He was jailed in Palestine suspected of being an Israeli spy, shelled in Indochina while riding with a French convoy, evacuated from China just ahead of the advancing Red Army led .
by Mao, caught pelting a statue of Lenin with a snowball in communist Russia and picked up by the United States Coast Guard while trying to paddle from Florida to Cuba in a canoe at the height of the Cuban missile crisis.2.
Trudeau had a very flamboyant lifestyle. His dress was unmistakable and often included a red rose in the lapel of his jacket. He dated several prominent and worldly females including American actress Barbara Steisand. In March of 1971 however, he wed Margaret Sinclair, the daughter of a former federal cabinet minister. The Trudeaus would be blessed with three sons Justin, Alexandre and Michael. Margaret, unable to cope with the stress of her husbands' position and its effects on their relationship, suffers a nervous breakdown. The Trudeaus whirlwind relationship will last a mere six years as they formally separate in 1977.
The Liberal Prime Minister, Lester B. Pearson, seeing the potential in young Trudeau, recruited him to run as a candidate in the 1965 national election. He easily won the election and thus began his political career in the Mount Royal riding in the province of Quebec. Armed with his law degree, he rose quickly through the ranks and in 1967, the year of Canada's centennial celebration; he was appointed minister of justice and attorney general of Canada. During that year, he introduced bills that would change the ease of obtaining a divorce, abortion, the elimination of capital punishment and upholding the rights of those with same sex preferences. In 1968, the Prime Minister, Lester B. Pearson announced his retirement. Young Pierre seized upon the opportunity and ran for the leadership of the Liberal party. He was sworn in a prime minister on April 20, 1968 at the age of 49.
