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183-547: Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau (October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. Between his non-consecutive terms as prime minister, he served as the leader of the Opposition from 1979 to 1980. Trudeau was born and raised in Outremont , Quebec , a Montreal suburb, and studied politics and law. In
366-502: A surprise election in 1976 that resulted in René Lévesque and the sovereigntist Parti Québécois (PQ) winning a majority government. The PQ had chiefly campaigned on a "good government" platform, but promised a referendum on independence to be held within their first mandate. Trudeau and Lévesque had been personal rivals, with Trudeau's intellectualism contrasting with Lévesque's more working-class image. While Trudeau claimed to welcome
549-419: A " Multiculturalism Policy" on October 8, 1971. It was the first of its kind in the world, subsequently being emulated by several provinces such as Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba; even other countries, most notably Australia, which has had a similar history and immigration pattern, emulated the policy. Beyond the specifics of the policy itself, this action signalled an openness to the world and coincided with
732-674: A "clear, comprehensive energy policy for the United States." The Canadian petroleum industry arose in parallel with that of the US. The first oil well in North America was dug in Ontario in 1848 by using picks and shovels, one year before the first oil well in the United States had been drilled in Pennsylvania. By 1870, Canada had 100 oil refineries in operation and was exporting oil to Europe. However,
915-488: A "greatly-expanded Petro-Canada." In 1974, Canada inaugurated its first system for pricing oil with three objectives: to regulate prices of domestic crude oil by federal-provincial agreements, to subsidize imported oil so that consumers in Eastern Canada would enjoy lower prices, and to control prices and quantities of crude oil and products in the exporting market. Synthetic crude oil (upgraded petroleum from oil sands)
1098-606: A 33% increase over the previous year. The bankruptcy rate began to fall from 1983 to 1985, as the economy strengthened. From 1980 to 1985, bankruptcies per 1,000 businesses in Canada peaked at 50% above the 1980 rate. Meanwhile, the bankruptcy rate in Alberta rose by 150% after the NEP took effect. Since bankruptcies and real estate prices did not fare as negatively in Central Canada as in
1281-457: A Franco-Manitoban. Following their advice, he chose a career in politics and a degree in law at the Université de Montréal . In his obituary, The Economist described Trudeau as "parochial as a young man", who "dismissed the second world war as a squabble between the big powers, although he later regretted 'missing one of the major events of the century'." In his 1993 Memoir, Trudeau wrote that
1464-508: A French Canadian Catholic living outside the province of Quebec for the first time, felt like an outsider. As his sense of isolation deepened, he decided in 1947 to continue his work on his Harvard dissertation in Paris , where he studied at the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po). The Harvard dissertation remained unfinished when Trudeau briefly entered a doctoral program to study under
1647-535: A caucus may trigger a party leadership review and, if necessary, chose an interim leader, thereby making a prime minister more accountable to the MPs in one's party. Caucuses may choose to follow these rules, though the decision would be made by recorded vote, thereby subjecting the party's choice to public scrutiny. The Senate may delay or impede legislation put forward by the Cabinet, such as when Brian Mulroney 's bill creating
1830-681: A change in the balance of power from consuming countries, which now included the United States, to producing countries. On October 16, 1973, the Ministerial Committee of the Persian Gulf's OPEC membership announced an immediate rise in its posted price from $ 2.18 to $ 5.12 per barrel of oil . "Thus for the first time in oil history, the producing countries assumed power to consider and set the oil price unilaterally , and independently of the" Seven Sisters. The Yom Kippur War ended in October, but
2013-842: A civil servant in Ottawa in 1949. Until 1951 he worked in the Privy Council Office of the Liberal Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent as an economic policy advisor. He wrote in his memoirs that he found this period very useful when he entered politics later on, and that senior civil servant Norman Robertson tried unsuccessfully to persuade him to stay on. Trudeau's progressive values and his close ties with Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) intellectuals (including F. R. Scott , Eugene Forsey , Michael Kelway Oliver and Charles Taylor ) led to his support of and membership in that federal democratic socialist party throughout
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#17328451280362196-576: A conference called by British Columbia Premier W. A. C. Bennett to attempt to finally patriate the Canadian constitution . Negotiations between the provinces and Justice Minister John Turner created a draft agreement, known as the Victoria Charter , that entrenched a charter of rights, bilingualism, and a guarantee of a veto of constitutional amendments for Ontario and Quebec, as well as regional vetoes for Western Canada and Atlantic Canada , within
2379-413: A deal in exchange for James Cross' life, although they eventually returned to Canada years later, where they served time in prison. Although this response is still controversial and was opposed at the time as excessive by parliamentarians like Tommy Douglas and David Lewis , it was met with only limited objections from the public. After consultations with the provincial premiers, Trudeau agreed to attend
2562-544: A deficit of $ 667 million, while the 1969 budget produced a surplus of $ 140 million. However, the 1970 budget (which produced a deficit of over $ 1 billion) marked the start of consecutive budget deficits run by the Trudeau government; the budget would not be balanced until 1997 . By the time Trudeau's first tenure ended in 1979, the deficit grew to $ 12 billion. In 1971, Trudeau's government greatly expanded unemployment insurance , making coverage nearly universal as coverage for
2745-471: A down payment for the acquisition of an owner-occupied dwelling or to buy furnitures for the dwelling (or the spouse's dwelling). Individuals who already owned a home (either owner-occupied or rented to another person) could not deduct RHOSP contributions. In 1976, Trudeau's government allowed for transfers of funds between the RHOSP (for instance to select a plan with better returns). In 1977, the government tightened
2928-445: A federal share of petroleum production income at the wellhead which will rise from about 10 per cent in recent years to 24 per cent over the 1980-83 period, with the share of the producing provinces falling from 45 to 43 per cent and that of the industry falling from 45 to 33 per cent over the same period; (f) added incentives for energy conservation and energy conversion away from oil, particularly applicable to Eastern Canada, including
3111-486: A final and bloody conflict, armed rioters fired on the troops, and the soldiers returned fire. At least five men were killed by gunfire and there were over 150 casualties and $ 300,000 in damage. In 1939, it was Lapointe who helped draft the Liberals' policy against conscription for service overseas. Lapointe was aware that a new conscription crisis would destroy the national unity that Mackenzie King had been trying to build since
3294-553: A government the individual most likely to receive the support, or confidence, of a majority of the directly elected members of the House of Commons ; as a practical matter, this is often the leader of the party, or a coalition of parties, whose members form a majority , or a very large plurality , of seats in the House of Commons. No document is needed to begin the appointment; a party leader becomes prime minister-designate as soon as he accepts
3477-531: A leading figure opposing Duplessis's rule. Trudeau actively supported the workers in the Asbestos Strike who opposed Duplessis in 1949. Trudeau was the co-founder and editor of Cité Libre , a dissident journal that helped provide the intellectual basis for the Quiet Revolution. In 1956, he edited an important book on the subject, La grève de l'amiante , which argued that the asbestos miners' strike of 1949
3660-595: A majority of seats. Trudeau's Liberals subsequently won a plurality of seats in the 2019 and 2021 elections , leaving Trudeau with minority governments . The position of prime minister is not outlined in any Canadian constitutional document and is mentioned only in a few sections of the Constitution Act, 1982 , and the Letters Patent, 1947 , issued by King George VI . The office and its functions are instead governed by constitutional conventions and modelled on
3843-514: A majority), the prime minister can attempt to maintain the confidence of the House by forming a coalition with other minority parties, which was last entertained in 1925 or by entering into a confidence-and-supply agreement , or by winning support of other parties on a vote-by-vote basis. Because the prime minister is in practice the most politically powerful member of the Canadian government , they are sometimes erroneously referred to as Canada's head of state , when, in fact, that role belongs to
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#17328451280364026-503: A more open immigration policy that Pearson had brought in. The policy recognized that while Canada was a country of two official languages, it recognized a plurality of cultures – "a multicultural policy within a bilingual framework". This annoyed public opinion in Quebec, which believed that it challenged Quebec's claim of Canada being a country of two nations. Following the Vietnam War,
4209-488: A national oil shortage to occur, and would suspend the cuts if a shortage occurred. The threat was successful as Trudeau and Lougheed signed "an oil and gas prices and revenue sharing" agreement in 1981: "The agreement sets a series of price increases for old oil starting with a $ 2.50 a barrel increase on October 1, 1981 and "generous" near world prices for new oil, effective January 1, 1982, which will see an estimated wellhead price of $ 49.22 per barrel by July 1, 1982. New oil
4392-411: A net oil exporter, became a major oil importer. In 1970, US oil production unexpectedly peaked and started to decline, which caused global oil markets to tighten rapidly as the US started to import more and more Arab oil. As the decade continued, global demand caught up with global supply, and two major oil price shocks occurred: the 1973 oil crisis and the 1979 oil crisis . The first occurred after
4575-400: A peak in 1981 at only $ 514, compared to Alberta's peak of $ 12,735 the same year, both values being 2004 inflation-adjusted dollars. Thus, during the NEP (1980 to 1985), Alberta was the sole overall net contributor to the federal government, and all other provinces enjoyed being net recipients. In 1982, during the severe global recession, there were over 30,000 consumer bankruptcies in Canada,
4758-774: A pipeline in Western Canada, and in 1953, the 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) Transmountain Pipeline was built from Edmonton to Vancouver , British Columbia, with an extension to northwest Washington . The pipelines did more to improve the energy security of the United States than that of Canada since the Canadian government was more interested in Canada's trade balance than in military or energy security. The Canadian government assumed that Eastern Canada could always import enough oil to meet its needs and that imported oil would always be cheaper than domestic oil. The National Energy Board (NEB)
4941-458: A proportion of units toward social housing initiatives. In order to ensure that loans contributed to the provision of low income housing, the CMHC was restricted to giving loans amounting to $ 7500 or less per unit. The Registered home ownership savings plan (RHOSP) was introduced in the government's November 1974 budget . Similar to RRSPs , proceeds from the RHOSP could be received tax-free for either
5124-621: A refugee crisis was caused by the flight of the " boat people " from Vietnam, as thousands of people, mostly ethnic Chinese, fled the country in makeshift boats across the South China Sea , usually to the British colony of Hong Kong. The Trudeau government was generous in granting asylum to the refugees. By 1980, Canada had accepted about 44,000 of the "boat people", making it one of the top destinations for them. In 1969, Trudeau, along with his then- Minister of Indian Affairs Jean Chrétien , proposed
5307-453: A revenue-sharing agreement. Opponents claim that due to the NEP, the unemployment rate in Alberta rose from 3.7 percent to 12.4 percent, the bankruptcy rate in Alberta rose by 150 percent, and Alberta's losses were estimated to be between $ 50 billion and $ 100 billion (though Alberta's unemployment rate, bankruptcy rate, and revenue losses were also affected by the early 1980s recession and a crash in oil prices). The term " Western alienation "
5490-637: A rise in the polls after the rejection of the Victoria Charter, the Quebec Liberals had taken a more confrontational approach with the federal government on the constitution, French language laws , and the language of air traffic control in Quebec. Trudeau responded with increasing anger at what he saw as nationalist provocations against Ottawa's bilingualism and constitutional initiatives, at times expressing his personal contempt for Bourassa. Partially in an attempt to shore up his support, Bourassa called
5673-529: A rise in what many called " Western alienation ". In other domestic policy, Trudeau pioneered official bilingualism and multiculturalism , fostering a pan-Canadian identity. Trudeau's foreign policy included making Canada more independent; he patriated the Constitution and established the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms , actions that achieved full Canadian sovereignty . He distanced Canada from
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5856-504: A second major oil shock. For the industrial world this has meant a sharp renewal of inflationary forces and real income losses. For the developing world this second oil shock has been a major tragedy. Their international deficits are now three to four times the sum they receive in aid from the rest of the world.... They are not just Canadian problems. ...they are world-wide problems. At the Venice Summit and at meetings of Finance Ministers of
6039-572: A senator, and Bennett moved to the United Kingdom after being elevated to the House of Lords . A number were leaders of the Official Opposition : John A. Macdonald, Arthur Meighen , Mackenzie King, and Pierre Trudeau, all before being re-appointed as prime minister (Mackenzie King twice); Alexander Mackenzie and John Diefenbaker , both prior to sitting as regular Members of Parliament until their deaths; Wilfrid Laurier dying while still in
6222-462: A significant number of the major oil and gas corporations, and an early increase in the share of the oil and gas sector owned by the Government of Canada." While the program increased domestic price controls, the emphasis on revenue sharing and incentives for oil exploration on federally owned lands was viewed critically by Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed . Lougheed fought the program vigorously in
6405-557: A variety of taxes and revenue-sharing agreements. The NEP's Petroleum Gas Revenue Tax (PGRT) instituted a double-taxation mechanism that did not apply to other commodities, such as gold and copper (see "Program details" item (c), below), "to redistribute revenue from the [oil] industry and lessen the cost of oil for Eastern Canada" in an attempt to insulate the Canadian economy from the shock of rising global oil prices (see "Program details" item (a), below). In 1981, Scarfe argued that by keeping domestic oil prices below world market prices,
6588-461: A variety of taxes and revenue-sharing with the oil-producing Western Canadian provinces. The NEP proved to be a highly controversial policy initiative and sparked intense opposition and anger in Western Canada, particularly in Alberta. The province's premier , Peter Lougheed , was a vocal opponent of the NEP on the grounds that it interfered with provincial jurisdiction and unfairly deprived Alberta of oil revenue. In 1981, Lougheed and Trudeau reached
6771-486: A well near Leduc, Alberta , to see what was causing peculiar anomalies on its newly introduced reflection seismology surveys. The peculiar anomalies turned out to be oil fields, and Leduc No. 1 was the discovery well for the first of many large oil fields . As a consequence of the large finds, cheap and plentiful Alberta oil produced a huge surplus of oil on the Canadian Prairies, which had no immediate market since
6954-487: Is a leader of the opposition , the King must send for him." If the leader of the opposition is unable or unwilling to form a government, the governor general can consult whomever he wishes. While there is no legal requirement for the prime minister to be an MP, for practical and political reasons the prime minister is expected to win a seat very promptly. However, in rare circumstances individuals who are not sitting members of
7137-731: Is a prime minister and a government in place, and exercising the right 'to encourage, to advise, and to warn'[...] Without really revealing any secrets, I can tell you that I have done all three." Two official residences are provided to the prime minister— 24 Sussex Drive in Ottawa and Harrington Lake , a country retreat in Gatineau Park —as well an office in the Office of the Prime Minister and Privy Council building (formerly known as Langevin Block), across from Parliament Hill . For transportation,
7320-451: Is appointed by the monarch 's representative, the governor general and the office exists per long-established convention . Constitutionally, executive authority is vested in the monarch (who is the head of state ), but, in practice, the powers of the monarch and governor general are nearly always exercised on the advice of the Cabinet, which is collectively responsible to the House of Commons. Canadian prime ministers are appointed to
7503-474: Is defined as oil from pools initially discovered after December 31, 1980. It includes new conventional oil found in Alberta, synthetic oil, including existing production from the SUNCOR and SYNCRUDE plants, and new oil from Canada lands.... At their press conference Tuesday, the leaders of both parties estimated the deal is worth an approximate $ 212.8 billion in revenues to Ottawa, Alberta and the petroleum industry over
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7686-453: Is due, and that new leader is not a member of the legislature, they will normally await the upcoming election before running for a seat in Parliament. The prime minister serves at His Majesty's pleasure , meaning the post does not have a fixed term, and once appointed and sworn in by the governor general, the prime minister remains in office until they resign, are dismissed, or die. While
7869-539: Is ranked highly among scholars in rankings of Canadian prime ministers , though he remains a divisive figure in Canadian politics and is viewed less favourably in Western Canada and Quebec. His eldest son, Justin Trudeau , became the 23rd and current prime minister, following the 2015 Canadian federal election ; Justin Trudeau is the first prime minister of Canada to be a descendant of a former prime minister. The Trudeau family can be traced to Marcillac-Lanville in France in
8052-463: Is the case in the UK). There do exist checks on the prime minister's power: the House of Commons may revoke its confidence in an incumbent prime minister and Cabinet or caucus revolts can quickly bring down a serving premier and even mere threats of such action can persuade or compel a prime minister to resign their post, as happened with Jean Chrétien . The Reform Act, 2014 , codifies the process by which
8235-563: The National Housing Act to provide financial assistance for new home buying , loans for co-operative housing , and low interest loans for municipal and private non-profit housing. The amendments saw the introduction the Rental Rehabilitation Assistance Program, which established that homeowners and occupants in low income neighborhoods could qualify for small grants to be used for home repair. Also introduced
8418-414: The 1967 oil embargo by ramping up domestic production and flooding the world market with additional product at cut-rate prices, but declining domestic production and the ongoing rise in global demand prevented a similar response to the 1973 Arab embargo. The result was immediate shortages and lineups for gasoline in importing countries, particularly the US, which signalled the end of decades of cheap oil and
8601-478: The 1968 election with a strong majority government ; this was the Liberals' first majority since 1953 . Trudeau's first major legislative push was implementing the majority of recommendations from Pearson's Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism via the Official Languages Act , which made French and English the co-equal official languages of the federal government. More controversial than
8784-585: The 1969 White Paper (officially entitled "Statement of the Government of Canada on Indian policy"). The Paper proposed the general assimilation of First Nations into the Canadian body politic through the elimination of the Indian Act and Indian status, the parcelling of reserve land to private owners, and the elimination of the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs . The White Paper was widely seen as racist and an attack on Canada's indigenous peoples, and prompted
8967-433: The 1971 budget . Also implemented in 1972 was the child care expense deduction which allowed for a deduction of up to $ 500 per child. As Benson had now become a political liability, Trudeau replaced him with John Turner (who was seen as a " Business Liberal ") in 1972. Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (French: premier ministre du Canada ) is the head of government of Canada . Under
9150-649: The 1984 election . Trudeau is the most recent prime minister to win four elections (having won three majority governments and one minority government ) and to serve two non-consecutive terms. His tenure of 15 years and 164 days makes him Canada's third-longest-serving prime minister, behind John A. Macdonald and William Lyon Mackenzie King . Despite his personal motto, "Reason before passion", Trudeau's personality and policy decisions aroused polarizing reactions throughout Canada during his time in office . While critics accused him of arrogance, of economic mismanagement, and of unduly centralizing Canadian decision-making to
9333-580: The Canadian Armed Forces . Pierre Trudeau is often credited with, throughout his tenure as prime minister (1968–79, 1980–84), consolidating power in the PMO, which is itself filled by political and administrative staff selected at the prime minister's discretion and unaccountable to Parliament. At the end of the 20th century and into the 21st, analysts—such as Jeffrey Simpson , Donald Savoie , Andrew Coyne , and John Gomery —argued that both Parliament and
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#17328451280369516-584: The Conservative Party which governed Canada from 2006 to 2015. In his preamble to the announcement of the National Energy Program, introduced as part of the October 1980 federal budget , Finance Minister Allan MacEachen echoed concerns by leaders of developed countries regarding the recession that followed both oil crises of the 1970s and the "deeply troubling air of uncertainty and anxiety" that
9699-545: The Goods and Services Tax (GST) came before the Senate, and given Canada's federal nature , the jurisdiction of the federal government is limited to areas prescribed by the constitution. Further, as executive power is constitutionally vested in the monarch, meaning the royal prerogative belongs to the Crown and not to any of its ministers, the sovereign's supremacy over the prime minister in
9882-419: The House of Commons , quickly being appointed as Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson 's parliamentary secretary . In 1967, he was appointed as minister of justice and attorney general . As minister, Trudeau liberalized divorce and abortion laws and decriminalized homosexuality. Trudeau's outgoing personality and charismatic nature caused a media sensation, inspiring " Trudeaumania ", and helped him to win
10065-584: The Iran–Iraq War , was the second major market disturbance in the 1970s. "The curtailment of oil supplies and the skyrocketing of oil prices had far-reaching effects on producers, consumers, and the oil industry itself." In his State of the Union Address in January 1980, US President Jimmy Carter described how his country's "excessive dependence on foreign oil is a clear and present danger," and he called for
10248-570: The October Crisis of 1970, when a Marxist-influenced Quebec separatist group, the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ), kidnapped British Trade Consul James Cross at his residence on October 5. Five days later, the group also kidnapped Quebec Labour Minister Pierre Laporte . Trudeau, with the acquiescence of Quebec Premier Robert Bourassa , responded by invoking the War Measures Act , which gave
10431-666: The Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), whose membership is the Arab members of the similarly named Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), plus Egypt, Syria, and Tunisia, imposed an embargo on oil exports to the US, the UK, the Netherlands, Japan, and Canada in retaliation for supporting for Israel during the Yom Kippur War . US producers had been able to defeat
10614-573: The Privy Council and styled as the Right Honourable (French: le très honorable ), a privilege maintained for life. The prime minister is supported by the Prime Minister's Office and heads the Privy Council Office . The prime minister also selects individuals for appointment as governor general (in the federal jurisdiction) and lieutenant governor (in the provinces ), as well as to
10797-452: The Senate of Canada , Supreme Court of Canada , other federal courts , and the chairs and boards of various Crown corporations . Since Confederation in 1867, 23 prime ministers (twenty-two men and one woman) have formed 29 ministries . Justin Trudeau is the current prime minister, who took office on November 4, 2015, following the 2015 federal election , wherein his Liberal Party won
10980-505: The Westminster system , the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority of the elected House of Commons ; as such, the prime minister typically sits as a member of Parliament (MP) and leads the largest party or a coalition of parties. As first minister , the prime minister selects ministers to form the Cabinet . Not outlined in any constitutional document, the prime minister
11163-582: The mayor of Montreal ) in Outremont . Trudeau described a speech he heard in Montreal by Ernest Lapointe , minister of justice and Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King 's Quebec lieutenant . Lapointe had been a Liberal MP during the 1917 Conscription Crisis , in which the Canadian government had deployed up to 1,200 soldiers to suppress the anti-conscription Easter Riots in Quebec City in March and April 1918. In
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#173284512803611346-504: The peerage of the United Kingdom by King George VI as Viscount Bennett, of Mickleham in the County of Surrey and of Calgary and Hopewell in Canada. No prime minister has since been titled. The Canadian Heraldic Authority (CHA) grants former prime ministers an augmentation of honour on the coat of arms of those who apply for them. The heraldic badge, referred to by the CHA as the mark of
11529-560: The provincially -run healthcare and post-secondary education system, through transfer payments , by cash and tax points . This system lasted until 1995. In 1979, Trudeau's government restructured family allowances by increasing the role of the tax system in child support and decreasing the role of family allowances. The government established an annual Refundable Child Tax Credit of $ 200 for families with incomes of $ 18,000 or less. As incomes increased above this level, benefits would be taxed away to disappear completely at $ 26,000. Since
11712-429: The same office in the United Kingdom . In 2008, a public opinion survey showed that 51% of Canadians believed they voted to directly elect the prime minister. In fact, the prime minister, along with the other ministers in Cabinet, is appointed by the governor general on behalf of the monarch. By the conventions of responsible government , the foundation of parliamentary democracy, the governor general will call to form
11895-468: The writs of election prior to the date mandated by the constitution or Canada Elections Act ; the King–Byng Affair was the only time since Confederation that the governor general refused the prime minister's request for a general vote. Following parliamentary dissolution, should the prime minister's party subsequently win a majority of seats in the House of Commons, it is unnecessary to re-appoint
12078-563: The "clarity" provided by the PQ victory, the unexpected rise of the Quebec sovereignty movement became, in his view, his biggest challenge. As the PQ began to take power, Trudeau faced the prolonged breakdown of his marriage, which the English-language press covered in lurid detail on a day-by-day basis. Trudeau's reserve was seen as dignified by contemporaries, and his poll numbers actually rose during
12261-413: The "historic importance" of the war and that he had "missed one of the major events of the century in which [he] was living. Harvard had become a major intellectual centre, as fascism in Europe led to a great migration of intellectuals to the United States. Trudeau's Harvard dissertation was on the topic of communism and Christianity. At Harvard, an American and predominantly Protestant university, Trudeau,
12444-403: The 16th century and to a Robert Truteau (1544–1589). In 1659, the first Trudeau to arrive in Canada was Étienne Trudeau or Truteau (1641–1712), a carpenter and home builder from La Rochelle . Pierre Trudeau was born at home in Outremont, Montreal , Quebec , on October 18, 1919, to Charles-Émile "Charley" Trudeau (1887–1935), a French-Canadian businessman and lawyer, and Grace Elliott, who
12627-408: The 1950s, he rose to prominence as a labour activist in Quebec politics by opposing the conservative Union Nationale government. Trudeau was then an associate professor of law at the Université de Montréal . He was originally part of the social democratic New Democratic Party , though felt they could not achieve power, and instead joined the Liberal Party in 1965. That year , he was elected to
12810-416: The 1950s. An associate professor of law at the Université de Montréal from 1961 to 1965, Trudeau's views evolved towards a liberal position in favour of individual rights counter to the state and made him an opponent of Quebec nationalism. He admired the labour unions, which were tied to the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF), and tried to infuse his Liberal Party with some of their reformist zeal. By
12993-403: The 1970s, the NEP had three main objectives: increase ownership of the oil industry by Canadians; price energy fairly for Canadian consumers; and provide Canadian energy self-sufficiency. The NEP was also designed to promote lower prices through price controls; promote exploration for oil in Canada; promote alternative energy sources; and increase federal government revenues from oil sales through
13176-639: The Alberta Heritage Fund was meant to save as much of the earnings during high oil prices to act as a "rainy day" cushion if oil prices collapsed because of the cyclical nature of the oil and gas industry. The NEP was one reason that the fund failed to grow to its full potential. In 2022, the Heritage Savings Trust Fund has $ 19B, a moderate increase on the $ 13B it had in 1986. This slow growth occurred despite some years when Alberta government had multi-billion-dollar surpluses. Alberta's GDP
13359-615: The B&;A gas station chain (now defunct), some "profitable mines, the Belmont amusement park in Montreal and the Montreal Royals , the city's minor-league baseball team", by the time Trudeau was fifteen. When his father died in Orlando, Florida , on April 10, 1935, Trudeau and each of his siblings inherited $ 5,000 (equivalent to $ 110,000 in 2023), a considerable sum at that time, which meant that he
13542-672: The CMHC). The amendments saw the passage of the Rent Supplement Act , which enabled the CMHC to partner with private landlords, cooperatives, and not-for-profit associations to provide affordable housing; in addition, the act saw the CMHC agree to fund the difference between market rental prices and rent prices geared to the specific occupant's income. Lastly, the Canada Rental Supply Program was introduced to provide interest-free loans for 15 years to developers who agreed to allocate
13725-587: The Cabinet had become eclipsed by prime ministerial power; Savoie wrote: "The Canadian prime minister has little in the way of institutional check, at least inside government, to inhibit his ability to have his way." Indeed, the position has been described as undergoing a "presidentialization", to the point that its incumbents publicly outshine the actual head of state (and prime minister's spouses are sometimes referred to as First Lady of Canada ). Former governor general Adrienne Clarkson alluded to what she saw as "an unspoken rivalry" that had developed between
13908-556: The Canadian labour force jumped to 96 percent from 75 percent. The system was sometimes called the 8/42, because one had to work for eight weeks (with at least 20 hours per week), and wait two weeks, to get benefits for the other 42 weeks of the year. This expansion also opened the UI program up to maternity, sickness, and retirement benefits, covered seasonal workers for the first time, and allowed mothers to receive up to 15 weeks of benefits if they had 20 or more insurable weeks. The reforms increased
14091-407: The Canadian monarch, represented by the governor general. The prime minister is, instead, the head of government and is responsible for advising the Crown on how to exercise much of the royal prerogative and its executive powers, which are governed by the written constitution and constitutional conventions. However, the function of the prime minister has evolved with increasing power. Today, per
14274-532: The Crown in right of the United Kingdom, which has periodically bestowed such Imperial honours on such citizens) has since adopted this policy generally, such that the last prime minister to be knighted near appointment was Robert Borden , who was the prime minister at the time the Nickle Resolution was debated in the House of Commons (and was knighted before the resolution). Still, Bennett was, in 1941, six years after he stepped down as prime minister, elevated to
14457-431: The House of Commons as soon as possible. For example, William Lyon Mackenzie King , after losing his seat in the 1925 federal election and again in the 1945 Canadian federal election (despite his party being elected government both times), briefly governed without a seat in the House of Commons on both occasions before winning a by-election a few weeks later. Similarly, John Turner replaced Pierre Trudeau as leader of
14640-623: The House of Commons during Question Period , other members of parliament may address the prime minister as the Right Honourable Member for [prime minister's riding ] or simply the Right Honourable Prime Minister . Former prime ministers retain the prefix the Right Honourable for the remainder of their lives; should they remain sitting MPs, they may be referred as the Right Honourable Member for [member's riding] , by their portfolio title (if appointed to one), as in
14823-530: The House of Commons have been appointed to the position of prime minister. Two former prime ministers— John Joseph Caldwell Abbott and Mackenzie Bowell —served in the 1890s while members of the Senate . Both, in their roles as government leader in the Senate , succeeded prime ministers who had died in office— John A. Macdonald in 1891 and John Sparrow David Thompson in 1894. Prime ministers who are not MPs upon their appointment (or who lose their seats while in office) have since been expected to seek election to
15006-682: The IMF and OECD, we have seen these new themes emerge. Historically, the United States had been by far the world's largest oil producer, and the world oil market had been dominated by a small number of giant multinational (mostly-American) oil companies (the so-called " Seven Sisters of oil": Standard Oil of New Jersey , alias Exxon (US); Standard Oil of New York , alias Mobil (US/UK); Standard Oil of California , alias Chevron (US), Gulf Oil , now part of Chevron (US); Texaco , now part of Chevron (US); Anglo-Persian Oil Company , alias BP (UK); and Royal Dutch Shell , alias Shell (UK/Netherlands). During
15189-495: The Liberal Party in 1984 and subsequently was appointed prime minister while not holding a seat in the House of Commons; Turner won a riding in the next election but the Liberal Party was swept from power. When a prime minister loses their seat in the legislature, or should a new prime minister be appointed without holding a seat, the typical process that follows is that a member in the governing political party will resign to allow
15372-507: The NEP (1975–1979), the per capita contributions by Alberta had approximated the fluctuations in the price of oil (see graph Fluctuations: Oil Prices & Alberta Per Capita Federal Contributions 1975–1981). In 1980, however, the inflation-adjusted average price of oil was only 5% higher than the previous year, but the per capita contributions from Alberta rose 77% (see graph Fluctuations: Oil Prices & Alberta Per Capita Federal Contributions 1975–1981). Again in inflation-adjusted 2004 dollars,
15555-540: The NEP made did not in fact cause industry to be significantly exposed to the declining global oil prices, but the largest part of direct revenue losses accrued to governments. Thus, industry operated throughout the period of the NEP under relatively-similar oil prices, the "made-in-Canada" oil price (see item (a) in National Energy Program Details, above). In 1981, the Edmonton economist Scarfe argued that
15738-410: The NEP was active for five years with among the most expensive for oil prices on record, and the NEP prevented Alberta's economy from fully realising those prices. In inflation-adjusted 2004 dollars, the year the NEP took effect (1980) per capita had fiscal contributions by Alberta to the federal government increase 77% over 1979 levels from $ 6,578 in 1979 to $ 11,641 in 1980. In the five years prior to
15921-516: The NEP was essentially mandating provincial generosity and subsidizing all Canadian consumers of fuel, because of Alberta and the other oil-producing provinces (such as Newfoundland, which received funding by the NEP for the Hibernia project). However, Marc Lalonde , the Minister of Energy Mines and Resources whose department oversaw development of the NEP would later say in 1986: "The major factor behind
16104-470: The NEP wasn't Canadianization or getting more from the industry or even self sufficiency," [...] "The determinant factor was the fiscal imbalance between the provinces and the federal government [...] "Our proposal was to increase Ottawa's share appreciably, so that the share of the producing provinces would decline significantly and the industry's share would decline somewhat." The NEP "had three principles: (1) security of supply and ultimate independence from
16287-574: The NEP would discourage large-scale oil investment projects and thus reduce these projected revenues. Federal deficits had been expected to decrease, primarily by substantial increases in revenues from oil and gas. Instead, by 1983, the Ministry of Finance had concluded that the federal government had established a structural deficit of $ 29.7 billion, an increase from 3.5% of GNP in 1980 to 6.2% of GNP in 1983. Estimates have placed Alberta's losses between $ 50 billion and $ 100 billion because of
16470-481: The NEP. Alberta still initially enjoyed an economic surplus due to high oil prices, but the surplus was heavily reduced by the NEP, which, in turn, stymied many of Lougheed's policies for economic diversification to reduce Alberta's dependence on the cyclical energy industry, such as the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund , and also left the province with an infrastructure deficit. In particular,
16653-532: The National Oil Policy (NOP) was the cornerstone of Canadian energy policy. It "established a protected market for domestic oil west of the Ottawa Valley, which freed the industry from foreign competition," and the five eastern provinces, which included major refineries in Ontario and Quebec, continued to rely on foreign imports of crude oil, such as from Venezuela. In 1973, "the federal government announced
16836-475: The Prime Ministership of Canada , consists of four red maple leaves joined at the stem on a white field ( Argent four maple leaves conjoined in cross at the stem Gules ); the augmentation is usually a canton or centred in the chief . Joe Clark , Pierre Trudeau, John Turner, Brian Mulroney, Kim Campbell , Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin were granted arms with the augmentation. Canada continues
17019-656: The Right Honourable Minister of National Defence , or should they become opposition leader, as the Right Honourable Leader of the Opposition . In the decades following Confederation, it was common practice to refer to the prime minister as Premier of Canada , a custom that continued during the First World War , around the time of Robert Borden's premiership. While contemporary sources will still speak of early prime ministers of Canada as premier ,
17202-584: The United States and rather formed close ties with the Soviet Union, China, and Cuban leader Fidel Castro , putting him at odds with other capitalist Western nations. In his retirement, Trudeau practised law at the Montreal law firm of Heenan Blaikie . He also successfully campaigned against the Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords (which proposed granting Quebec certain concessions), arguing they would strengthen Quebec nationalism . Trudeau died in 2000. He
17385-564: The Université de Montréal while in the COTC from 1940 until his graduation in 1943. Following his graduation, he articled for a year and, in the fall of 1944, began his Masters in political economy at Harvard University 's Graduate School of Public Administration (now the John F. Kennedy School of Government ). In his Memoir , he admitted that it was at Harvard's "super-informed environment" that he realized
17568-498: The Westminster tradition of using the title Prime Minister when one is speaking to the federal head of government directly; the Department of Canadian Heritage advises that the term Mr. Prime Minister should not be used in official contexts. The written form of address for the prime minister should use their full parliamentary title: The Right Honourable [name], [ post-nominal letters ], Prime Minister of Canada . However, while in
17751-432: The annual Saint-Jean-Baptiste Day parade in Montreal, rioting Quebec sovereigntists threw rocks and bottles at the grandstand where Trudeau was seated, chanting "Trudeau au poteau!" ("Trudeau to the stake!"). Rejecting the pleas of aides that he take cover, Trudeau stayed in his seat, facing the rioters, without any sign of fear. The image of the defiant Prime Minister impressed the public. The next day, Trudeau handily won
17934-564: The anti-establishment manifesto Refus global , the publication of Les insolences du Frère Untel , the 1949 Asbestos Strike , and the 1955 Richard Riot . Artists and intellectuals in Quebec signed the Refus global on August 9, 1948 in opposition to the repressive rule of Quebec Premier Maurice Duplessis and the decadent "social establishment" in Quebec, including the Catholic Church. When he returned to Montreal in 1949, Trudeau quickly became
18117-486: The constitutional order is thus seen as a "rebuff to the pretensions of the elected: As it has been said, when the prime minister bows before the queen, he bows before us [the Canadian people]." Either the sovereign or the governor general may therefore oppose the prime minister's will in extreme, crisis situations. Near the end of her time as governor general, Adrienne Clarkson stated: "My constitutional role has lain in what are called 'reserve powers': making sure that there
18300-518: The convention, prominent Cabinet Minister Judy LaMarsh was caught on television profanely stating that Trudeau was not a Liberal. Nevertheless, at the April 1968 Liberal leadership convention , Trudeau was elected leader on the fourth ballot, with the support of 51 percent of the delegates. He defeated several prominent and long-serving Liberals, including Paul Martin Sr. , Robert Winters and Paul Hellyer . As
18483-465: The country and Bowell the only whose funeral was not attended by politicians. John Thompson also died outside Canada, at Windsor Castle , where Queen Victoria permitted his lying-in-state before his body was returned to Canada for a state funeral in Halifax . Prior to 1919, it was traditional for the monarch to bestow a knighthood on newly appointed Canadian prime ministers. Accordingly, several carried
18666-486: The courts and in public, where he actively stoked Alberta nationalism in a television address, stating the program would bring more "Ottawa" to the province. Prior to the announcement of the National Energy Program, Lougheed had threatened to reduce Alberta's production of oil and gas to counter any federal program to increase taxes. If Alberta reduced production, Central Canada refineries and other businesses would need to purchase foreign oil which would be heavily subsidized by
18849-467: The crude spot price to more than $ US40/b following the 1979 Iranian Revolution, turned the global oil market into total disarray." The Norwegian economics historian Ola Honningdal Grytten described that period in the 1970s as one of a prolonged global recession and slow growth that affected most developed economies. The 1979 oil crisis , precipitated by the Iranian Revolution and compounded by
19032-605: The declaration (which was backed by the NDP and, with some opposition in caucus, the PCs) was the implementation of the Act's principles: between 1966 and 1976, the francophone proportion of the civil service and military doubled, causing alarm in some sections of anglophone Canada who felt they were being disadvantaged. Trudeau's Cabinet fulfilled Part IV of the Royal Commission's report by announcing
19215-483: The detriment of the culture of Quebec and the economy of the Prairies , admirers praised what they considered to be the force of his intellect and his political acumen that maintained national unity over the Quebec sovereignty movement . Trudeau suppressed the 1970 Quebec terrorist crisis by controversially invoking the War Measures Act . In addition, Quebec's proposal to negotiate a sovereignty-association agreement with
19398-457: The doctrines of constitutional monarchy , the advice given by the prime minister is ordinarily binding, meaning the prime minister effectively carries out those duties ascribed to the sovereign or governor general, leaving the latter to act in predominantly ceremonial fashions. As such, the prime minister, supported by the Office of the Prime Minister (PMO), controls the appointments of many key figures in Canada's system of governance, including
19581-429: The early 1980s energy price declines prompted the federal and provincial governments to update their revenue-sharing agreements. The amended agreements allowed for $ 4.2 billion in higher revenues ($ 1.7 billion for the federal government and $ 1.2 billion each for the provincial governments and industry), which was 30% of the increase that would have been gained from going to world prices. According to Helliwell et al.,
19764-451: The economy. Within the overall expenditure plan which I will lay before the House, we have assigned clear priority to economic development." The NEP's goals were "security of supply and ultimate independence from the world oil market; opportunity for all Canadians to participate in the energy industry; particularly oil and gas, and to share in the benefits of its expansion; and fairness, with a pricing and revenue-sharing regime which recognizes
19947-420: The end of Canada's centennial year in 1967, Pearson announced his intention to step down, and Trudeau entered the race to succeed him as party leader and Prime Minister. His energetic campaign attracted widespread media attention and mobilized many young people, who saw Trudeau as a symbol of generational change. However, many Liberals still had reservations, given that he had only joined the party in 1965. During
20130-523: The end of the First World War. Trudeau believed Lapointe had lied and broken his promise. His criticisms of King's wartime policies, such as "suspension of habeas corpus," the "farce of bilingualism and French-Canadian advancement in the army," and the "forced 'voluntary' enrolment", was scathing. As a university student, Trudeau joined the Canadian Officers' Training Corps (COTC), which trained at
20313-424: The extension of the inter-provincial oil pipeline to Montreal (completed in 1976), froze prices of domestic crude and certain oil products, and sought to control export prices. The federal government announced this change in policy so that supply problems in the United States would not automatically raise prices for Canadian consumers." After the first OPEC price shock in 1973, the federal government "formally broke
20496-429: The extension of the natural gas pipe-line system to Quebec City and the maritimes, with the additional transport charges being passed back to the producer; and (g) a Canadian ownership levy to assist in financing the acquisition of the Canadian operations of one or more multinational oil companies, with the objective of achieving at least 50 per cent Canadian ownership of oil and gas production by 1990, Canadian control of
20679-537: The federal government was overwhelmingly rejected in the 1980 Quebec referendum . In economic policy, Trudeau expanded social programs, introduced the capital gains tax , and oversaw major increases in deficit spending . In a bid to move the Liberal Party towards economic nationalism , Trudeau's government oversaw the creation of Petro-Canada and launched the National Energy Program , both of which generated uproar in oil -rich Western Canada , leading to
20862-514: The federal government, a cost that it could not afford to with a $ 13.7 billion deficit in 1980. Lougheed finally decided to exercise this authority to force Trudeau to concede some measures of the Program, and Lougheed announced on television a 60,000 barrel reduction to Alberta's production of crude oil to take place over nine months beginning in April 1981, and the suspension of two oil sands projects. Lougheed however pledged that he would not allow
21045-629: The financial sector; Lester B. Pearson , who was Chancellor of Carleton University ; Joe Clark and Kim Campbell, who were university lecturers, Clark also consultant and Campbell working in international diplomacy and as the director of private companies and chairperson of interest groups; while Pierre Trudeau and Jean Chrétien returned to legal practice. Former prime ministers also commonly penned autobiographies—Tupper, for example—or published their memoirs—such as Diefenbaker and Paul Martin . National Energy Program The National Energy Program ( French : Programme énergétique national , NEP )
21228-463: The first major national mobilization of indigenous activists against the federal government's proposal, leading Trudeau to set aside the legislation. On July 14, 1976, after a long and emotional debate, Bill C-84 was passed by the House of Commons by a vote of 130 to 124, abolishing the death penalty completely and instituting a life sentence without parole for 25 years for first-degree murder. Trudeau's first serious test as Prime Minister came during
21411-400: The future prime minister by the governor general , after either the individual's political party won a general election or proposed to form either a confidence-and-supply government or coalition government. The term does not apply to incumbent prime ministers. After exiting office, former prime ministers of Canada have engaged in various pursuits. Some remained in politics: Bowell continued as
21594-726: The government subsequently won an actual confidence motion, but the incident made it clear that the minority government Trudeau had inherited would not realistically last the full parliamentary term, and that he would soon need to call an early election in order to win a parliamentary majority. Trudeau eventually called this election for June 25, 1968. Trudeau's campaign benefited from an unprecedented wave of personal popularity called " Trudeaumania ", which saw him mobbed by throngs of youths. His main national opponents were PC leader Robert Stanfield and NDP leader Tommy Douglas , both popular figures who had respectively been premiers of Nova Scotia and Saskatchewan (albeit in Trudeau's native Quebec,
21777-490: The government sweeping powers of arrest and detention without trial. Trudeau presented a determined public stance during the crisis; when questioned by CBC Television journalist Tim Ralfe regarding how far he would go to stop the violence, Trudeau answered, " Just watch me ". Laporte was found dead on October 17 in the trunk of a car. The cause of his death is still debated. Five of the FLQ members were flown to Cuba in 1970 as part of
21960-415: The governor general's invitation to form a government . A prime minister who has given intention to resign may advise the governor general on whom to appoint as the next prime minister. However, if the prime minister is resigning because he has lost the confidence of the House of Commons, the viceroy is not obligated to follow that advice. Ivor Jennings wrote, "where the government is defeated and there
22143-511: The governor general, the Cabinet, justices of the Supreme Court , senators, heads of Crown corporations , ambassadors and high commissioners , the provincial lieutenant governors , and approximately 3,100 other positions. Further, the prime minister plays a prominent role in the legislative process—with the majority of bills put before Parliament originating in the Cabinet—and the leadership of
22326-427: The greatest impact of the NEP was its failure to deliver the revenues that had been originally forecast in the 1980 federal budget. Introduced by Finance Minister Allan MacEachen , it projected a reduction of federal deficits from $ 14.2 billion in 1980 to $ 11.8 billion in fiscal 1984, primarily from substantial increases in revenues from the oil and gas sector, and the maintenance of expenditures. Scarfe speculated that
22509-568: The height of coverage, but aides felt the personal tensions left him uncharacteristically emotional and prone to outbursts. Trudeau's first government implemented many procedural reforms to make Parliament and the Liberal caucus meetings run more efficiently, significantly expanded the size and role of the Prime Minister's office, and substantially expanded social-welfare programs. Trudeau's government ran large budget deficits throughout its time in office. The government's first budget in 1968 produced
22692-407: The late 1940s, the 1950s, the 1960s, and the early 1970s, the discovery and development of many giant oil and gas fields outside the US by those and other companies kept the world flooded with cheap oil. Meanwhile, global demand increased to take advantage of the increased global supply at lower prices. In particular, US oil consumption increased faster than production, and the country, which had been
22875-469: The late 1950s Trudeau began to reject social democratic and labour parties, arguing that they should put their narrow goals aside and join forces with Liberals to fight for democracy first. In economic theory he was influenced by professors Joseph Schumpeter and John Kenneth Galbraith while he was at Harvard. In 1963, Trudeau criticized the Liberal Party of Lester Pearson when it supported arming Bomarc missiles in Canada with nuclear warheads . Trudeau
23058-503: The leadership of the Liberal Party in 1968 , when he succeeded Pearson and became prime minister of Canada. From the late 1960s until the mid-1980s, Trudeau's personality dominated the political scene to an extent never before seen in Canadian political life. After his appointment as prime minister, he won the 1968 , 1972 , and 1974 elections, before narrowly losing in 1979 . He won a fourth election victory shortly afterwards, in 1980 , and eventually retired from politics shortly before
23241-435: The life of the agreement. Lougheed said because of the pact industry will receive about 25% more cash flow due to the two-tier new and old pricing scheme, which represents an improvement in cash flow of at least $ 2 billion for each year of the agreement." Lougheed's success in the agreement was marked by a widely published photograph of a celebratory champagne toast with Trudeau and himself. Lougheed later admitted to regretting
23424-469: The lifespan of a parliament is constitutionally limited to five years, a 2007 amendment to the Canada Elections Act , Section 56.1(2) limited the term of a Parliament to four years, with election day being set as the third Monday in October of the fourth calendar year after the previous polling date. The governor general may still, on the advice of the prime minister, dissolve parliament and issue
23607-561: The link between domestic prices and international prices. The objective of 'made-in-Canada' prices for crude oil was to protect Canadians across the country from the whims of the world oil market and to provide producers with enough incentives to develop new energy resources." In 1981, the Edmonton economist Brian Scarfe claimed that the NEB's setting of the price of oil and natural gas in Canada meant that producers did not receive full world prices for
23790-606: The local armoury in Montreal during the school term and undertook further training at Camp Farnham each summer. Although the National Resources Mobilization Act , enacted in 1940, originally provided that conscripts could not be required to serve outside of Canada, in 1942 Parliament amended the act and removed that restriction. The Conscription Crisis of 1944 arose in response to the invasion of Normandy in June 1944. Trudeau continued his full-time studies in law at
23973-498: The lower of the price of imported oil or of oil in the US, and which will be financed by a Petroleum Compensation Charge levied on refiners...; (b) natural gas prices which will increase less quickly than oil prices, but which will include a new and rising federal tax on all natural gas and gas liquids; (c) a petroleum and gas revenue tax of 8 per cent applied to net operating revenues before royalty and other expense deductions on all production of oil and natural gas in Canada...; (d)
24156-510: The main competition to the Liberals was from the Ralliement créditiste , led by Réal Caouette ). As a candidate, Trudeau espoused participatory democracy as a means of making Canada a " Just Society ". He vigorously defended the newly implemented universal health care and regional development programmes, as well as the recent reforms found in the Omnibus bill. On the eve of the election, during
24339-571: The major oil markets were in Ontario and Quebec. In 1949, Imperial Oil applied to the federal government to build the Interprovincial Pipeline (IPL) to Lake Superior , which allowed it to supply the Midwestern United States . By 1956, the pipeline had been extended via Sarnia , Ontario, to Toronto ; at 3,100 kilometres (1,900 mi), it became the longest oil pipeline in the world. The federal government gave approval to build
24522-575: The maximum benefit period to 50 weeks, though the benefit duration was calculated using a complex formula depending on labour force participation and the regional and national unemployment rates. In 1977, the government simplified the benefit duration formula but introduced a variable entrance requirement dependent on the unemployment rate in the applicant's region; the changes also mandated that workers in areas with low unemployment regions work twice as long to be eligible for benefits as workers in high unemployment regions. In 1973, Trudeau's government amended
24705-426: The median income for families during this time was $ 19,500, the majority of families received some benefit from the new program. In 1969, Trudeau's first finance minister , Edgar Benson , introduced a white paper on tax reform which included tax deductions for child care and advocated shifting the tax burden from the poor to the wealthy. Measures to fulfill the latter proposal included a capital gains tax , which
24888-460: The modern practice is such that the federal head of government is known almost exclusively as the prime minister , while the provincial and territorial heads of government are termed premiers (in French, premiers are addressed as premier ministre du [province] , literally translated as prime minister of [province] ). The prime minister–designate of Canada is the person who has been designated as
25071-432: The needs and rights of all Canadians." The NEP had three main objectives: increase ownership of the oil industry by Canadians; price energy fairly for Canadian consumers; and provide Canadian energy self-sufficiency. The NEP was also designed to promote lower prices with price controls; promote exploration for oil in Canada; promote alternative energy sources; and increase federal government revenues from oil sales through
25254-451: The new constitution. The agreement was acceptable to the nine predominantly-English speaking provinces, but Quebec's premier Robert Bourassa requested two weeks to consult with his cabinet. After a strong backlash of popular opinion against the agreement in Quebec, Bourassa stated Quebec would not accept it. Trudeau faced increasing challenges in Quebec, starting with bitter relations with Bourassa and his Quebec Liberal government. Following
25437-483: The new leader of the governing Liberals, Trudeau was sworn in as prime minister on April 20. Though the term of the Parliament was not due to expire until November 1970, Pearson's government had almost fallen before the leadership contest could even take place after a tax bill was voted down in Parliament, leading to much confusion over whether this counted as a matter of confidence in the government. Governor General Roland Michener ultimately ruled that it did not, and
25620-456: The next five years. An estimate of the revenue share compared to the NEP proposal indicated the federal government will receive $ 14 billion more than in the NEP schedule, the industry will receive $ 10 billion more and Alberta will receive $ 8 billion more. According to Lalonde, in percentage terms compared to the NEP, Ottawa's share will rise from 24% to 29%, Alberta's share will rise to 34% from 33%, and industry's share will drop from 43% to 33% over
25803-477: The oil fields of Ontario were shallow and small, and oil production started to decline around 1900 while the automobile started to become popular. In contrast, US oil production grew rapidly after huge discoveries had been made in Texas, Oklahoma, California, and elsewhere. By the end of World War II, Canada imported 90% of its oil, mostly from the US. The situation changed dramatically in 1947, when Imperial Oil drilled
25986-669: The outbreak of the Second World War in September 1939 and his father's death were the two "great bombshells" that marked his teenage years. In his first year at university, the prime topics of conversation were the Battle of France , the Battle of Britain , and the London blitz . He wrote that in the early 1940s, when he was in his early twenties, he thought, "So there was a war? Tough. It wouldn't stop me from concentrating on my studies so long as that
26169-545: The party leadership tended toward a " deux nations " approach he could not support. Upon arrival in Ottawa, Trudeau was appointed as parliamentary secretary to Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson , and spent much of the next year travelling abroad, representing Canada at international meetings and bodies, including the United Nations . In 1967, he was appointed to Pearson's Cabinet as Minister of Justice and Attorney General . As Justice Minister and Attorney General, Trudeau
26352-417: The phasing out of the depletion allowances for oil and gas exploration and development, which will be replaced with a new system of direct incentive payments, structured to encourage investment by Canadian companies, with added incentives for exploration on Canada Lands (lands which the federal government held the mineral rights as opposed to private lands and lands which provinces held the mineral rights); (e)
26535-447: The post; and Charles Tupper , Louis St. Laurent , and John Turner, each before they returned to private business. Meighen was also appointed to the Senate following his second period as prime minister, but resigned his seat to seek re-election and moved to private enterprise after failing to win a riding. Also returning to civilian life were: Robert Borden, who was Chancellor of Queen's and McGill Universities , as well as working in
26718-628: The prefix Sir before their name; of the first eight prime ministers of Canada, only Alexander Mackenzie refused the honour of a knighthood from Queen Victoria. Following the 1919 Nickle Resolution , however, the House of Commons declared that it should be against the policy of the Canadian Sovereign (and the Canadian government advising the Monarch when such honours are not within the Monarch's personal gift) to bestow aristocratic or chivalric titles to Canadians. The Crown in right of Canada (but not
26901-411: The price of oil continued to increase, and by January 1974, it had quadrupled to US$ 12 a barrel. "The more than seven-fold increase in the oil price from $ 1.80/b in 1970 to $ 13.54/b in 1978 created profound and far-reaching changes in the world oil balance, as well as the prevailing relationships among major oil producers, principal oil importers, and the major oil companies... [and the] spectacular jump of
27084-431: The prime minister and the Crown. It has been theorized that such is the case in Canada as its Parliament is less influential on the executive than in other countries with Westminster parliamentary systems ; particularly, Canada has fewer MPs, a higher turnover rate of MPs after each election, and a US-style system for selecting political party leaders, leaving them accountable to the party membership rather than caucus (as
27267-431: The prime minister is afforded an armoured car (a car allowance of $ 2,000 per year) and shared use of two official aircraft —a CC-150 Polaris for international flights and a Challenger 601 for domestic trips. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police also furnish constant personal security for the prime minister and their family. All of the aforementioned is provided through budgets approved by Parliament. As of April 2024,
27450-406: The prime minister or for the prime minister to retake the oath of office. If, however, an opposition party wins a majority of seats, the prime minister may resign or choose to meet Parliament to see if the incumbent government can win a confidence vote. Should the prime minister's party achieve a minority while an opposition party wins a plurality (i.e., more seats than any other party but less than
27633-489: The prime minister to run in the resulting by-election. A safe seat is usually chosen; while the Liberal and Conservative parties generally observed a practice of not running a candidate against another party's new leader in the by-election, the New Democratic Party and smaller political parties typically do not follow the same practice. However, if the governing party selects a new leader shortly before an election
27816-562: The prime minister's annual salary is $ 406,200 (consisting of an MP's salary of $ 203,100 and the prime minister's additional salary of $ 203,100). Serving or former prime ministers are accorded a state funeral , wherein their casket lies in state in the Centre Block of Parliament Hill. Only Bowell and the Viscount Bennett were given private funerals, Bennett also being the only former prime minister of Canada to die and be buried outside
27999-414: The resource and that consumers were not charged world prices. He claimed that the subsidies had a number of side effects, including larger trade deficits, larger federal budget deficits, higher real interest rates, and higher inflation. In 1975, in response to the world energy crisis, the federal government created Petro-Canada, a Canadian crown corporation that was national oil company. Petro-Canada
28182-404: The rest of Canada and in the United States, the NEP might have had a positive effect in Central Canada. The unemployment rate in Alberta rose from 3.7 percent in September 1980 to 12.4 percent in 1984 following passage of the NEP. Throughout the 1950s, the 1960s, and the 1970s, the retail price of petroleum in Canada consistently remained close to the price of gasoline in the United States and
28365-453: The rules of the RHOSP (the reforms removed the purchase of furnitures from the list of usage allowed for tax-free use of RHOSP proceeds starting in 1978; disallowed deductible contributions for a taxpayer whose spouse owned a home; suspended tax-free rollover of RHSOP funds to an RRSP; and capped the lifetime of the RHOSP at 20 years). In 1977, Trudeau's government established the financial program Established Programs Financing to help finance
28548-588: The segment of the bill decriminalizing homosexual acts by telling reporters that "there's no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation", adding that "what's done in private between adults doesn't concern the Criminal Code". Trudeau paraphrased the term from Martin O'Malley's editorial piece in The Globe and Mail on December 12, 1967. Trudeau also liberalized divorce laws, and clashed with Quebec Premier Daniel Johnson, Sr. during constitutional negotiations. At
28731-648: The socialist economist Harold Laski at the London School of Economics (LSE). This cemented Trudeau's belief that Keynesian economics and social sciences were essential to the creation of the "good life" in a democratic society. Over a five-week period he attended many lectures and became a follower of personalism after being influenced most notably by Emmanuel Mounier . He also was influenced by Nikolai Berdyaev , particularly his book Slavery and Freedom . Max and Monique Nemni argue that Berdyaev's book influenced Trudeau's rejection of nationalism and separatism. In
28914-707: The summer of 1948, Trudeau embarked on world travels to find a sense of purpose. At the age of twenty-eight, he travelled to Poland where he visited Auschwitz , then Czechoslovakia, Austria, Hungary, Yugoslavia , Bulgaria, and the Middle East , including Turkey, Jordan and southern Iraq. Although he was wealthy, Trudeau travelled with a back pack in "self-imposed hardship". He used his British passport instead of his Canadian passport in his travels through Pakistan, India, China, and Japan, often wearing local clothing to blend in. According to The Economist , when Trudeau returned to Canada in 1949 after an absence of five months, his mind
29097-456: The toast. Lougheed's battle with the National Energy Program corresponded with the 1980s oil glut where energy prices dropped dramatically due to falling demand. Lougheed was forced to lower royalty rates through the Oil and Gas Activity Program and focused the government's efforts on natural gas diversification to stem falling revenues and a declining economy. Helliwell et al. (1983) reported that
29280-499: The violent shocks of OPEC price increases. It strengthens our specific measures to promote the most economical use of energy and in particular the displacement of oil by other fuels. It provides new impetus to the development of new sources of supply, through direct government programs and through new incentives of particular value to Canadian-owned producers. Energy policy is only the most urgent element of our new strategy. Renewed growth in productivity and lower costs are needed throughout
29463-559: The world market, (2) opportunity for all Canadians to participate in the energy industry, particularly oil and gas, and to share in the benefits of its expansion, and (3) fairness, with a pricing and revenue-sharing regime which recognizes the needs and rights of all Canadians." "The main elements of the program included: (a) a blended or 'made-in-Canada' price of oil, an average of the costs of imported and domestic oil, which will rise gradually and predictably but will remain well below world prices and will never be more than 85 per cent of
29646-466: The world oil market." On 28 October 1980, Finance Minister Allan MacEachen introduced the National Energy Program but cautioned that things could get worse if there were "new shocks coming from the price of oil or food or if the upward momentum of costs and prices proves impervious to the economic climate I am seeking to create." "The new energy policy limits the rise in prices of oil and gas to domestic consumers and thus continues to protect us from
29829-404: The year the NEP was terminated (1986) had per capita contributions to the federal government by Alberta collapse to $ 680, a mere 10% of 1979 levels. During the NEP years (1980–1985), only one other province was a net contributor per capita to the federal government: Saskatchewan, which also produces oil. In 1980 and 1981, Saskatchewan was a net per capita contributor to the federal government with
30012-452: Was "directly involved in managing a large inheritance." From the age of six until twelve, Trudeau attended the primary school, Académie Querbes, in Outremont , where he became immersed in the Catholic religion. The school, which was for both English and French Catholics, was an exclusive school with very small classes and he excelled in mathematics and religion. From his earliest years, Trudeau
30195-515: Was "seemingly broadened" from his studies at Harvard, Sciences Po, and the LSE, as well as his travels. He was "appalled at the narrow nationalism in his native French-speaking Quebec, and the authoritarianism of the province's government". Beginning while Trudeau was travelling overseas, several events took place in Quebec that were precursors to the Quiet Revolution . These included the 1948 release of
30378-458: Was a seminal event in Quebec's history, marking the beginning of resistance to the conservative, Francophone clerical establishment and Anglophone business class that had long ruled the province. Because of Trudeau's labour union activities in Asbestos, Duplessis blacklisted him, and he was unable to teach law at the Université de Montréal. He surprised his closest friends in Quebec when he became
30561-467: Was an energy policy of the Canadian federal government from 1980 to 1985. The economically nationalist policy sought to secure Canadian energy independence, though was strongly opposed by the private sector and the oil-producing Western Canadian provinces, most notably Alberta . Created under the Liberal government of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau on October 28, 1980, following the two oil crises of
30744-409: Was between $ 60 billion and $ 80 billion annually during the years of the NEP (1980-1986). It is unclear whether the estimates took into account the decline in world crude oil prices that began only a few months after the NEP had come into force, the graph of long-term oil prices shows that prices adjusted for inflation did not drop below pre-1980s levels until 1985. Since the program was cancelled in 1986,
30927-575: Was coined as a result of the NEP. The policy was repealed by the newly-elected Progressive Conservative (PC) government of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney on June 1, 1985. The NEP contributed to the creation and rise of the Western Canadian-based and right-wing populist Reform Party which made a major breakthrough in the 1993 federal election ; the Reform Party merged with the PCs in 2003, becoming
31110-550: Was created in 1959 "to monitor and report on all federal matters of energy as well as regulate pipelines, energy imports and exports and utility rates and tariffs." The NEB regulated mostly the construction and the operation of oil and natural gas pipelines crossing provincial or international borders. The Board approved pipeline traffic, tolls, and tariffs under the authority of the National Energy Board Act. From its introduction in 1961 to its end in September 1973,
31293-487: Was elected in the safe Liberal riding of Mount Royal in Montreal. He would hold this seat until his retirement from politics in 1984, winning each election with large majorities. His decision to join the Liberals rather than the CCF's successor, the New Democratic Party (NDP), was partly based on his belief that the federal NDP could not achieve power. He also doubted the feasibility of the NDP's centralizing policies, and felt that
31476-414: Was exempted from the policy and was sold at the world price. The federal government levied a tax on all oil refined in Canada to pay for the difference between the price of synthetic and that of conventional crude oil. The federal budget in October 1980 reflected the concern that Canada could "become increasingly dependent on insecure foreign supplies and, therefore, unnecessarily subject to the vagaries of
31659-488: Was financially secure and independent. His mother, Grace, "doted on Pierre" and he remained close to her throughout her long life. After her husband died, she left the management of her inheritance to others and spent a lot of her time working for the Roman Catholic Church and various charities, travelling frequently to New York, Florida, Europe, and Maine, sometimes with her children. Already in his late teens, Trudeau
31842-727: Was fluently bilingual, which would later prove to be a "big asset for a politician in bilingual Canada." As a teenager, he attended the Jesuit French-language Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf , a prestigious secondary school known for educating elite francophone families in Quebec. In his seventh and final academic year, 1939–1940, Trudeau focused on winning a Rhodes Scholarship . In his application he wrote that he had prepared for public office by studying public speaking and publishing many articles in Brébeuf . His letters of recommendations praised him highly. Father Boulin, who
32025-510: Was involved in the massive Hibernia oil find off Newfoundland and was a partner in the Syncrude oil sands venture in Fort McMurray, Alberta. The Alberta oil industry was then overwhelmingly owned by Americans, who were also the major importer of Albertan oil. The Petro-Canada Centre (1975–2009) was known in the oil patch as "Red Square" until its purchase by Suncor . The NEP included plans for
32208-419: Was of mixed Scottish and French-Canadian descent. He had an older sister named Suzette and a younger brother named Charles Jr. Trudeau remained close to both siblings for his entire life. Trudeau attended the prestigious Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf (a private French Jesuit school), where he supported Quebec nationalism . Trudeau's paternal grandparents were French-speaking Quebec farmers. His father had acquired
32391-419: Was offered a position at Queen's University teaching political science by James Corry , who later became principal of Queen's, but turned it down because he preferred to teach in Quebec. In 1965, Trudeau joined the Liberal Party, along with his friends Gérard Pelletier and Jean Marchand . Dubbed the "three wise men" by the media, they ran successfully for the Liberals in the 1965 election . Trudeau himself
32574-489: Was possible...[I]f you were a French Canadian in Montreal [at that time], you did not automatically believe that this was a just war. In Montreal in the early 1940s, we still knew nothing about the Holocaust and we tended to think of this war as a settling of scores among the superpowers." Young Trudeau opposed conscription for overseas service, and in 1942 he campaigned for the anti-conscription candidate Jean Drapeau (later
32757-410: Was responsible for introducing the landmark Criminal Law Amendment Act , an omnibus bill whose provisions included, among other things, the decriminalization of homosexual acts between consenting adults, new gun ownership restrictions and the legalization of contraception, abortion and lotteries, as well as the authorization of breathalyzer tests on suspected drunk drivers. Trudeau famously defended
32940-411: Was severely criticized by corporate Canada and the business community (notably Israel Asper ). The bill was debated in Parliament for over a year, with its more radical proposals being removed in parliamentary committee. The reforms managed to be passed through the use of closure , with the capital gains tax (that had an inclusion rate of 50 percent) coming into effect on January 1, 1972, as prescribed by
33123-399: Was shared by Canadians. The Bank of Canada reported that economic problems had been accelerated and magnified. Inflation was most commonly between 9% and 10% annually, and prime interest rates were over 10%. ...ever since the oil crisis of 1973 industrial countries have had to struggle with the problems of inflation and stubbornly high rates of unemployment. In 1979 the world was shaken by
33306-535: Was the Assisted Home Ownership Program which allowed the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) to start providing grants and subsidized interest rates to low income families (though in 1978 an amendment discontinued the provision of grant money to these families, which led to a high incidence of defaults, and in turn, necessitated that the federal government provide financial assistance to
33489-516: Was the head of the college, said that during Trudeau's seven years at the college (1933–1940), he had won a "hundred prizes and honourable mentions" and "performed with distinction in all fields". Trudeau graduated from Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf in 1940 at the age of twenty-one. Trudeau did not win the Rhodes Scholarship. He consulted several people on his options, including Henri Bourassa , the economist Edmond Montpetit, and Father Robert Bernier,
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