CBC Archives

You must sign in to leave a comment on this clip.

Trudeaumania on Parliament Hill

Broadcast Date: May 2, 1968

(no audio) A group of swooning women, men, children and reporters hoping to meet the new prime minister wait outside Parliament in May 1968. Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau draws fans like a celebrity. Some are paroxysmal, lending credibility to the new phenomenon called Trudeaumania. He ducks out the side door but the fans are already there waiting. One young blond woman leans over and kisses him on the mouth.

As he's walking away, teenaged girls follow. One grabs his hand. That's about all the new prime minister can take and he starts running away. The teenagers chase him.

Trudeaumania on Parliament Hill

• The Canadian Oxford Dictionary defines Trudeaumania as "widespread popularity and fascination with ... Trudeau among the Canadian public, especially during the election campaign of 1968." The term, named after Beatlemania, compares fitful Beatles fans to Trudeau's admirers.
• In 1968, Canadian Press reporter Ken Clark lost dozens of notepad sheets to women looking for paper for Trudeau's autograph.

• Trudeau attended Montreal's prestigious Jesuit high school, Jean-de-Brébeuf. In 1943 he graduated from the University of Montreal with a law degree and in 1961, became one of the school's law professors.

Trudeaumania on Parliament Hill

Medium: Television

Program: CBC Television News

Broadcast Date: May 2, 1968

Guest(s):

:

Duration: 1:26

Last updated:
Feb. 4, 2007