2006/04/07

Trudeau's separatist youth

The Globe and Mail has a story about a new book on Pierre Trudeau which reveals that when he was in his 20s, Mr. Trudeau wanted to see the creation of an independent Quebec solely for French Canadians.

This disclosure is stunning to put it mildly.The book gives a picture of Trudeau as a young man that is sharply at odds with his image as the father of multiculturalism and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In the 1930s,Trudeau appeared to embrace the kind of narrow ethnic nationalism that he later scorned, favouring the creation of an independent Quebec that was French and Catholic. Trudeau was still promoting the idea in 1942, when he joined a "secret" revolutionary group plotting to form an ethnic-based country, the book reveals.

The book, written by two Trudeau admirers, Max and Monique Nemni, says he was influenced by the conservative, church-dominated intellectual currents of Quebec in the 1930s and 1940s. It says that despite his lifelong image as a rebel and contrarian, he didn't resist the day's pro-fascist views.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

The demon of narrow nationalism and fascism that he tried to condemn and exorcise from others was dwelling within himself.Scary Stuff when the Prime Minister thinks this way. Imagine the roasting that an Anglo would get if it became known that they were espousing a nation that was English and Protestant.

Anonymous said...

Wow, you mean he *changed his mind* as a result of experience & education?

Well, that's something to RESPECT, would it not?

Namaste
BlueBerry Pick'n
can be found @
www.ThisCanadian.com
"Silent Freedom is Freedom Silenced"

cardinal47 said...

Yes, I respect people who change their mind as a result of education and experience. I admired Trudeau and I still do. Nonetheless, I'm surprised that he was able to keep this under wraps while he was PM.