page_title: Liberal Party of Canada
section_title: Pierre Trudeau era
hierarchical_section_title: Liberal Party of Canada / History / 20th century / Pierre Trudeau era
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: Premierminister Pierre Trudeau bei einem Besuch bei Juliana, Königin der NiederlandeEnglish: Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau at a reception by Juliana, Queen of The NetherlandsNederlands: Hare Majesteit ontvangt premier Trudeau op Paleis Soestdijk 27 februari 1975
context_page_description: The Liberal Party of Canada is the longest-serving and oldest active federal political party in Canada. The party has dominated federal politics for much of Canada's history. The Liberals held power for almost 70 years in the 20th century, which is more than any other party in a developed country. As a result, it has sometimes been referred to as Canada's "natural governing party".
  The party espouses the principles of liberalism, and generally sits at the centre to centre-left of the Canadian political spectrum, with the Conservative Party positioned to the centre-right to the right and the New Democratic Party, occupying the centre-left to left. Like their federal Conservative Party rivals, the party is often described as a "big tent", attracting support from a broad spectrum of voters. In the late 1970s, Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau claimed that his Liberal Party adhered to the "radical centre".
context_section_description: Under Pierre Trudeau, the mission of a progressive social policy evolved into the goal of creating a "just society".
  The Liberal Party under Trudeau promoted official bilingualism and passed the Official Languages Act, which gave French and English languages equal status in Canada. Trudeau hoped that the promotion of bilingualism would cement Quebec's place in Confederation, and counter growing calls for an independent Quebec. The party hoped the policy would transform Canada into a country where English and French Canadians could live together, and allow Canadians to move to any part of the country without having to lose their language. Although this vision has yet to fully materialize, official bilingualism has helped to halt the decline of the French language outside of Quebec, and to ensure that all federal government services (including radio and television services provided by the government-owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation/Radio-Canada) are available in both languages throughout the country.
  The Trudeau Liberals are also credited with support for state multiculturalism as a means of integrating immigrants into Canadian society without forcing them to shed their culture, leading the party to build a base of support among recent immigrants and their children. This marked the culmination of a decades-long shift in Liberal immigration policy, a reversal of pre-war racial attitudes that spurred discriminatory policies such as the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923 and the MS St. Louis incident.
  The most lasting effect of the Trudeau years has been the patriation of the Canadian constitution and the creation of Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Trudeau's Liberals supported the concept of a strong, central government, and fought Quebec separatism, other forms of Quebec nationalism, and the granting of "distinct society" status to Quebec. Such actions, however, served as rallying cries for sovereigntists and alienated many Francophone Quebeckers.
  The other primary legacy of the Trudeau years has been financial. Net federal debt in fiscal 1968, just before Trudeau became Prime Minister, was about $18 billion CAD, or 26 percent of gross domestic product; by his final year in office, it had ballooned to over 200 billion—at 46 percent of GDP, nearly twice as large relative to the economy.
caption: Pierre Elliott Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada (1968–1979, 1980–1984)
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