We’re Still Watching: Pierre Trudeau in the 1970s

By Emily Carney

When I was a kid, we had these volumes and volumes of World Book Encyclopedia “Year Books” in the house; they came as subscription updates with our set, and were a summation of the events of the previous year (this was obviously way before the Internet).

In my house, we had the entire set from the 1970s, and when I was bored (which was often) I would make my way through these books. I kept noticing that a guy named Pierre Trudeau would frequently pop up, especially in the “Canada” section, usually looking glamorous, distinguished, yet slightly disheveled, and frequently with his gorgeous wife Margaret. They looked exactly like film stars, but weren’t. Being American, I had no clue who Trudeau was, so I assumed he was simply just some nameless, faceless personality from the 1970s who didn’t make much of a dent here in the US or internationally.

Damn, how wrong I was!

Pierre Trudeau about to present
the 1970 Grey Cup trophy
Photo © CP Photo/Peter Bregg

Years later, I discovered he had been the most controversial yet (probably) most beloved Prime Minister in the history of Canada (though sadly, his marriage to Margaret wouldn’t survive his political career). The list of things this man got away with was just monumental, yet he still managed to be taken quite seriously in politics.

This was a man who was a Socialist—or at least a liberal of the highest order—yet he instituted martial law when kidnappings threatened the safety of Canadian citizens; he was a devout Catholic, yet probably had more sexy times with various assorted women than any other political figure EVER (he had been a bachelor for a long time before he was married), and that includes JFK; and, oh yes, he told Members of Parliament to go “fuck off.” Not just once, but—allegedly—three times. He was the Serge Gainsbourg of politics.

Check out this CBC video clip from 1971: one of the gentlemen to whom Mr. Trudeau allegedly said “fuck off” was so offended by the words, he couldn’t even bring himself to say the word “off” when describing the famous cuss word duel (“He said a word beginning with ‘f’ followed by a word beginning with ‘o’. . . “). Not only disgraceful but also unacceptable!

Pierre’s reaction to these accusations are priceless, and look like something that could have only been dreamed up by Tina Fey on the show 30 Rock: “What is the nature of your thoughts, gentlemen, when you say ‘fuddle duddle’ or something like that?” Of course Trudeau categorically denies saying any cuss words altogether, but did one ever expect him to ‘fess up to it? Just his lead-in to the questioning conveys his thoughts succinctly: “They’re just sensitive. . . I didn’t say anything. . . ” This clip is hilarious beyond words. He should have just admitted to having said “fuck off.”

Perhaps the most famous clip involving Trudeauinvolves the October Crisis of 1970, when two Ministers were kidnapped by the FLQ (Front de libération du Québec) in Quebec.

As controversial as his decision was to invoke a Wartime Measures Act (during peacetime), this interview is Trudeau at his most combative, and possibly his finest moment. CBC reporter Tim Ralfe attempts to interview Trudeau, only to become the one being interviewed (this is definitely a reflection upon the skills of the poor CBC reporter). When challenged by Ralfe about his devotion to protect the people of Canada at the possible expense of civil liberties (Ralfe asks, “At any cost? How far would you go with that? How far would you extend that?”), Trudeau drops his most iconic line: “Well, just watch me.” This basically stops the entire interview as Ralfe sort of realizes he is being owned.

Thanks to YouTube, Pierre Trudeau became more than just a picture from an encyclopedia and was definitely more important than just a random face staring at me from a copy of the 1972 World Book Encyclopedia Year Book.