"Just watch me" is a phrase made famous by

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau (October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000) was a Canadian politician, statesman, and lawyer who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1984. Between his no ...

on October 13, 1970, during the

October Crisis The October Crisis () was a chain of political events in Canada that started in October 1970 when members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) kidnapped the provincial Labour Minister Pierre Laporte and British diplomat James Cross f ...

. The term is still regularly used in Canadian political discussion;

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...

, Pierre's son, has also used the phrase.

Pierre Trudeau

Trudeau, who had in previous years been a strong proponent of civil liberties, said there was a need for drastic action to restore order in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. When questioned by

CBC CBC may refer to: Media * Cadena Baja California or Grupo Cadena, a radio and television broadcaster in Mexico * Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Canada's radio and television public broadcaster ** CBC Television ** CBC Radio One ** CBC Music ** ...

reporter Tim Ralfe on how far he would go in the suspension of civil liberties to maintain order, Trudeau replied "Well, just watch me." Three days later, he invoked the ''

War Measures Act The ''War Measures Act'' (; 5 George V, Chap. 2) was a statute of the Parliament of Canada that provided for the declaration of war, invasion, or insurrection, and the types of emergency measures that could thereby be taken. The Act was brough ...

'', which led to police action against many Quebec dissidents and great public controversy. '' Just Watch Me: Trudeau and the '70s Generation'' is the title of a 1999 documentary by

Catherine Annau Catherine Annau is a Canadian documentary filmmaker and writer. Annau's debut feature '' Just Watch Me: Trudeau and the '70s Generation'' won numerous awards including a Genie Award, and appeared at New York's Lincoln Center, the National Gallery ...

. The phrase has also been the title of several biographies of Trudeau, e.g., Larry Zolf's ''Just Watch Me: Remembering Pierre Trudeau'' (1984); Ron Coleman's ''Just Watch Me: Trudeau's Tragic Legacy'' (2003); and the 2nd volume of John English's biography, ''Just Watch Me: The Life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, 1968–2000'' (2009).

Excerpt from interview

The following is a partial transcript of the impromptu interview between Tim Ralfe of the CBC and Trudeau.

Justin Trudeau

In March 2013, Trudeau's son

Justin Justin may refer to: People and fictional characters * Justin (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Justin (historian), Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire * Justin I (c. 450–527) ...

, while running for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

leadership, evoked his father's memory during his campaign by repeating this phrase. It was in answer to a fellow airplane passenger's question in a handwritten note, asking Justin if he could beat Conservative Prime Minister

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. He is to date the only prime minister to have come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ser ...

. The comment sparked a frenzy on Twitter, as well as mixed reaction from several commentators, some of whom saw the quote as a politically sensitive and risky one in Quebec. Two years later, Justin Trudeau became Prime Minister of Canada, beating Harper in federal election by a significant margin. On September 12, 2021, Justin Trudeau said that NDP leader

Jagmeet Singh Jagmeet Singh Jimmy Dhaliwal (born January 2, 1979) is a Canadian former politician who served as the leader of the New Democratic Party (NDP) from 2017 to 2025 and as the Member of Parliament (Canada), member of Parliament (MP) for Burnaby Sou ...

could not go after Canada's wealthiest people with "unlimited zeal" in response to his party's campaign promise to tax the rich. Singh responded on Twitter with the line "Just watch me." In response to the Freedom Convoy protests in 2022, some commentators called for Justin Trudeau to have a "just watch me" moment of his own. To deal with the protests, Trudeau later invoked the ''

Emergencies Act The ''Emergencies Act'' () is a statute passed by the Parliament of Canada in 1988 which authorizes the Government of Canada to take extraordinary temporary measures to respond to public welfare emergencies, public order emergencies, internatio ...

'', the successor to the ''War Measures Act'', for the first time in Canadian history. He did not use the phrase.

References

{{Pierre Trudeau 1970 in Canada English phrases Political history of Canada Canadian political phrases 1970 quotations Pierre Trudeau October Crisis Human rights in Canada Political debates

Pierre Trudeau

Excerpt from interview

Justin Trudeau

See also

References