Young Trudeau

Young Trudeau

Author	Max Nemni and Monique Nemni
Publication date	May 17, 2006
Pages	352
ISBN	9780771067495

Young Trudeau: 1919-1944: Son of Quebec, Father of Canada(short title:Young Trudeau) is the intellectualbiographyofPierre Trudeau,the formerPrime Minister of Canada,that deals with his parents, childhood, and education in the province ofQuebecfrom his birth in 1919 until November 1944 when he left to study atHarvard University.

Published in 2006 byDouglas Gibson Books(ISBN0-7710-6749-6), the book was written by retiredprofessorsMaxandMonique Nemni,friends and admirers of Pierre Trudeau whom he had convinced to take over as editors ofCité Libre.Max and Monique Nemni spent most of their working lives in theprovince of Quebec.The authors have both had numerous writings published inacademicpublications in both the English andFrench languages.

Young Trudeauis based on the large collection of private papers and personal diaries of Pierre Trudeau which he gave the authors in 1995 to write his intellectual biography and which had never before been made public. The book's back cover states that what Trudeau was taught atCollege Jean-de-Brebeufand theUniversity of Montreal,was that:

"democracywas bad and thatfascism-- as represented byMussoliniandPétain-- was good. Thus, even as a young man of twenty-three, Trudeau was ignoring thewar in Europeand plotting a revolution to take Quebec out of Canada. The picture that emerges is of aQuebec elitethat was raised to be pro-fascist, and whereNaziatrocities were dismissed asEnglish(Canadian)propaganda."

The book won theShaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writingin 2006.

Studies at College Jean-de-Brebeuf

The Quebec government abolished theMinistry of Educationin 1875 to submit to theultramontaneRoman Catholicclergywhich considered education the domain of the family and the Church, not the state. (p. 31) The result was that only private secondary schools gave access to Frenchcollegesanduniversitiesand the Catholic Church controlled the French universities, and ran theorphanages,hospitals,and shelters for theaged.(p. 31)

The book recounts the influences of Trudeau'sRoman Catholicupbringing and education at theJesuitowned and runCollege Jean-de-BrebeufinMontrealwhere students were taught thatFrench-Canadiansenjoyed amoralsuperiority.(p. 16 – Quote from:). The writings of the revered priestLionel Groulxalso espoused this idea of ethnic superiority. His pedagogical novel,L'Appel de la race(The Call of Race) taught that "the children of ethnicallymixed marriagessuffer from a form ofschizophreniabecause they are inhabited by two different souls. "A character in Father Groulx's book exclaims:" So it is really true that the mixing of races produces cerebral disorders. "(p. 15)

The book shows through Trudeau's own written words that what he was taught was unquestioned obedience to the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church. Through priests in local churches and those in charge of theFrench languageeducation system, the Church played an unparalleled role in creatingQuebec's French elite.(p. 33) In 2000,René Latourelle,a priest who taught at College Jean-de Brebeuf, publishedQuel avenir pour le Christianisme?in which he said (p. 16/17) that "The church acted as a true dictatorship over consciences."

At College Jean-de Brebeuf, "Nationalism and religion together constituted the combined fundamental values that infused all the life of the college." (p. 46)Antisemitismwas a part of college teachings and the august priestLionel Groulxespoused hisl'achat chez nouspolicy that warnedFrench Canadiansnot to shop atJewish-owned stores. (p. 58). Pierre Trudeau himself fully subscribed to these theories and wrote a vehemently anti-Semitic play titledDupés(meaning "We've been had!" ). His diary records that the seven-character play was "performed on May 16, 1938 at College Jean-de-Brebeuf before students and parents with great success." (p. 58)