Reddit reviews Citizen of the World: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau Volume One: 1919-1968

If you want to read a book there's a lengthy biography from John English (who I know) in two volumes called Citizen of the World (before becoming PM) and Just Watch Me (after 1968 when he becomes PM). Just a note that it's a friendly author, he was a Liberal MP under PET (for Pierre Elliot Trudeau), which provides a unique perspective as well. He still wrote a stellar biography if you look outside liberal circles like media reviews. You can also google Pierre's memoirs.

Wikipedia also gives an overview but you won't really get the full picture. You can find some good stuff in the CBC archives (God love the CBC archives). You can see some of his famous political moments and see the man himself speak. While you're at it, watch Justin's eulogy for PET in 2000, it's the moment he really made a name for himself nationally.


There's a cbc miniseries called Trudeau you might be able to torrent or google (maybe it's on the CBC website somewhere) which is a bit more dramatized. You can find documentaries elsewhere too, like this one from CTV that focuses less on politics (the politics is super important to why he's such a big deal however).

Just read one of his many biographies (I suggest Citizen of the World, J. English). Putting his life into context matters.

It matters that this was his context growing up, but then he expanded his horizons by studying abroad and incorporating liberalism into his moral philosophy. He's not the only one to make the jump from 'corporatism' (dictionary definition, has nothing to do with corporations) to social liberalism in that era. But he is one of the very, very few to be able to make the case for liberal values inclusive of both French (not just Québec), and English values.

Right Honourable Men by Michael Bliss


Canada's Prime Ministers by Ramsay Cook

Citizen of the World (Biography of Trudeau I) by John English: Volume 1 and Volume 2

Shadow of Heaven (Pearson) by John English

The first two are board history's and include selections from other biographies about the Prime Ministers; they're a good starting point for boarder history and to find more targeted biographies.

Also, if you're interested, I have a bunch of academic journal articles on both Trudeau and Pearson mostly on the decriminalization of homosexuality, the birth of equal marriage in Canada, debate about the Charter, Peacekeeping, the Flag Debate, and the Bill of Rights. Let me know and I can share those with you through google drive.