Discover

'Joseph Charles-Émile Trudeau' July 5, 1887 - April 10, 1935 was a successful French Canadian entrepreneur and father of Pierre Trudeau, who would later become Prime Minister of Canada.
He was the son of Louis Trudeau Jr. and Malvina Cardinal. Trudeau built a fortune by building a number of gas stations around the Montreal area.
Among his investments, Charles Trudeau had interests in mining companies and was a shareholder and a member of the Board of Directors of the Montreal Royals baseball team. [1] He also had a financial interest in Montreal's Belmont Park.[[2]]
He died in 1934 leaving his wife Grace Elliot Trudeau to care for their two sons and daughter. Due to Charles Trudeau's business, Pierre Trudeau himself was wealthy. Charles Trudeau also served as a more personal inspiration to the Prime Minister. As Jim Coutts, Pierre Trudeau's aide, recalled, Pierre Trudeau "talked, at times, of his father, whom he greatly admired, but who was too busy to understand his son's interests or spend much time with him."^[1]

Contents

References

References

1. Jim Coutts, "Trudeau in Power: A View from Inside the Prime Minister's Office," in ''Trudeau's Shadow: The Life and Legacy of Pierre Elliott Trudeau'', eds. Andrew Cohen and JL Granatstein, Vintage Canada, 1999, page 146.