10 Years After His Death, Trudeau's Legacy Lives On

(Aired on September 28, 2010)

There can be little argument that Pierre Elliott Trudeau was one of the greatest, most influential Prime Ministers who ever lived. Trudeau died ten years ago, and he's still as much talked about as any PM before or since. We have had great Prime Ministers since our founding, John A. MacDonald, Laurier, Mackenzie King, Pearson, but few have stirred the nation as Pierre Trudeau did. He was arrogant, flamboyant, and some thought of him as simply a jerk for the way he acted with his "fuddle duddle" comments and the way he seemed to look down at Canadians as if they were much lower in station than him. But assessing his career, at a time of political turmoil, separation at the boiling point, and the need to bring our country together, Pierre Trudeau was a master. And few can fault the way he did that.

I will personally never forget one of his most poignant moments, when the FLQ crisis was happening in 1970, and Trudeau introduced the War Measures Act to try and contain this group of terrorists. As a young 22-year old journalist, I watched with interest as CBC reporter Tim Ralfe asked the PM how far he would go to curb civil liberties to bring peace. Trudeau's reply "Well, just watch me." It was a defining moment in our history, and probably solidified Trudeau's support in Western Canada as a French Canadian Prime Minister who was prepared to do anything necessary to bring an end to the crisis.

I never was a big fan of many of the sections of Trudeau's Charter of Rights and Freedoms, but his concept of a "just society" was hard to oppose. He didn't handle the economy particularly well, and he was criticized roundly for his efforts to centralize power in the federal government over the interests of the provinces, particularly with respect to the oil wealth of the prairies. You may like him or not, but you can't deny that Pierre Trudeau was a leader like no other. His charisma may never be seen again in our country, and his legacy will be here for decades to come.