In 1965, Pierre Trudeau joined the Liberal Party of Canada, became a candidate, and won a Montreal seat in the federal election that year. Canada would never be the same.
His run as a Liberal came as a surprise for many people because until that time, Trudeau had openly identified as a socialist and supporter of the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and its successor, the New Democratic Party (NDP). Trudeau’s political evolution and eventual membership in the Liberal Party are described by University of Winnipeg political scientist Allen Mills in his important 2016 book, Citizen Trudeau, 1944-1965: An Intellectual Biography.
