Today, Norm Goldman, Editor of Bookpleasures.com is honored to have as our guests, Max and Monique Nemni.Max and Monique are the authors of a recently published book Young Trudeau Son of Quebec , Father of Canada , 1919-1944.Norm:Good day Max and Monique and thanks for participating in our interview.Please tell our readers a little bit about your personal and professional backgrounds. Why did you feel compelled to write Young Trudeau Son of Quebec, Father of Canada, 1919-1944?
Max :
We are both University Professors, now retired. Monique was a professor of Linguistics at the Montreal campus of the University of Quebec . I was a professor of Political Science at Laval University in Quebec City . In the early 1990’s, at the time of the Meech Lake crisis, when Canada ’s future was once again in jeopardy, I wrote an article which Trudeau read and greatly appreciated. This was the beginning of a friendship that lasted until his death.
This friendship was strengthened by our involvement in Cité libre, the magazine founded by Trudeau and others in 1950 which, as you may know, played a crucial role in ushering the so-called “Quiet Revolution" in Quebec . From 1995 until 2000 we were Editors in Chief of Cité libre and met Trudeau on a regular basis. This gave us the opportunity to appreciate him as a warm human being, and since we already admired him as one of Canada ’s foremost statesman we decided to write his intellectual biography.
We talked to him about this project and he endorsed it wholeheartedly. He even offered to read and comment chapters. However, the directorship of Cité libre, a very demanding task, prevented us from starting the biography. It is only after his death in 2000, which coincided with the suspension of the publication of Cité libre, that we finally could embark on our project.
Norm:Why do you feel that this was an important book for you to write and for all of us to read at this time? Max and Monique:
There are two answers to this question: before and after we completed our research.
Before we started our research we simply thought that Trudeau had radically transformed Canada , essentially through the Charter of Rights and Freedoms as well as by his special conception of multiculturalism. We also believed that he represented a very special and rare case of a strong and committed intellectual who had the opportunity to put his ideas into practice by acquiring political power. This is why we wanted to trace back the source of his ideas, their evolution and their impact on Canada .
When we completed our research we realized that we had done more than an intellectual biography. To understand Trudeau we had to place him in his context: Quebec society in the 1930’s and 1940’s. As you know, these were very important decades not only in Canada but in the rest of the world because of the Great Depression, and the Second World War. As it turned out, our book throws a new light on an interesting man as well as on a crucial period in the history of Canada .
Norm:How has the feedback been so far? Have you received any nasty letters? Max and Monique:
I guess you always have to expect some nasty letters. Worst than nasty letters are comments unrelated to what we have written. We have received some of these as well.
Fundamentally, the feedback has been excellent. We have had enthusiastic reviews and comments in the press, on television and on the radio, for the original French version as well as for the English translation. And now, thanks to you, we are on the Web. Thank you Norm!
Norm:Before embarking on this venture, did you have any idea of the blatant and extensive anti-Semitism that existed in the 1930s and 1940s in Québec? What was your initial reaction when you read how Trudeau himself was caught up in this tidal wave that swept Québec at the time? Max and Monique:
We knew of course that anti-Semitism existed in Quebec , in Canada and, indeed, in the rest of the world. What we didn’t know was the extent of anti-Semitism and its impact on Trudeau. What we found about Trudeau isn’t so much the expression of his own anti-Semitism as a passive acceptance of the anti-Semitism of authors he was reading, such as Maurras or Brasillach and other such extreme-right people.
Norm:Do you believe that if the information contained in your book was known at the time Trudeau entered politics in 1968 that he would still have been elected to Parliament? Max and Monique:
Would Jean Drapeau have been mayor of Montreal ? It’s hard to give a straight answer to this question. All we can say is that the frame of mind of most of the elites of this era would not be acceptable today. This is so, not only as far as anti-Semitism is concerned but also with respect to the treatment of minorities, aboriginals and women. The world today is radically different, and to our minds, far more tolerant, liberal and progressive than it was at the time. Trudeau, the mature Trudeau, has of course contributed greatly to this progress.
Norm:
Can you explain some of your research techniques, and how you found sources for your book? Max and Monique:
Trudeau’s private papers constitute the foundation of our research. We are thankful to Trudeau’s literary executors (which include his family) to have given us access to these documents, which are now kept in Canada ’s national archives in Ottawa .
Apart from that, we had to spend a good deal of time studying the role of the Catholic Church in Quebec, the attitude of the Pope towards fascism and the European dictators, the nature of the Jesuit education that Trudeau received, the impact of the Depression on the ideology of the time. This allowed us to shed a new light on the reaction of the Quebec elite and of the Quebec people to the Second World War.
We also had to consult and make sense of the very many books and articles on Trudeau. Finally, we had to read the mountains of books that Trudeau read and commented at the time. This is how we found, for example, that when he read the eminent catholic thinker Jacques Maritain, he didn’t understand much of his message, such as his powerful critique of fascism and his understanding of the Second World War as a Just war.
Norm:How long did it take you to write this book? Max and Monique:
A long, very long time. We conceived the idea in 1995. We started to work on it in 2000. We worked intensively from 2002 until 2006.
Norm:What challenges or obstacles did you encounter while writing your book? How did you overcome these challenges? Max and Monique:
The major challenge was to sift through the massive personal documentation. The only way to overcome this challenge was through lots of work. We also had to adjust, psychologically, to what we were finding.
Norm:At what point in Trudeau’s life do you believe his perspective changed and what influenced these changes? Max and Monique:
Our book is the first of a three-volume biography. The focus of this first volume is the early years, 1919-1944, where we discover a completely unknown Trudeau: A Trudeau eager to bring about the separation of Quebec from Canada , and its transformation into an independent, catholic and French state.
It is only in our second volume, focusing on the years 1945-1965, that we shall witness the progressive transformation in Trudeau’s worldview. Starting with his studies at Harvard, then in Paris , then at the London School of Economics, Trudeau will acquire his liberal perspective and will put them into practice upon his return to Quebec in 1949.
Norm:Could you give our readers a brief glimpse of Volume 2 and when can we expect it to be published? Max and Monique:
We expect the second volume to be ready in about two years. Both the French and the English versions are going to be published by the same publishers: Les Éditions de l’Homme, for the French version, McClelland and Stewart for the English.
Norm:Is there anything else you wish to add that we have not covered? Max and Monique:
Thanks again for opening the Web for us and good luck with all of your future endeavors.
Norm Goldmanis the Editor & Publisher of the Book Reviewing & Author Interviewing site bookpleasures.com. Bookpleasures.com comprises over 25 international reviewers that come from all walks of life and that review all genre.
Norm also offers a Fast Track & Priority Review Service. You can find out more about this service by clicking HERE.
» left by Anonymous (3 years 107 days ago.)
The picture is wrong!!!! My grandparents wrote Young Trudeau and that is not them in the picture!!!!! Respond to this comment
» left by Norm Goldman from Montreal (3 years 107 days ago.)
The photo image you see is that of the interviewer and his wife and not of the interviewees. If you looked carefully you would have seen that the picture appears at the top of the page and reference is made to Norm Goldman, who reviewed the book and interviewed the authors. Respond to this comment
Was this article helpful to you? Leave a Public Comment or Question:
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
or organization.
tweet this!
