Reddit mentions of Young Trudeau: 1919-1944: Son of Quebec, Father of Canada

Great question!

First, I don't go into Trudeau's faith as much as I perhaps should have (the book and dissertation was too long as it was!), but Trudeau was indeed influenced by modern trends in Catholicism. During his youth he was actually quite influenced by fascist-adjacent Catholic corporatism which was popular in Spain/Portugal/Italy. See Max and Monique Nemni's book Young Trudeau for more here. (https://www.amazon.ca/Young-Trudeau-1919-1944-Quebec-Father/dp/0771067496)

One tidbit is that as a young man he still wrote to his priest for permission to read texts deemed dangerous by the Church.

Later on, Trudeau was influenced by Catholic Personalism, which was a sort of critique of the heavy role the clergy had over indviduals' faith and connection with God. If you want more info in a sustained sense on Trudeau and his faith, see this edited collection on how faith influenced his political ideologies and policies (https://www.amazon.ca/Young-Trudeau-1919-1944-Quebec-Father/dp/0771067496)

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Second, Trudeau joining the Liberals is big part of one of my chapters. There were a few reasons

1. He was concerned about the NDP position on the national question, because the party saw Quebec as a nation)
   
   
2. He felt only the Liberals could win in Quebec and didn't want to lose
   
   
3. and as I noted in the book, for all the similarities with the NDP, at the core, he was not a democratic socialist/social democrat, and was always a small-l liberal, so joining the LPC always made the most sense for him, even though he often attacked the party (such as in 1963 when he voted for Charles Taylor and the NDP to protest nuclear arms).
   
   But it should be said that his entrance into politics wasn't a guarantee. Jean Marchand was the prize acquisition because of his labour ties and his prominence in Quebec, whereas Trudeau was seen with some suspicion. Further, earlier in 1965 Trudeau donated money to Charles Taylor's NDP campaign (Charles was a personal friend), but in an ironic twist, Trudeau would be the one to run against Taylor!