Charles Trudeau (businessman)
| Charles-Émile Trudeau | |
|---|---|
| Born |
July 5, 1887 Saint-Michel-de-Napierville, Quebec, Canada |
| Died | April 10, 1935 (aged 47) Orlando, Florida, U.S.A. |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur Lawyer |
| Spouse(s) | Grace Elliott |
| Children | 4 (including Pierre Trudeau) |
Joseph Charles-Émile "Charley" Trudeau (July 5, 1887 – April 10, 1935) was a successful French Canadian entrepreneur, father of Pierre Trudeau, 15th Prime Minister of Canada, and grandfather of Justin Trudeau, 23rd and current Prime Minister of Canada.
Charles-Émile Trudeau was born on his family's farm in Saint-Michel-de-Napierville, Quebec, the son of Joseph Trudeau (1848–1919), a semi-literate farmer, and Malvina Cardinal (1849–1931), whose own father was Solime Cardinal (1815–1897), mayor of Saint-Constant, Quebec. Malvina insisted that her sons be given a strong education which her husband agreed to send them to College Sainte-Marie. Trudeau later studied law at the Laval University's campus in Montreal, which in 1919 became the University of Montreal. After a 10-year courtship, he married Grace Elliott (1890–1973), the daughter of a prominent Scots-Quebecer entrepreneur, Philip Armstrong Elliott (1859–1936), and his wife Sarah Sauvé (1857–1899), on May 11, 1915 in Montreal at the original Saint-Louis-de-France Roman Catholic Church on Roy Street at Laval Avenue which was later destroyed by fire in 1933. They would have four children, their first child dying at birth. Charles-Émile Trudeau was considered gregarious, boisterous and extravagant.
Trudeau, a lawyer by training, practiced for 10 years with Ernest Bertrand, at that time the Senior Crown Prosecutor, as well as Charles E. Guérin. Trudeau accumulated a fortune by building a number of gas stations around the Montreal area and a loyalty program known as the Automobile Owners' Association, which by 1932 had 15,000 members, patronizing Trudeau's 30 stations. He sold his business to Champlain Oil Products Limited for $1 million, while remaining with Champlain as its general manager. Among his other investments, Trudeau had interests in mining companies. He was a noted baseball enthusiast: the largest shareholder and member of the Board of Directors of the Montreal Royals baseball team, and the team's vice-president at the time of his death. He was also vice-president of Montreal's Belmont Park and a prominent philanthropist, including as a benefactor of the Hôpital Sainte-Jeanne d'Arc, for which he also served as director at the time of his death.
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