A Canadian institution with a national purpose, the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation is an independent and non-partisan charity. It was established in 2001 as a living memorial to the former prime minister by his family, friends, and colleagues. In 2002, the Government of Canada endowed the Foundation with a donation of $125 million with the unanimous support of the House of Commons. In addition, the Foundation benefits from private sector donations in support of specific initiatives. Through its Scholarship, Fellowship, Mentorship and Public Interaction Programs, the Foundation supports outstanding individuals who make meaningful contributions to critical public issues.
Foundation decided to centre our actions on four major themes that reflect central questions in the life and works of Pierre Elliott Trudeau: Human Rights and Dignity, Responsible Citizenship, Canada in the World and People and their Natural Environment.
The Foundation believes that the best ideas emerge when individuals from different generations and different disciplines focus on a problem together; when technical, scientific, and policy innovators are informed by outstanding communicators in ethics, geography, history, and the law; and when new patterns of human behaviour are revealed and deep cultural understanding achieved.
