Joseph Charles-Émile "Charley" Trudeau 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.
Background
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 Saint-Constant, Quebec"s mayor Solime Cardinal (1815–1897).
Education
Trudeau later studied law at the Laval University"s campus in Montreal which would later became the University of Montreal in 1919.
Career
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 East. 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 thirty 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 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.
Politically, Trudeau was a strong supporter of the Conservative Party, opposed to Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King. He died of a heart attack in 1935 in Orlando, Florida, while on the road with the Royals, and laid to rest at his family vault in Street-Rémi-de-Napierville Cemetery.
Due to Trudeau"s business, Pierre Trudeau himself inherited wealth.
Trudeau served as an inspiration to the Prime Minister.
Membership
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.