Between his non-consecutive terms as prime minister, he served as the leader of the Opposition from to Trudeau was born and raised in Outremont , Quebec , and studied politics and law. In the s, he rose to prominence as a labour activist in Quebec politics by opposing the conservative Union Nationale government.
He was originally part of the social democratic New Democratic Party , though felt they could not achieve power, and instead joined the Liberal Party in Pearson 's parliamentary secretary. In , he was appointed as minister of justice and attorney general. As minister, Trudeau liberalized divorce and abortion laws and decriminalized homosexuality.
Trudeau's outgoing personality and charismatic nature caused a media sensation, inspiring " Trudeaumania ", and helped him to win the leadership of the Liberal Party in , when he succeeded Pearson and became prime minister of Canada. From the late s until the mids, Trudeau's personality dominated the Canadian political scene to an extent never seen before. After his appointment as prime minister, he won the , , and elections, before narrowly losing in He won a fourth election victory shortly afterwards, in , and eventually retired from politics shortly before the election.
Trudeau is the most recent prime minister to win four elections having won three majority governments and one minority government and to serve two non-consecutive terms. His tenure of 15 years and days makes him Canada's third-longest-serving prime minister, behind John A. Macdonald and William Lyon Mackenzie King. Despite his personal motto, "Reason before passion", [ 1 ] Trudeau's personality and policy decisions aroused polarizing reactions throughout Canada during his time in office.
While critics accused him of arrogance, of economic mismanagement, and of unduly centralizing Canadian decision-making to the detriment of the culture of Quebec and the economy of the Prairies , [ 2 ] admirers praised what they considered to be the force of his intellect [ 3 ] and his political acumen that maintained national unity over the Quebec sovereignty movement.
