Margaret Trudeau has an energy that has always impressed me…Outspoken about her issues and caring about her charities, she links the past and the present in Canadian politics. The direction of our country, for better or for worse, is based largely on this woman since her role in raising her children was far greater than her husband`s, given the time constraints of his career. Asked about her role in a marriage to the prime minister, Margaret said, “I want to be more than a rose in my husband’s lapel.”
I remember our first meeting when she was in her wild post-Pierre days, but also a day shortly after his death when she appeared at the Eternal Flame on the Hill. It surely was the end of an era.
This portrait was carried out for a local magazine and I remember everyone being puzzled on set about the water. My take was that it pertained to one of her water charities…but there was a second meaning that I did not reveal. I wanted her to be peering through tears as she was beginning to speak of her challenges with mental illness.
Some time later, just before her son became Prime Minister, we had a visit from his staff who wanted a print for his office.
They told me this was the image of his mother that spoke to him…