Pierre Trudeau: Do the Fuddle Duddle!

By Emily Carney

In December 2011, Canadian Liberal MP Justin Trudeau threw some cusses in the House of Commons, calling Environment Minister Peter Kent “a piece of shit.” This prompted some Conservative MPs to yell back at Trudeau in protest.

Personally, I have no idea if Mr. Kent is a piece of shit; to Trudeau’s credit, he did apologize for his gaffe and for using unparliamentary language. I also have zero perspective about the ins and outs of Canada’s House of Commons, not living in or being from Canada. I had no idea that the Canadian House of Commons was this insane, given Canada’s stateside reputation as being a nation made of kittens, poutine, and toques.

However, it’s wholly understandable that Trudeau would become frustrated at his job, because most of us do; moreover, our cusses never are broadcast publicly. (Except the time I said, “Man, fuck this shit,” to my cell phone when there was a Bay News 9 camera around. Oops. I hope that was made into silent stock footage.) Let’s not forget that cusses are also in Justin Trudeau’s bloodline. His dad, Pierre Trudeau, perhaps the pimpest (yes, now it’s a word) Prime Minister in Canada’s history—the man who made facial expressions like this while still in office—led the all-time record in public cussing with The Great Fuddle Duddle Incident of 1971.

To make an extremely hilarious story short, the elder Trudeau got angry during a debate with MPs in the opposition party and allegedly said (or mouthed), “Fuck you” or “Fuck off.” Like no one never wanted to do this at their job . . . Trudeau made this dream a reality for millions of citizens worldwide. After this incident took place on February 16, 1971, the opposing MPs made a statement about their shock and ire that the Right Honorable Prime Minister would say something so vulgar in a professional capacity. They forgot they were dealing with a total badass who also once ran after some bears during a hunting excursion (okay, I’m not quite sure if that was badass or just crazy, but it’s . . . something).

Trudeau came back with a televised interview in which several reporters quizzed him about his dirty-ass mouth. He then said the now-famous line, “What is the nature of your thoughts, gentlemen, when you say ‘fuddle duddle’ or something like that? God, you guys . . . ” and swaggered away. He then probably went on to do battle with René Lévesque’s uncontrollable combover or decided to slap a polar bear in the face for shits n’ giggles. The man was unstoppable, and transformed something which was actually quite shocking in 1971 into something eminently memorable.

The incident was later memorialized with the song “Do the Fuddle Duddle,” by a musical group calling themselves The House of Commons. Apparently there were some T-shirts with the phrase printed upon them, which is awesome. While Pierre Trudeau may be gone (he passed away in 2000), his rebellious spirit is still very much alive and well. Thanks Justin, for continuing the time-honored family tradition of throwing around cusses at your job and coming out on top like a boss.