Alexandre Trudeau

Last updated

Alexandre Trudeau
Born
Alexandre Emmanuel Trudeau

(1973-12-25) December 25, 1973 (age 50)
Other namesSacha
Alma mater McGill University
Occupation(s) Filmmaker, journalist, author
SpouseZoë Bedos
Children3
Parent(s) Pierre Trudeau (father)
Margaret Trudeau (mother)
Family Trudeau

Alexandre Emmanuel "Sacha" Trudeau (born December 25, 1973) is a Canadian filmmaker, journalist and author of Barbarian Lost. [1] He is the second son of Canada's former prime minister, Pierre Trudeau, and Margaret Trudeau, and the younger brother of Canada's current prime minister, Justin Trudeau.

Contents

Early life and education

Alexandre is the younger one of the two Christmas babies of Pierre Trudeau and Margaret Trudeau, exactly two years younger than Justin Trudeau. The family was attending the 1973 Christmas midnight mass at Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Church when Margaret Trudeau went into labour and was rushed to The Ottawa Hospital. [2] His mother struggled with severe postpartum depression after his birth, and was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder. [3] He was given the nickname "Sacha" (the French spelling of the Russian diminutive for Alexander) in recognition of his father's love of Russian literature and culture; the name also is linked to former ambassador of the USSR to Canada and Trudeau family friend Alexander Yakovlev. [4] Alexandre Trudeau's younger brother, Michel, was born in 1975. [5] All three of Pierre and Margaret Trudeau's children became media sensations from birth.[ citation needed ]

When talking about her sons each having distinctly different personalities, in an interview in 1977, Margaret Trudeau said, "Justin, 6, is a prince a very good little boy. Sacha, born Christmas Day, 1973, is a bit of a revolutionary, very determined and strong willed. Miche (Michel) is a happy, well-adjusted child, who combined the best traits of both brothers." [6]

His parents announced they would separate in 1977. His mother, unbeknownst to the public, then lived in an attic suite within the Prime Minister's official residence at 24 Sussex Drive in Ottawa for the next three years, so as to make the adjustment easier on the children. After the divorce was finalized on April 2, 1984, he and his brothers attended the civil ceremony in which Margaret Trudeau remarried to Ottawa real estate developer Fried Kemper on April 18, 1984. A half-brother, Kyle Kemper (born 1984), and a half-sister, Alicia Kemper (born 1988), soon followed. [3] Pierre and Margaret Trudeau tried as much as possible to protect their children from the public eye, and following Pierre Trudeau's retirement as Prime Minister in 1984, he raised them in relative privacy in Montreal.[ citation needed ] Alexandre Trudeau gained another half-sister, Sarah Coyne (born 1991), from his father's relationship with Canadian politician Deborah Coyne. [7]

Like his father and brothers, Alexandre Trudeau studied at Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf. [8] He graduated with a B.A. in philosophy and a Masters in architecture from McGill University. [9] While attending McGill, he joined the Canadian Forces as a Reserve Entry Scheme Officer with Royal Canadian Hussars reserve regiment in 1996. [1] He trained at CFB Gagetown, New Brunswick and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant, but released voluntarily before completing his training as an armoured officer.[ citation needed ] Following graduation, he traveled to West Africa to produce his first documentary: Liberia, the Secret War (1998). [10] In the same year in which the documentary was made, his brother Michel died in an avalanche that pushed him into British Columbia's Kokanee Lake, where he drowned. [11]

When Pierre Trudeau died in 2000, both his surviving sons returned to the public eye. Although Alexandre Trudeau was visibly more reserved and quieter than his brother, his heightened public profile brought new attention [12] to his work as a journalist. After Pierre Trudeau's death, Alexandre continued to live in his father's Art Deco home (Cormier House) in Montreal. [13]

Work

In the years following his father's death, Trudeau produced documentaries for Canadian television. In 2003, he was one of the highest-profile Canadian journalists covering the 2003 invasion of Iraq, producing a documentary film for the CTV program W5, Embedded In Baghdad . His 2004 film, The Fence, shot in Afula, Israel and Jenin of the Palestinian territories draws up a portrait of families on either side of the Israeli-built security barrier around the West bank. [14]

In June 2005, Trudeau focused attention on what he said were the implications for civil liberties in the Canadian government's use of security certificates to detain indefinitely, without trial, suspected terrorists based on secret evidence. Trudeau offered to be a surety for Hassan Almrei, a Syrian refugee held in a Canadian jail for four years without any charges being laid. [15] His appearance in court in support of Almrei resulted in front-page coverage in the Toronto Star and National Post and major media attention being given to the security certificate issue for the first time. Trudeau's efforts were chronicled in his documentary Secure Freedom. Almrei was ordered released under house arrest by a Federal Court judge on January 2, 2009. On December 14, 2009, Almrei was released.

Known for his staunchly anti-imperialist views, Trudeau attracted controversy in August 2006 for an article he penned praising Fidel Castro's Cuba. [16] Trudeau's documentary Refuge, produced in 2008, tells the story of the humanitarian crisis facing Africa's Darfur region and eastern Chad. [17] In 2012, he produced the film The New Great Game, for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation about the maritime geopolitics of the Middle-East and Western Indian Ocean. [18]

In 2016, Trudeau published his first book with Harper Collins, Barbarian Lost, Travels in the New China, a number one Canadian best-seller. The book is a travel mémoire with an undercurrent of philosophical and historical reflection. It paints a personal and nuanced portrait of an ancient country in the throes of massive change. About the book, Trudeau is quoted as saying: "My whole professional career has had a focus on geopolitics, and in this age, you cannot understand the world without understanding the massive role that China has grown to play." [19]

In 2018, Trudeau presented his first scripted work, the short film Wiisgaapte (Bitter Smoke). [20] A product of a collaboration with Dr Shirley Williams, an Ojibwe language specialist, the film’s dialogue is entirely in old Ojibwe dialect and tells the story of the windigo legend of Algonquian lore. [21]

Public life

Currently, Trudeau is President and Chief Producer at Same Adventure Productions. He and wife Zoë Bedos are the parents of a son, Pierre-Emmanuel, and two daughters, Gala Simone and Ariane Lea. [22] [23] He is a founding member of the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation for excellence in social sciences and humanities research and innovation. [24]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pierre Trudeau</span> Prime Minister of Canada (1968–79; 1980–84)

Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. Between his non-consecutive terms as prime minister, he served as the leader of the Opposition from 1979 to 1980.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">24 Sussex Drive</span> Official residence of the Prime Minister of Canada

24 Sussex Drive, originally called Gorffwysfa and usually referred to simply as 24 Sussex, is the official residence of the prime minister of Canada, in the New Edinburgh neighbourhood of Ottawa, Ontario. Built between 1866 and 1868 by Joseph Merrill Currier, it has been the official home of the prime minister of Canada since 1951. It is one of two official residences made available to the prime minister, the Harrington Lake estate in nearby Gatineau Park being the other.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Margaret Trudeau</span> Ex-wife of the late Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau

Margaret Joan Trudeau is a Canadian activist and the mother of Justin Trudeau, the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. She married Pierre Trudeau, the 15th prime minister of Canada, in 1971, three years after he became prime minister. They divorced in 1984, during his final months in office. She is also the mother of the journalist and author Alexandre "Sacha" Trudeau, and Michel Trudeau. She is the first woman in Canadian history to have been both the wife and the mother of prime ministers. Trudeau is an advocate for people with bipolar disorder, with which she has been diagnosed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spouse of the prime minister of Canada</span>

The spouse of the prime minister of Canada is the wife or husband of the prime minister of Canada. Sophie Grégoire Trudeau is married to the 23rd and current prime minister, Justin Trudeau, though the couple have been separated since August 2, 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Justin Trudeau</span> Prime Minister of Canada since 2015

Justin Pierre James Trudeau is a Canadian politician who has been serving as the 23rd prime minister of Canada since 2015 and the leader of the Liberal Party since 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michel Trudeau</span> Youngest son of Pierre Trudeau (1975–1998)

Michel Charles-Émile Trudeau was the youngest son of Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and Margaret Trudeau and the younger brother of current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. He died in an avalanche on November 13, 1998, while skiing in Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dominic LeBlanc</span> Canadian politician (born 1967)

Dominic A. LeBlanc is a Canadian lawyer and politician who has served as the Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs since 2023. A member of the Liberal Party, LeBlanc sits as the member of Parliament (MP) for Beauséjour, representing the New Brunswick riding in the House of Commons since 2000. He has held a number of Cabinet portfolios throughout his tenure in government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerald Butts</span> Canadian political consultant (born 1971)

Gerald Michael Butts is a Canadian political consultant who served as the Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau from November 4, 2015 until his resignation on February 18, 2019. From 2008 to 2012, he was president and CEO of the World Wildlife Fund Canada, part of a global conservation organization. In 2014, Maclean's magazine declared Butts to be the fourteenth most powerful Canadian. As the former Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Butts was praised as the architect behind the Liberal Party of Canada platform that led to its victory in October 2015 and was one of the most senior staffers in the Office of the Prime Minister, along with Katie Telford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deborah Coyne</span> Canadian politician

Deborah Margaret Ryland Coyne is a Canadian constitutional lawyer, professor, and author. She is the cousin of journalist Andrew Coyne and actress Susan Coyne, and the niece of former Bank of Canada governor James Elliott Coyne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf</span> Private secondary school and collegiate school in Montreal, Québec, Canada

Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf is a subsidized private, previously Jesuit French-language educational institution offering secondary school and college-level instruction in Quebec. It was originally a boys' school, though since 2014 it now admits girls too.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sophie Grégoire Trudeau</span> Canadian TV presenter (born 1975)

Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, also known as Sophie Grégoire, is a retired Canadian television host. She is married to 23rd prime minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau; the couple separated in 2023. She is involved in charity work, social work, and public speaking focused mainly on the environment, women's issues, and children's issues. She was an ambassador for the WE Charity, which fell into scandal in 2020.

Joseph Charles-Émile "Charley" Trudeau was a French Canadian attorney and businessman. He was the father of Pierre Trudeau, the 15th Prime Minister of Canada, and the paternal grandfather of Justin Trudeau, the 23rd and current Prime Minister of Canada.

Trudeau is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Sinclair (politician)</span> Canadian politician

James Sinclair was a Canadian politician and businessman. He was the maternal grandfather of current Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation, commonly called the Trudeau Foundation, is a Canadian charity founded in 2001 named after former Canadian prime minister Pierre Trudeau.

The death and state funeral of Pierre Trudeau took place in 2000. Pierre Trudeau was the 15th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1968 to 1984, with a brief interruption in 1979–1980. Trudeau died on September 28, 2000. His casket lay in state on Parliament Hill from September 30 to October 1 and the following day at Montreal City Hall. On October 3, a state funeral was held at Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal.

The Trudeau family is a Canadian political family, originating from the French colonial period, in what is now Quebec. Two members of the family, Pierre Trudeau and Justin Trudeau, have served as the prime minister of Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marco Mendicino</span> Canadian politician (born 1973)

Marco Mendicino is a Canadian politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Eglinton—Lawrence in the House of Commons since 2015. He served as the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship from 2019 to 2021 and the Minister of Public Safety from 2021 to 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marc Miller (politician)</span> Canadian politician

Marc Miller is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent the riding of Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Sœurs in the House of Commons in the 2015 election. A member of the Liberal Party of Canada, he currently serves as Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship in the Federal Cabinet following the swearing in of a new cabinet on July 26, 2023. He previously served as the Minister of Crown Indigenous Relations, starting on October 26, 2021.

Ron Graham is a Canadian author and journalist.

References

  1. 1 2 Curtis, Christoper (October 22, 2012). "The other brother: Sacha, the 'apolitical' one, joins Justin Trudeau's campaign team". National Post . Toronto.
  2. "Son Born To Trudeaus". The Beaver County Times . UPI. December 28, 1973. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
  3. 1 2 Hampson, Sarah (May 8, 2009). "Margaret Trudeau is solo, sane, 60 - and irrepressible as ever". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. Retrieved April 3, 2016.
  4. Plamondon, Bob (2013). "Chapter 3. A friend to communists. Viva Cuba - Viva Castro". The Truth about Trudeau. Ottawa: Great River Media. ISBN   978-1-4566-1671-7.
  5. "A third son for Trudeau". The Ottawa Citizen . October 2, 1975. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
  6. Larkin, Kathy (November 30, 1977). "Margaret Trudeau Says She Likes New Freedom". The Blade . Toledo, Ohio. KNS. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
  7. Popplewell, Brett (November 24, 2010). "Pierre Trudeau's daughter, Sarah, lives under the radar". Toronto Star . Retrieved November 10, 2015.
  8. "Petit-déjeuner témoignage | Brébeuf". www.brebeuf.qc.ca. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
  9. "alexandre.trudeau | Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation". www.trudeaufoundation.ca. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
  10. Taylor, Scott (May 1, 2000). "Young Trudeau among the Serbs". The Ottawa Citizen.
  11. DePalma, Anthony (April 3, 2016). "Pierre Trudeau's Youngest Son Believed Killed in Avalanche" . The New York Times . Retrieved November 19, 2010.
  12. Profile, evalu8.org; accessed November 21, 2015.
    Archived April 8, 2005, at the Wayback Machine
  13. Cawley, Janet (January 20, 1986). "Trudeau Practices Law And Low-key Living". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  14. "Alexandre Trudeau's The Fence airs Saturday, September 18th on CTV". BCE. September 3, 2004. Archived from the original on 18 April 2016. Retrieved 5 April 2016.
  15. Hassan Almrei profile Archived September 27, 2011, at the Wayback Machine , Toronto Star; accessed November 21, 2015.
  16. Profile, Toronto Star; accessed November 21, 2015. Archived December 15, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  17. Heinrich, Jeff (August 23, 2008). "Teen apprentice brings balance to Sacha Trudeau's film". Montreal Gazette . Retrieved April 5, 2016.
  18. "The New Great Game". CBC News. October 12, 2012. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  19. Proudfoot, Shannon (September 8, 2019). "Being Sacha Trudeau". Maclean's . Retrieved April 8, 2019.
  20. "Alexandre Trudeau réalise sa première fiction". La Presse (in French). 2019-05-06. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
  21. "Alexandre Trudeau talks about reconciliation, identity and his new movie". thestar.com. 2019-05-08. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
  22. "A new Pierre Trudeau is born". CBC News . January 4, 2007.
  23. Berry, Dominic (January 5, 2007). "Where is Canada going .. does Pierre Trudeau's new grandson have anything to do with it?". Counterweights Canada. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
  24. "Community". Fondation Trudeau. Retrieved 2019-12-11.