Above photo (cropped from original): One of the most famous photographs of Pierre Trudeau with his son, Justin, was taken by Rod MacIvor in 1973. “It was the final day of the Commonwealth Conference in Ottawa and the media were invited to the final event … a garden party at 24 Sussex Dr.,” MacIvor recalls. “Ottawa was my bureau for (wire service) UPI, and I was delegated to work the event, which was the last thing I wanted to do. As it turned out, when Trudeau arrived and threw Justin under his arm, the salute happened and I was immediately rejuvenated knowing full well that I had a winning image! The Ottawa Citizen used it on the front page the next day, and it went on to win the National Newspaper Award for best Feature photo of 1973.” In later years, Justin Trudeau was moved to tears when he was presented with the image.
Some of the best-known images of Pierre Trudeau were captured by award-winning Ottawa photojournalist Rod MacIvor, who covered the Trudeau family for a decade (he even gave Margaret Trudeau photography lessons). Here, as Trudeaumania sweeps the country again, MacIvor shares five of his favourite photographs of a young Justin Trudeau, the boy who went on to follow in his father’s footsteps and become our 23rd Prime Minister.
All images copyright Rod MacIvor.
Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, with Justin on his back and wife Margaret at his side, head to the polling station to vote in the 1972 election. Photo by Rod MacIvor.
“In 1976, while photographing the events of Remembrance day at the War Memorial, Margaret Trudeau asked if I could come up to Harrington Lake the next day and take a Christmas card photo for the family,” MacIvor remembers. “It snowed overnight, and we were able to take photos outside on a fence. I then got to spend half an hour with them while Pierre Trudeau started a fire in the fireplace. This was the last card before the couple separated.” Left to right: Pierre, Michel, Justin, Margaret, and Sacha. Photo by Rod MacIvor/Ottawa.“Margaret (Trudeau) needed some photos to publicize National Library week as she was Honorary Chairperson of the event. I was invited to 24 Sussex Dr. to take photos of her reading to the kids in a second-floor bedroom” in September 1976. From left, Justin, Michel, Margaret, and Sacha Trudeau. Photo by Rod MacIvor/Ottawa.“Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, as a single father in 1977, brought his boys, Sacha, left, and Justin, to the annual Remembrance Day ceremony in Ottawa. It was one of the few times that Trudeau brought the children to a formal event as a single father.” Photo by Rod MacIvor/Ottawa.
