Pierre Colleagues And Friends Talk About the Trudeau They Knew

From Chapter One: Faith ALLAN J. MACEACHEN MP, 195357 and 196280; and Senator, 198496 The only written reference made by Mr. Trudeau about his religious views that I have been able to find was a short interview he gave to the United Church Observer. In it he was pressed to speak about whether he was "a devout Catholic." After initial parrying and dialectical probing, he gave more than the interviewer asked, by declaring, "I am a believer." Then he virtually recited, for the benefit of the United Church, the substance of the Apostle's Creed. Another reference to religion in his public utterances was not as devotional. It was a reference that at one particular moment I wished he had omitted. In the 1972 general election campaign, I was visiting door-to-door in the district of Little Narrows, my Cape Breton constituency. I was accompanied by the warden of Victoria County, the late Kenneth Matheson, who was also the councillor for the Little Narrows municipal district. Both the warden and the district were staunchly Presbyterian. They took religious matters seriously. Religion was not a subject for flippant treatment. Together, we entered the home of a church member as she was about to leave for a church meeting. She was dressed for the occasion and carried a formidable black handbag. The innate sense of hospitality characteristic of Highland stock imposed in her mind a greater duty than punctual attendance at the scheduled church meeting. She invited us to sit down. "We have always been Liberals," she said. "Not that we think we are better than the others. It just suits us to be Liberal." That was a good beginning, except for the "better" reference, which in the stress of an election campaign I thought could well be omitted. Then our hostess got down to business. "Now," she said, as she opened her purse and handed me a newspaper clipping, "your prime minister is causing me difficulties." I read the newspaper account with increasing dismay. Now, some background is required. In the 1968 election campaign, Mr. Trudeau had highlighted the Just Society. The electorate could be forgiven for concluding that the Just Society would be ushered in forthwith, following Mr. Trudeau's election victory. This expectation had obviously been on the mind of an elector in southern Ontario, during this 1972 campaign, when heckling Mr. Trudeau. "Mr. Trudeau," he had asked, "where is the Just Society you promised?" Here is what Mr. Trudeau was quoted in the clipping as saying: "Ask Jesus Christ. He promised it first." Finally, my hostess interrupted my longer-than-required gaze at the newspaper clipping that detailed this exchange. "I regard that as blasphemy, Mr. MacEachen," she said. I had to say something other than my immediate thoughts, which were clearly in her corner, and if expressed would likely have revealed my dismay at the irreverence of the pm's comments. In addition, my concern went beyond the irreverence of the remark. The timing was awful. The electoral consequences of such flippancy might be felt in my constituency, and far and wide in Canada. I did try, however, to reduce the anxiety by questioning the accuracy of the report. One could not always rely on such reports, I offered. It was surprising to me that such a remark would be made by the prime minister, I suggested. No doubt my effort was feeble and unconvincing. Knowing my leader as I did, deep down I feared the rapid-fire retort could indeed have happened as reported. Years later, after we hadSoutham, Nancy is the author of 'Pierre Colleagues And Friends Talk About the Trudeau They Knew', published 2006 under ISBN 9780771081682 and ISBN 0771081685.