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Who is this youthful trio?

• They were born to a francophone father and an anglophone mother who differed in age by 29 years. The couple separated in 1977, and though the boys stayed very close to their mother, their father retained custody of them.
  • Through the 1970s and early '80s, the trio often appeared in photographs in Canadian newspapers while on vacation, at the playground and at parties.

• They sometimes accompanied their father on business trips, visiting Kenya and Tanzania shortly after the time of this clip.

• The older two boys were born on Christmas Day two years apart. Their mother liked to point out that the third shared a birthday with Mahatma Gandhi.

• They have a half-sister on their father's side, and a half-brother and half-sister on their mother's side.

• These three are the Trudeau boys -- Justin, 9, Alexandre, 7, and Michel, 5 -- commenting on the July 1981 wedding of Charles and Diana, the Prince and Princess of Wales. Along with their mother, Margaret, the boys watched the ceremony on television at Canada House in London. As prime minister of Canada at the time, their father, Pierre Trudeau, was a guest at the wedding.

• After working as a teacher, Justin Trudeau followed his father into politics and in 2008 was elected a Liberal member of Parliament in the Montreal riding of Papineau. Justin first came to national attention as an adult in 2000 with an emotional eulogy at his father's funeral.

• Alexandre (Sacha) Trudeau is a filmmaker, journalist and director of the Trudeau Foundation, which supports research and scholarships with a focus on social issues. He and his family live in the Trudeau mansion on Pine Avenue in Montreal, the house Pierre bought after leaving politics.

• Michel Trudeau lost his life in 1998 when an avalanche swept him into a lake while he was skiing in British Columbia. He was 23. His family became advocates for avalanche awareness, helping to dedicate a mountain log house to the memory of Michel and others who have died in avalanches in Glacier National Park. 

Medium: Television
Program: The National
Broadcast Date: July 29, 1981
Guest(s): Justin Trudeau, Michel Trudeau
Duration: 0:53

Last updated: April 22, 2013

Page consulted on April 22, 2013

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