The Political Ideals Of Pierre Trudeau - 2989 Words

Essay: What were the political ideals of Pierre Trudeau? To what extent did he live up to those ideals during his years as Prime Minister? INTRO Pierre Philippe Yves Elliot Trudeau, better known as Pierre Trudeau, was an author, a university professor, a lawyer and a politician. Through his political actions, as well as through his personality, he stimulated a great deal of emotions, both positive and negative, among the Canadian public. Thus making him a very memorable figure. He introduced important political initiatives, which strongly influenced many aspects of Canadian political and private life. His significance is still recognized by Canadians at present, which is illustrated by the fact that in 2004, he was selected as the†¦show more content†¦Thus giving him thereby, an extensive background in politics and economy (Cohen Granatstein, 1998). Trudeau ´s ideals began in his early years, when he met Franà §ois Hertel, one of his favorite teachers, and who inspired him to read authors as Jacques Maritain and Emmanuel Mounier, great philosophers advocators of personalism (Ricci, 2009). Trudeau was strongly devoted to a strain of individualism based on the Catholic principle of personalism and was committed to human rights. He condemned the character of nationalism and argued in favour of federalism as the ultimate form of organization. The strength of Trudeau’s personality and his determination to transform Canada lead him to defend a ‘rational messianism† founded on the idea that Canada had the moral responsibility to defeat Quebec nationalism (Monsterrat, 36) .Many Anglophone Canadians greeted Trudeau’s proposals of a new pan-Canadian identity that would strengthen Canadian unity. Trudeau offered a new image of Canada at a time when British connection had weakened as a result of the disassembly of the British Empire. For Trudeau personalism was defined as, â€Å"the individual enriched with a social conscience, integrated into the life of the communities around him and the