Pierre Elliot Trudeau :: essays research papers

capital of South Dakota Elliot TrudeauPublished in 1968, Federalism and the French Canadians is anideological anthology featuring a series of essays written by PierreElliot Trudeau during his time spent with the Federal Liberal party ofCanada. The emphasis of the disc deals with the problems and conflictsfacing the country during the Duplessis regime in Quebec. WhileTrudeau stresses his adamant convictions on Anglophone/Francophonerelations and struggles for equality in a confederated land, he alsoelaborates on his own ideological views pertaining to Federalism andNationalism. The reader is introduced to several essays that discussProvincial legislative assembly and conflict (Quebec and the ConstitutionalProblem, A Constitutional Declaration of Rights) while otherwisecompositions deal with impending and contemporary Federal predicaments(Federal Grants to Universities, The Practice and Theory ofFederalism, fissiparous Counter-Revolutionaries). Throughout all thesedocumented person al accounts and critiques, the reader learns thatTrudeau is a tangy critic of contemporary Quebec nationalism and thathis prime political conviction (or thesis) is periodically reflectedin each essay Federalism is the only possible system of political sciencethat breeds and sustains equality in a multicultural country such asCanada.Trudeau is fervent and stalwart in his opinions towardsFederalism and its ramifications on Canadian citizenry. Born and raise in Quebec, he attended several prestigious institutions thateducated him well-nigh the political spectrum of the country. After histime spent at the London condition of Economics, Trudeau returned toQuebec at a time when the province was experiencing vast differenceswith its Federal overseer. The gist Nationale, a religiousnationalist movement rooted deep in the heart of Quebec culture, hadforced the Federal government to reconcile and mediate with them inorder to avoid civil disorder or unrest. The Premier of Quebec at thetime, Maurice Duplessis, found it almost impossible to appease theneeds of each various interest group and faction rising within theprovince and at last buckled underneath the increasing pressure.Many Francophones believed that they were being discriminated andtreated unfairly imputable to the British North American Act which failed torecognize the unique personality of the province in its list of provisions.Trudeau, with the aid of several colleagues, fought the imminent kinkof social chaos in Quebec with anti-clerical and communist visions heobtained while in his adolescent years. However, as the nationalistmovement gained momentum against the Provincial government, Trudeaucame to the blow out of the water realization that Provincial autonomy would notsolidify Quebecs future in the country (he believed that separatismwould soon follow) and unless Duplessis could successfully negotiate(on the issue of a constitution) with the rest of Canada, the prospectof self-sovereignty for Quebe c would transpire.His first essay (Quebec and the Constitutional Problem) explores