Quotes by Pierre Trudeau

“The state has no business in the bedrooms of the nation.”

“The past is to be respected and acknowledged, but not worshipped; it is our future in which we will find our greatness.”

“In reality, though, the first thing to ask of history is that it should pointout to us the paths of liberty. The great lesson to draw from revolutions isnot that they devour humanity but rather tha...”

“Luck, that's when preparation and opportunity meet.”

“The essential ingredient of politics is timing.”

“I bear solemn witness to the fact that NATO heads of state and of government meet only to go through the tedious motions of reading speeches, drafted by others, with the principal objective of not ...”

“Canada will be a strong country when Canadians of all provinces feel at home in all parts of the country, and when they feel that all Canada belongs to them.”

“I believe a constitution can permit the co-existence of several cultures and ethnic groups with a single state.”

“Paddling a canoe is a source of enrichment and inner renewal.”

“People are more interested in ideas than dress.”

“What sets a canoeing expedition apart is that it purifies you more rapidly and inescapably than any other. Travel a thousand miles by train and you are a brute; pedal five hundred on a bicycle and ...”

“I would have to point out in the strongest terms the autocracy of the Liberal structure and the cowardice of its members. I have never seen in all my examination of politics so degrading a spectacl...”

“Bilingualism is not an imposition on the citizens. The citizens can go on speaking one language or six languages, or no languages if they so choose. Bilingualism is an imposition on the state and n...”

“There's no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation.”

“Vive la France libre.”

“I'm not leaving! I must stay.”

“A man who tries to please all men by weakening his position or compromising his beliefs, in the end has neither position nor beliefs. A man must say what he believes clearly, without dogma, and wit...”

“Well, I am trying to put Quebec in its place — and the place of Quebec is in Canada, nowhere else.”

“The attainment of a just society is the cherished hope of civilized men. While perhaps more difficult to formulate for groups than for individuals, even the members of majorities — political, relig...”

“Of course a bilingual state is more expensive than a unilingual one — but it is a richer state.”