Margaret Trudeau Making a Difference

Tim Wees

When all feels lost and a deep pervading darkness has settled into one’s soul, it is time to call for real support, and there is no shame in that. This was the message being delivered by Margaret Trudeau, the once wife of the late , to a full house at OSCVI last night.

Ms. Trudeau was sharing her life and experiences at the official launch of the Grey- Bruce Mental Health Crisis Line.

Margaret Trudeau has abandoned the closeted life of denial. She no longer keeps a dark secret held behind well- locked doors. She is out in the world and on purpose. It was apparent yesterday that she is a woman very much in charge of herself and intending to make a difference. She will talk quite openly and freely about her life and quite obviously wants to be an example of the personal healing that can be made available for calling out, “Help!”

As a youngster and a teenager Trudeau was happy and full of life. She was surrounded by people and her life was very much a fun experience. It was in her late teens that she first touched the uncomfortable experience of what has since been diagnosed as bipolar disorder. She had finished university and was visiting Morocco and being very much a hippie, a revolutionary. She has talked about being delusional and disconnected from reality in Morocco. She remembers this as a mild experience given what would come later.

In 1971 the young and vivacious Margaret Sinclair married the dashing Pierre Trudeau. Those two were not just the talk of the town but of the whole country. There was something quite delightful in the life and vitality that this relationship brought to the staid and somber Canadian political scene. It was an awakening. There were some harsh realities associated with being the wife of Prime Minister and the mother of his children. When her first son, Justin, was born she was told that wherever she went police would be close by. It was made clear that if her son was kidnapped no ransom would be paid. She was taught how to roll to the curb and hold her baby under her body and scream at the top of her lungs so that she could not easily be picked up and carried away. The lesson must have been harsh for the freedom-loving hippie princess.

It was Christmas of 1973 that her second son, Sacha, was born. He was described as a ‘gorgeous newborn’ and she was totally cared for to the point of being pampered, but the event produced an overwhelming depression. Those around her tried to steer her out of it but she found herself crying all the time and unable to get out of bed.

The young mom was confused and disoriented and thought that leaving Pierre was the answer. She remembers as a child growing up in a big family where everyone participated in the cooking and then sat together at a big dining room table and talked. At she felt like an object with no role. All the needs of everyone were catered. She has described the experience as being very lonely and a long tunnel of darkness.

Margaret and Pierre did part company and she went on to marry Fried Kemper, an Ottawa realtor. Life settled down for a long time, and then one of her puppies died, and she experienced a debilitating grief and could not get out of bed. She pretended that all was well but the depression would not let up and ultimately the stress was too much and her second marriage fell apart.

And then there was the ultimate tragedy for the distraught mom when her youngest son Michel died in an avalanche in . She described the sorrow as being so deep that she could no longer function. She cut the world off completely and refused to leave her house.

By the time Pierre Trudeau died she had lost thirty pounds and her life had bottomed out. She talks about starving herself passively, and no-one noticed. She cut off contacts with her friends and family and was left to cope on her own.

And then someone called her son and alerted the family to the situation. She took the life-line being offered and started down the road to recovery. It started with the admission and seeking help. The rest has been holistic, as Ms. Trudeau describes it.

“You have to be physically healthy. You have to be mentally healthy. You have to be spiritually healthy in order to feel happiness.” For the last year Margaret Trudeau has been on the road and supporting the cause for a mentally healthy Canada.

“Is your son going to be Prime Minister?” I asked.

She lit up for that question and laughed.

“He’s taken the first step. He has been underestimated. He is a very bright and responsible human being.”

A proud mom.

The crisis line number is 1-877-470-5200.

Owen Sound Sun Times May 2, 2007 [email protected] Return to Stories Next Story