Editing Pierre Trudeau (section)

== Minister of Justice and Attorney General (1967–1968) ==
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| description  = Trudeau speaking about his [[Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1968–69|omnibus bill]], famously saying "there's no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation"
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[[File:Trudeau, Turner, Chretien, and Pearson.jpg|thumb|Prime Ministers all: (l-r) Future prime ministers Trudeau, [[John Turner]] and [[Jean Chrétien]], and Prime Minister [[Lester B. Pearson]], in 1967]]
As Justice Minister and Attorney General, Trudeau was responsible for introducing the landmark ''[[Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1968–69|Criminal Law Amendment Act]]'', an [[omnibus bill]] whose provisions included, among other things, the decriminalization of homosexual acts between consenting adults, new gun ownership restrictions and the legalization of contraception, abortion and lotteries, as well as the authorization of [[breathalyzer]] tests on suspected drunk drivers. Trudeau famously defended the segment of the bill decriminalizing homosexual acts by telling reporters that "there's no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation", adding that "what's done in private between adults doesn't concern the [[Criminal Code (Canada)|Criminal Code]]".{{sfn|CBC News (1967-12-21)}} Trudeau paraphrased the term from [[Martin O'Malley (journalist)|Martin O'Malley]]'s editorial piece in ''[[The Globe and Mail]]'' on December 12, 1967.{{sfn|CBC News (1967-12-21)}}{{sfn|O'Malley (1967-12-12)|p=6}} Trudeau also liberalized divorce laws, and clashed with Quebec Premier [[Daniel Johnson, Sr.]] during constitutional negotiations.

=== Liberal leadership convention (1968) ===
{{Further|1968 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election}}
[[File:Trudeau podium2.JPG|thumb|Trudeau at the Liberal convention after winning the leadership]]
At the end of [[Canadian Centennial|Canada's centennial year]] in 1967, Pearson announced his intention to step down, and Trudeau entered the race to succeed him as party leader and Prime Minister. His energetic campaign attracted widespread media attention and mobilized many young people, who saw Trudeau as a symbol of generational change. However, many Liberals still had reservations, given that he had only joined the party in 1965. During the convention, prominent Cabinet Minister [[Judy LaMarsh]] was caught on television profanely stating that Trudeau was not a Liberal.<ref name="Don't let the bastard win">{{cite web |title=Pierre Trudeau: 'Canada must be a just society' |url=http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/politics/prime-ministers/pierre-elliott-trudeau-philosopher-and-prime-minister/canada-must-be-a-just-society.html |url-status=live |work=CBC Archives |publisher=CBC News |location=Toronto |date=September 9, 1968 |access-date=December 21, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215153238/http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/politics/prime-ministers/pierre-elliott-trudeau-philosopher-and-prime-minister/canada-must-be-a-just-society.html |archive-date=December 15, 2013}}</ref>

Nevertheless, at the April [[1968 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election|1968 Liberal leadership convention]], Trudeau was elected leader on the fourth ballot, with the support of 51 percent of the delegates. He defeated several prominent and long-serving Liberals, including [[Paul Martin Sr.]], [[Robert Winters]] and [[Paul Hellyer]].<ref>John English, ''Citizen of the World'' (2006) pp 476–479.</ref>