, or on TV. This is in huge contrast to today, where politicians largely resort to political sloganeering, speaking in generalities, and avoiding deep policy questions.

Beyond the climate, Trudeau himself was a politician of a very different breed. A constitutional law professor, an intellectual active in publishing magazines and periodicals, a world traveller. Most Canadian politicians these days follow a pretty standard path of law school + political staffing only to eventually run in an open riding. A largely boring, relatively uninspired background to draw from to lead their fellow Canadians. Someone like Trudeau is the complete opposite of this current trend.

In any case, regardless of whether you think Trudeau has been good for the country or not overall, the first few years of his entry into politics was quite exciting, and a lot of it I probably learned in history class, but definitely forgot. He helped decriminalize homosexuality, and loosened restrictions on abortion and divorce. He was one of the few in the Western world to forge out and create his own geopolitical relationships with countries like China. He fought deeply against the idea of a separated Canada. All of this was fascinating to read in the context of the relatively uninspired modern landscape of Canadian politics.

[Alex Abboud · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid book, and fun read. While focused on Trudeau's political rise (and culminating in his 1968 election victory), it doesn't add a lot to what's already known and covered in other books. Of the author's books about Trudeau, Three Nights in Havana adds much more to the public record.

[Ron Peters · Rating 3 out of 5]

We see Justin on television so often now with updates on Canada’s COVID response that Robert Wright’s book caught my eye. Except that they are both classic liberals, there is little similarity between father and son. Justin is no intellectual, and Pierre was the opposite of a mealy-mouthed waffler. Whence this deflation in the quality and courageousness of political discourse?

This book covers enough of Trudeau’s early history to provide context but focuses on the time from his arrival in Parliament to his election as Prime Minister. My main reaction – aside from enjoying reliving the stir Trudeau created – was the shock of remembering how weird a year 1968 was.

The U.S. had student riots, race riots, the assassinations of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bobby Kennedy, and Johnson declining to run for election because of massive opposition to the war in Vietnam. Charles de Gaulle fled the Élysée Palace to escape student riots in Paris. Russian tanks rolled into Prague. Canada had its demonstrations and riots, directed at the Vietnam War, women’s rights, gay rights, a fledgling Green movement, and anti-nuclear activism. But the big deal was Quebec separatism and, in its wake, the launching of our constitutional adventures.

The book climaxes with Trudeau standing up to the fierce riots and FLQ death threats that attended his appearance at the St-Jean-Baptiste Day parade in Montreal on 24 June 1968. This is history for the younger generation to ponder. Perhaps we are not now living in the craziest of all possible worlds. Now I want to read Kurlansky’s 1968: The Year That Rocked the World. Darn! Too many books.

[Geoffrey Kelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is always a bit disconcerting when events I remember now find their way into HISTORY books! My father was a delegate to the 1968 Liberal Party leadership convention that elected a Pierre Elliott Trudeau. I was 13 years old, and was impressed by the quantity of pamphlets and paraphernalia we received through the mail from each candidate. My father was a a Trudeau man, so that coloured by views, but PET had the “ charisma” ( a word I learned for the first time then), was hip, and was a determined federalist. Fifty years later, the debate over the nature of our federal system, the responsibilities of the federal and provincial governments, and the status that should be given to Quebec as the foyer for French-speaking Canadians continues. Much has changed since, notably around indigenous questions, gender parity, and our increasingly pluralistic society, but the vision proposed by Trudeau père still remains pertinent and controversial to this day. Robert Wright captures the spirit of the time effectively.

[Sean Flatley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this non-fiction book how Pierre Trudeu became Prime Minister of Canada in the late 1960's. The book just focused on him from 1967 to late 1968.
Its a good read of a book and I throughly enjoyed reading it and recommended for anyone who interested in Canadian politics. Best wishes Sean

[Raimo Wirkkala · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wright does a nice job of ironing-out the popular myth surrounding the ascent of Pierre Elliott Trudeau. The facts of the matter are actually quite interesting and I enjoyed revisiting those days in the history of this country.

[Christine B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really solid overview of Pierre Trudeau's life -- was even good for this relative beginner to the topic.