Word: trudeau
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...Trudeau in 1952, at the behest of their mutual friend, Gerard Pelletier, in an encounter that set the tone for most of their future dealings. "You speak well," said Trudeau brusquely, "but can you write?" Trudeau then reminded the startled journalist that Lévesque was two years overdue on a promised contribution to Cite Libre...
Despite their differences, the careers of the two Quebecois are curiously intertwined, and reflect both the unity and conflict within Quebec's tightly knit society. Said Claude Ryan, until recently editor of Montreal's intellectual daily Le Devoir: "Destiny has for a long time prepared Messieurs Lévesque and Trudeau for a decisive confrontation...
...Trudeau was born in 1919 in Montreal's affluent, French-speaking Outremont district, the son of a millionaire oil and land investor. He attended the best Jesuit schools, consistently topping his class. He went on to the University of Montreal law school, then spent two years studying politics and economics at Harvard and in Paris and London. He returned to Quebec in 1949 as a labor lawyer and economist. Trudeau flirted with socialism and became an outspoken civil libertarian, fighting against the autocratic and nationalist provincial government of Premier Maurice Duplessis. Early on, Trudeau accepted the idea of Quebec...
...pushed through one of the most important measures of that period: nationalization of the province's private electrical utilities into Hydro-Quebec (current assets: $6.5 billion). At the time Lévesque was labeled "René the Red" for his advocacy of the scheme. He was twitted by Trudeau, then a Montreal law professor, for insisting on a full takeover of the utilities. Partial takeover was enough, said Trudeau; spending public funds to own more than that was an expensive currying of nationalist pride. Lévesque was a strong Quebec nationalist even then. Said he in 1963: "I am first a Quebecois...
...Trudeau took the opposite tack for solving Quebec's problems; he sought to change English Canada from within. Convinced of the need to fight rising separatism, he entered national politics in 1965 as a Liberal member of Parliament from Mount Royal in Montreal. Three years later, after serving as Canada's Justice Minister and Attorney-General, he succeeded the late Lester ("Mike") Pearson as Prime Minister. During Trudeau's first election campaign, young girls?including his future wife?flung themselves at him. Businessmen asked for his autograph. Crowds gathered wherever he went. Said Trudeau in those palmy days: "However Canadians...