Trudeau and Canada: Defecit and Deceit

Trudeaumania Lester Pearson wanted to improve French-English relations. He appointed a Royal Commission (ie. major study) on Bilingualism and Biculturalism. This Bi & Bi Commission would spend 2 years crossing Canada, investigating the attitudes of language and culture. The report discovered that French-Canadians did not receive the same benefits outside of Quebec as English-Canadians. Lester Pearson sought to include more Quebecois in the federal government. There were 3 staunch federalist intellectuals in Quebec that caught the eye of Pearson. They were Gerard Pelletier, Jean Marchand, and Pierre Trudeau. The 3 were invited to Pearsons Ottawa and convinced to join the Liberal Party. Trudeau would captivate the Canadian public; he was flamboyant and charismatic. Canadians were desperate for change. Trudeau appealed to the Canadian youth like no politician had ever done. More youth began to get involved in politics. Pearson retires from politics in 1968 and Trudeau is elected as leader of the party. Trudeau travelled Canada extolling his desire to create a just society. Trudeau never explained what he meant by this. Trudeau implemented the Official Languages Act in 1969 in order to make Quebec feel more included. Trudeau in the 1970s In the 70s, the economy was worsening. Unemployment was high and prices were rising. Trudeau was losing popularity: his arrogance was starting to aggravate many Canadians. In 1972, there was a sudden increase in the price of oil. The organization known as OPEC raised the price of oil. OPEC is the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. They raised the price from $6.00 per barrel to $16.00; overnight, panic sets in. 1979: The war between Iran and Iraq drove oil prices even higher. By 1979, the price of oil per barrel rose to $40.00 US. Trudeau created the National Energy Program which froze Alberta oil prices. This basically had Ottawa take control of a provincial resource. Trudeau creates PetroCan. This meant that Albertans could not get fair market value for their oil. People in the west began to get separatist ideas. National Energy Program: The National Energy Program was the worst economic policy ever carried out in Canada. The reason for the program was to give power to Ottawa at

Albertas expense. The NEP destroyed thousands of jobs in Alberta and hurt the economy. It is the reason there is an independence movement in Alberta. The NEP Goals of the National Energy Program: There were 3 goals of the NEP, as outlines by Marc Lalonde: 1. It must establish the basis for Canadians to seize control of their own energy future through security of supply and ultimate independence from the world oil market. 2. It must offer Canadians, all Canadians, the real opportunity to participate in the energy industry in general and the petroleum industry in particular, and to share in the benefits of industry expansion. 3. It must establish a petroleum pricing and revenue-sharing regime that recognizes the requirements of fairness to all Canadians no matter where they live. The NEP was seen by many western observers as an effort on the part of the federal government to take away the oil revenue that belonged rightfully to Saskatchewan and Alberta and give it to Ontario. The effects were swift: Alberta responded with anger, threatening to take the federal government to court. What basis would Alberta have to take the federal government to court over the NEP? Under the BNA Act, resources are the property of the provinces. Trudeau was overstepping his boundaries. How did the NEP change federal provincial relations? Be specific. Liberals lost a lot of support in the west. The Western Canada Concept Party wanted western separation. Western Alienation The NEP was just one way in which the western provinces were feeling alienated from the political process in Ottawa. The transfer payments had been restructured in light of the economic slump. Trudeau had increased federal spending to such a degree that it would take many years of subsequent governments to balance the books. To help pay this enormous debt, Trudeau reduced the transfer payments to the provinces. What are transfer payments? In Canada, we have have provinces and have not provinces. The have prov inces have surplus budgets. These are provinces that have strong manufacturing bases (as opposed to resource bases). This includes Ontario and Quebec. Under the constitution, have provinces send money to Ottawa. Ottawa then redistributes this money to th e have not provinces. Provinces need money to pay for infrastructure, health care, education, roads, etc. The provinces, in turn, had to dramatically reduce spending. This in turn led to cuts in health and education in the provinces. People would wait longer for much needed medical help.

If Canadas health system delivers better results today than 15 years ago, its not because it operates more efficiently. Canadas health system delivers better results because the reduction of Trudeaus debt burden has freed more funds for healthcare spending. The Canadian socialist Tommy Douglas anticipated the Trudeau disaster when he said that the great enemy of progressive government was unsound finance. Political commentator David Frum summed up the Trudeau era the best: He said, Pierre Trudeau had a unique approach to national unity. He ascertained what each of Canadas regions most dearly wanted - and then he offered them the exact opposite. Did Quebeckers want to live and work in French in Montreal? Trudeau said no to that - and instead promised that they could live and work in French in Vancouver. Did Albertans want a less exploitive economic deal within Confederation? Trudeau said no - and instead offered a more exploitive economic deal within Confederation. The legacy in the west was the complete rejection of the Liberal Party. It would be many years before a Liberal MP would be elected in Alberta. There also arose a new political party, called the Western Canada Concept Party. Regionalism was once again an issue in Canada. The Western Canada Concept party ran on a platform of separation from Canada. Although never truly taken seriously, they did represent the feelings of isolationism in the west. The Western Canada Concept really began with a letter to the editor which was written by Douglas Christie and published in the Victoria Colonist in 1975. This letter resulted in the formation of a movement called the Committee for Western Independence whose motto was Separation if necessary, but not necessarily separation. What does this remind you of? Mackenzie Kings conscription promise Under Trudeau, regionalism and regional issues were intensified. Trudeau would remain incredibly popular in the Canadian heartland (ie. the provinces of Ontario and Quebec), although Quebec did become disenchanted with Trudeau after the night of the long knives. Trudeau would go on to be one of the longest reigning Prime Ministers in Canadian history. Multiculturalism

In 1971, Trudeau set out to redefine Canada. America was a melting pot. This means that people would come to America, lose the baggage of their past culture, and adopt American values. People would assimilate. Trudeau set out to change the Canadian identity: he wanted to make Canada less white. Marshall Mcluhan (Canadian sociologist) had stated that Canada is a cultural mosaic. This means that Canada would accept new immigrants and would integrate their cultures into the greater cultural mosaic. To implement this, Trudeau promised government resources in the following way: October 8, 1971 Right Hon. P.E. Trudeau (Prime Minister):

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In implementing a policy of multiculturalism within a bilingual framework, the government will provide support in four ways. First, resources permitting, the government will seek to assist all Canadian cultural groups that have demonstrated a desire and effort to continue to develop a capacity to grow and contribute to Canada, and a clear need for assistance, the small and weak groups no less than the strong and highly organized. Second, the government will assist members of all cultural groups to overcome cultural barriers to full participation in Canadian society. Third, the government will promote creative encounters and interchange among all Canadian cultural groups in the interest of national unity. Fourth, the government will continue to assist immigrants to acquire at least one of Canadas official languages in order to become full participants in Canadian society.