Trudeau in 1980

Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau, PC, CC, CH, QC, MSRC (usually known as Pierre Trudeau or Pierre Elliott Trudeau) (October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada from April 20, 1968, to June 4, 1979, and from March 3, 1980, to June 30, 1984.

Pierre Trudeau was a charismatic figure who, from the late 1960s until the mid-1980s, dominated the Canadian political scene and aroused passionate reactions. "Reason before passion" was his personal motto. Admirers praise the force of Trudeau's intellect and they salute his political acumen in preserving national unity and establishing the Charter of Rights and Freedoms within Canada's constitution. His detractors accuse him of arrogance, economic mismanagement, and unduly favouring the authority of the federal government in relation to the provinces, but despite the controversy, both Trudeau's defenders and detractors agree he left a mark on the Canadian politics of his time.