1968: Trudeaumania comes to BC

Canada’s Longest Serving Environment Minister David Anderson discusses current events and a career with the federal Liberal Party spanning five decades.Canadians interested in federal politics, current public affairs and British Columbia issues can listen to Canada’s longest-serving Environment Minister and five-term Vancouver Island Liberal Member of Parliament discuss current issues and a federal Liberal Party record spanning five decades.First elected as a Vancouver Island MP for Esquimalt-Saanich in 1968 with Pierre Trudeau’s first government, David became BC Liberal Leader and Victoria MLA in 1972.  He returned to politics in 1993 as MP for Victoria with the election of PrimeMinister Jean Chretien.From 1993 to 2004, David held a series of federal Cabinet portfolios. In addition to Environment, David served as Minister of Transport, Revenue, Fisheries and Oceans.He also served as Prime Minister Chretien’s senior political Minister for British Columbia.In this third episode, David talks about his decision to enter politics in the late 1960s and join the Liberal Party of Canada. He recounts the 1968 election in Victoria and what it was like to be swept up in Trudeaumania.David also talks about what it was like being an elected 31-year-old environmentalist and Member of Parliament on Parliament when very few people knew what an environmentalist was. This episode concludes with David’s decision to leave Ottawa after one term and enter provincial politics in 1972 as Leader of the BC Liberal Party.