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Trudeaumania
DCHP-3 (Mar 2023)
Spelling variants:Trudeaumania 2.0
1n. — Politics
the zealous adoration of and interest in Liberal Leader and later long-term Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau, especially during the federal election of 1968.
Type: 1. Origin — The term Trudeaumania appears to have been coined by Lubor J. Zink, a Czech-Canadian journalist who wrote for the Toronto Telegram during Pierre Elliott Trudeau's rise to power in the Liberal Party (see Image 1). On the back cover of his book Trudeaucracy, Zink is credited with coining the term (see Zink (1972), and the 2008 quotation). Trudeaumania remains most prevalent in Canada (see Charts 1 and 2).
See also COD-2, s.v. "Trudeaumania", which is marked "Cdn".
See also COD-2, s.v. "Trudeaumania", which is marked "Cdn".
Quotations
1968
"There is no Trudeaumania in Lakeshore," declares Terence Grier, the 31-year-old professional politician who is running a powerful campaign for the NDP.
1977
It is a fine program, all about the ways in which the P.M. has changed since Trudeaumania in 1968, but that may not be as important as its purpose.
2001
Before Trudeaumania, there was Trudeau the lawyer, writer and intellectual who voiced his vehement opposition to ethnic nationalism and religious fundamentalism -- concepts that friends say led to the devastating attacks on New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon in Washington on Sept 11.
2008
Trudeaumania, a term coined by a journalist named Lubor J. Zink during the 1968 federal election campaign to describe Canada's feverish zeal for the Liberal Party leader, is now a 40-year-old phenomenon, but Trudeau's charisma has endured, overshadowing his successors to this day.
2015
As I write this, some races are too close to call. Darshan Kang, a former Liberal MLA, has won in Calgary Skyview, the first federal Liberal elected in cowtown since Trudeaumania of 1968.
2016
Pie in the sky pre-election 2015 promises were made in the shadow of 70s Trudeaumania. The traveling medicine show went from town to town, not staying long in any one place. Unlike the early travelling medicine shows of the wild west, no one skulked out of town they just came, made a pitch (the promise of making Canada a better place for Canadians) whatever that means. The grandiose promises and claims that were made are no different from the touted elixirs put forth by the medicine show doctors that claimed almost anything could be cured with what they offered. Not much difference here except that the elixir here is about $30 billion this year instead of a $2 bottle of snake oil.
2022
It was too good to last. Trudeaumania withered under the pedestrianism of everyday government. The rose in his lapel was wilting when he was "rescued" by the 1970 October crisis - the FLQ and imposition of the War Measures Act. Overnight, the philosopher-PM became the "Just Watch Me!" gunslinger, a leader with no use for the weak-kneed and bleeding hearts who got in his way.
2n. — Politics
the burst of enthusiasm in the wake of the election of Justin Trudeau, son of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, as the Canadian prime minister in the fall of 2015.
Type: 4. Culturally Significant — Trudeaumania was about more than a charismatic Pierre Elliott Trudeau; it was about Canada coming of age on the international stage and having something as cool, or cooler, in politics than the big neighbour to the south. The second wave of Trudeaumania must be read in the context of the autumn of 2015. After 10 years of an unimaginative and isolationist Conservative government being in power, the younger Trudeau, against the odds, won the General Election of 2015 and triggered what was briefly called by some Trudeaumania 2.0 (see Image 2 and the 2012, the 2015, the 2021 and the 2022 quotations).
Quotations
2012
The time isn't right yet for Trudeaumania 2.0
Justin Trudeau should, after a suitable period of introspection, politely thank those who would have him press-ganged into taking on the Liberal leadership. Then he should tell them to heave off. And enjoy the summer. He's not ready. Neither is the Liberal Party of Canada. This latest effort to resurrect Trudeaumania, prompted by Bob Rae's decision to bow out of the leadership rather than fight like a junk-yard dog over the scraps of power, is manic. Trudeau says he's under intense pressure to run. That can only grow now that he's opened the door. But this is a mug's game. The effort to drive the 40-year-old to jump before his time is a sign, not of his suitability, but of the party's desperation.
Justin Trudeau should, after a suitable period of introspection, politely thank those who would have him press-ganged into taking on the Liberal leadership. Then he should tell them to heave off. And enjoy the summer. He's not ready. Neither is the Liberal Party of Canada. This latest effort to resurrect Trudeaumania, prompted by Bob Rae's decision to bow out of the leadership rather than fight like a junk-yard dog over the scraps of power, is manic. Trudeau says he's under intense pressure to run. That can only grow now that he's opened the door. But this is a mug's game. The effort to drive the 40-year-old to jump before his time is a sign, not of his suitability, but of the party's desperation.
2015
It is bogus to say that since the federal Liberals won the federal election that we now have Trudeaumania 2.
It is more like Jean Chretien all over again.
You can be sure that young Justin Trudeau will be following orders from Jean Chretien and Paul Martin.
Its unbelievable, but don't complain, that is what the majority of Canadian taxpayers voted for.
2015
Confounding the pundits and pollsters, Justin Trudeau's Liberals have pulled off a remarkable political comeback after spending the past decade in the political wilderness. The Liberals have surged from third place to earn a commanding mandate to chart a more progressive direction for Canada. It's one for the record books.
This is Trudeaumania II, nothing less, surfing a wave of revulsion at Harper's spiteful governing style.
Trudeau's compelling vision of a Canada that is "open and confident and hopeful" caught the spirit of voters who believe this country can be more generous, more ambitious and more successful. Millions were repelled by Conservative efforts to scare people into voting for the status quo. And Trudeau's call to "come together as a country" proved to be a stronger motivator than the Tories' divisive tactics.
This is Trudeaumania II, nothing less, surfing a wave of revulsion at Harper's spiteful governing style.
Trudeau's compelling vision of a Canada that is "open and confident and hopeful" caught the spirit of voters who believe this country can be more generous, more ambitious and more successful. Millions were repelled by Conservative efforts to scare people into voting for the status quo. And Trudeau's call to "come together as a country" proved to be a stronger motivator than the Tories' divisive tactics.
2016
This could be good for Muskoka.
Our MP Tony Clement announced his bid for leader of the federal Conservative Party on Tuesday night. This positions him to possibly be our prime minister in the event Trudeaumania weakens by the next election.
Clement has always worked hard for this riding and has been uniquely available and considerate of its people. He has always had our backs.
2016
Just like last fall's federal election, the gains in Liberal support appear to be coming almost entirely at the expense of the New Democrats, Bozinoff said.
"The Tories are fairly unaffected by this Trudeaumania," he said.
Forum's seat-projection formula based on the polling numbers suggests that the Liberals would win 278 of the Commons' 338 seats if a vote were held today. The Conservatives would win 55 seats, while the NDP would be reduced to five seats and lose official party status. The Bloc Quebecois and the Greens would be shut out under the seat-projection model.
2021
The Liberals deserve to be punished by returning them to the third-party status Trudeau initially had until he uncorked Trudeaumania 2.0.
I still recoil at the memory of supposedly non-partisan federal employees at external affairs reacting to him during an impromptu visit like teeny-boppers gushing over the latest boy band.
References
Images
Chart 1: Internet Domain Search, 12 Oct. 2012
Chart 2: Internet Domain Search, 19 March 2023.
Image 1: Trudeaumania at the North York Centennial arena in June 1968. Photo: D. Darrell.
