The Outsider: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau

J.L. Granatstein is a professor of History at York University and author
of Pirouette: Pierre Trudeau and Canadian Foreign Policy.

Vastel’s book was initially published in Quebec as Trudeau le
Québécois. That is a much better description of its contents than the
present subtitle, The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, suggests. This is
not a life at all; instead it is an analysis, if a diatribe can be so
dignified, of Trudeau’s relations with his native province. The author
aims to demonstrate that Trudeau was always an outsider, one who
mistrusted his Québécois compatriots to the point of self-hate.

It goes without saying that this is a book with a mission. Vastel, born
in France and an immigrant to Canada two decades ago, began as an
admirer of the former prime minister. His developing nationalisme,
however, soon persuaded him that Trudeau was a traitor to his native
province. This book is part and parcel of the denigrating attack on
Trudeau and federalism (and, incidentally, Jean Chrétien) that passes
today for French-language journalism in Quebec as it seeks the breakup
of the federal union.

That is not to say that there is nothing useful here. Vastel has worked
his way through school yearbooks and newspapers to track down
Trudeau’s earliest activities and writings. This is fascinating
material, enough even to justify the purchase of the book. But stop
after the first few chapters—most of the remainder adds nothing to an
understanding of Trudeau or his times.