Calgary may name school after Trudeau

No school in Alberta bears the name of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, but thatmight soon change.

The Calgary Board of Education is thinking about naming a new kindergarten to Grade 4 school after the former Liberal prime minister who enraged Albertans in 1980 with his national energy policy.

But board spokesman Ted Flitton said politics has nothing to do with the possibility of naming the school after the controversial Trudeau, who held office from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984.

"A name lives on for a long time, and it needs to be reflective of our city and also be very well considered," he said Friday.

"This isn't about politics. This isn't about whether you liked the person or didn't like the person, it is about how they lived their life."

Trudeau is just one of three names under consideration by the board.

The two other names in the running are Royal Oak, named after the northwest community where the school is located, or Daryl (Doc) Seaman, a Calgary entrepreneur and philanthropist who died last year.

Political scientist Duane Bratt points out that, historically, Trudeau was no better or worse than any other Canadian prime minister.

"They are going to say Trudeau tried to destroy the Albertan economy, tried to destroy the oil and gas, let billions of dollars leave the province," said Bratt, associate professor of political science at Mount Royal University in Calgary.

"Louis Riel led an armed rebellion against the government of Canada and yet we named a school after him."

Trudeau, who is still reviled by many in Western Canada, did reach a revenue-sharing agreement on energy in 1982 with Alberta's Progressive Conservative premier, Peter Lougheed.

People in the community have until next week to choose from among the names of Doc Seaman, Royal Oak or Pierre Elliot Trudeau.

The results willbe submitted to the Calgary Board of Education, which will make the final decision by the end of this month.