Editing Pierre Trudeau (section)

== Intellectual contributions ==
Trudeau was a strong advocate for a [[federalism|federalist]] model of government in Canada, developing and promoting his ideas in response and contrast to strengthening Quebec nationalist movements, for instance the social and political atmosphere created during Maurice Duplessis' time in power.<ref>Gagnon (2000).</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=August 2012}}

Federalism in this context can be defined as "a particular way of sharing political power among different peoples within a state...Those who believe in federalism hold that different peoples do not need states of their own in order to enjoy self-determination. Peoples&nbsp;... may agree to share a single state while retaining substantial degrees of self-government over matters essential to their identity as peoples".<ref>Ignatieff, quoted in Balthazar (1995), p. 6.</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=August 2012}}

As a social democrat, Trudeau sought to combine and harmonize his theories on [[social democracy]] with those of federalism so that both could find effective expression in Canada. He noted the ostensible conflict between socialism, with its usually strong centralist government model, and federalism, which expounded a division and cooperation of power by both federal and provincial levels of government.{{sfn|English (2009)|p={{page needed|date=May 2016}}}} In particular, Trudeau stated the following about socialists:{{blockquote|[R]ather than water down&nbsp;... their socialism, must constantly seek ways of adapting it to a bicultural society governed under a federal constitution. And since the future of Canadian federalism lies clearly in the direction of co-operation, the wise socialist will turn his thoughts in that direction, keeping in mind the importance of establishing buffer zones of joint sovereignty and co-operative zones of joint administration between the two levels of government{{sfn|English (2009)|p=141}}}}

Trudeau pointed out that in sociological terms, Canada is inherently a federalist society, forming unique regional identities and priorities, and therefore a federalist model of spending and jurisdictional powers is most appropriate. He argues, "in the age of the mass society, it is no small advantage to foster the creation of quasi-sovereign communities at the provincial level, where power is that much less remote from the people".{{sfn|English (2009)|p=133}}

Trudeau's idealistic plans for a cooperative Canadian federalist state were resisted and hindered as a result of his narrowness on ideas of identity and socio-cultural pluralism: "While the idea of a 'nation' in the sociological sense is acknowledged by Trudeau, he considers the allegiance which it generates—emotive and particularistic—to be contrary to the idea of cohesion between humans, and as such creating fertile ground for the internal fragmentation of states and a permanent state of conflict".<ref name="Gagnon2000pp16-17">Gagnon (2000), 16–17.</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=August 2012}}

This position garnered significant criticism for Trudeau, in particular from Quebec and First Nations peoples on the basis that his theories denied their rights to nationhood.<ref name="Gagnon2000pp16-17" />{{unreliable source?|date=August 2012}}  First Nations communities raised particular concerns with the proposed 1969 White Paper, developed under Trudeau by Jean Chrétien.

Trudeau and the Quebec federalist historian [[Fernand Ouellet]], who was a devout follower and admirer of Trudeau and [[Trudeauism]], frequently influenced each other intellectually in their ideas and texts  on their anti-nationalist conception of the [[history of Quebec]], though they never formed a personal friendship.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dorais |first=François-Olivier |title=L'École historique de Québec. Une histoire intellectuelle |publisher=Boréal |year=2022 |isbn=9782764627365 |location=Montreal |pages=244–247 |language=fr}}</ref>