How Did Trudeau's Policies Affect Canada

Pierre Elliott Trudeau has rightly been described as one of Canada’s most controversial Prime Ministers. Elected in 1968, this former law professor and writer used his charisma and intellect to dominate Canadian politics for almost two decades. His long stint in power as prime minister is remarkable given Trudeau’s often unpredictable behavior and disastrous initiatives. Prime Minister Trudeau came into power during a very tumultuous time in Canada’s history. Forced to deal with crisis after crisis, he enacted many polarizing policies that were popular with some but despised by others. Frequently, he was forced to reverse much of his legislation due to his inability to recognize the effects of his policies on average Canadians. Although some

As the Canadian economy began to slow down in the 1970s because of the oil crisis, the cost of living increased dramatically. Trudeau faced high inflation and unemployment rates. To help improve this situation, he introduced the Anti-Inflation Act in 1975 which limited increases in wages and prices. Instead of helping, this act made life more difficult for many Canadians. This policy rolled back wages or freezed wages for 4.2 million hardworking Canadians and on October 16th, 1976, over a million of these Canadians went on strike, bringing Canada to a standstill. By 1978, the policy was widely regarded as a failure and Trudeau was forced to phase out his price and wage controls. This policy undoubtedly proves that Prime Minister Trudeau was unable to foresee the impact that his reckless policies would have on everyday Canadians. He further demonstrated his inability to run an advanced economy when he Introduced the National Energy Program in 1979. Its introduction followed the Iranian Revolution which resulted in oil prices rising 150%. The goal of the National Energy Program was to redistribute Alberta’s oil wealth to poorer parts of the country which

This severely hurt Alberta’s economy with many foreign companies selling off their energy assets in Canada and this in turn, eliminated many jobs. Thousands of Albertans who became unemployed were unable to pay their mortgages and the real estate market crashed due to the NEP. Trudeau again was unaware of the consequences his Soviet-like policy would have and the anger it would incite. Peter Lougheed, the Premier of Alberta, like most Albertans, was angry and fought back at Trudeau stating: “If my voice is trembling, it’s because I am terribly angry, to the point where I would be happy to fight for our freedom and I literally mean with a rifle.” He announced that he would reduce Alberta’s oil production and cut shipments to the rest of Canada as he believed that the NEP was subsidizing the Eastern provinces. Consequently, Trudeau was compelled to revise his NEP so that the price of Canadian oil was would rise to the world price. The NEP was dismantled in 1984 when Prime Minister Mulroney came to power. Trudeau’s NEP did nothing but leave a legacy of anger towards Ottawa and destroyed what little support Trudeau and his political party, the liberals, had in the province of Alberta. A final example of Trudeau’s