Tru·deau  (trōō-dō', trōō'dō')  Canadian prime minister (1968-1979 and 1980-1984) whose administration was marked by efforts to contain the French separatist movement in Quebec and by the Constitution Act of 1982, which granted Canada full independence. |
A Canadian statesman and prime minister of the twentieth century. Faced with secessionist sentiment from the French-speaking majority in Quebec, Trudeau as prime minister oversaw the passage of the Official Languages Act in the 1970s, which made French and English the official languages of Canada.