Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau had a surprise for the nation on this date in 1971 when he married Margaret Sinclair, the daughter of famed Louis St-Laurent cabinet minister Jimmy Sinclair, at a private ceremony in B.C. The couple would go on to have three children: Alexandre (b. Christmas Day, 1973), the late Michel (1975-1998) and, of course, Justin Trudeau, now Canada’s 23rd Prime Minister, who was born on Christmas Day, 1971.While the couple eventually divorced, they remained united in the raising of their children. It was later revealed that Margaret suffered from Bipolar Disorder. In recent years she has brought comfort to countless thousands who also face mental health challenges by revealing her struggles in book form and through public appearances across Canada.[caption id="attachment_609854" align="alignleft" width="614"]
Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau dances with his wife Margaret a few weeks after their wedding. (CP Photo Peter Bregg, March 27, 1971)[/caption]Arthur Milnes is an accomplished public historian and award-winning journalist. He was research assistant on The Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney’s best-selling Memoirs and also served as a speechwriter to then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper and as a Fellow of the Queen’s Centre for the Study of Democracy under the leadership of Tom Axworthy. A resident of Kingston, Ontario, Milnes serves as the in-house historian at the 175 year-old Frontenac Club Hotel.
Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau dances with his wife Margaret a few weeks after their wedding. (CP Photo Peter Bregg, March 27, 1971)[/caption]Arthur Milnes is an accomplished public historian and award-winning journalist. He was research assistant on The Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney’s best-selling Memoirs and also served as a speechwriter to then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper and as a Fellow of the Queen’s Centre for the Study of Democracy under the leadership of Tom Axworthy. A resident of Kingston, Ontario, Milnes serves as the in-house historian at the 175 year-old Frontenac Club Hotel.