When Pierre Trudeau and Margaret Sinclair pulled off a surprise wedding

The news came as a surprise and a delight to the prime minister'scolleagues, who thought he was going to B.C. for a bit ofskiing.

Pierre Trudeauhad, in truth, gone out west for a different reason: to get married to Margaret Sinclair.

"I didn't believe it to begin with," said a smiling External Affairs Minister Mitchell Sharp, talking to reporters in Ottawa on March 5, 1971, which was the day after the wedding. "I was very pleased in the House of Commons today there was such a warm reception to the news."

"This is an essentially private matter and I really admire the prime minister that he can keep his private life quite separate from his official life."

He followed Dief's advice

Trudeau's colleagues react to news of his sudden marriage

54 years ago

Duration 2:27

Mitchell Sharp, John Diefenbaker and Tommy Douglas share their surprise and delight.

Former Conservative leader and prime ministerJohn Diefenbaker, who notedhe himself had recently marked 30 years of marriage, took credit for Trudeau's decision.

"One'shappiness is greatly increased by having a wife to support and to counsel," Diefenbaker, an MP and former prime minister, recalled telling the House of Commons. "If [Trudeau]would follow my advice in that connection he would be amazed at the transition that would take place."

"It's one of the few occasions when the prime minister has accepted my advice."

NDP Leader Tommy Douglas applauded Trudeau'srapid action, joking he was glad it had required neither a government task force nor a white paper first.

"All of us wish him, and his bride, every happiness, and we hope they will enjoy theirjourney on the sea of matrimony," he added.

News of the surprise marriage was splashed across newspapers the morning after it happened in Vancouver; according to the Globe and Mail, the press had been notified by Trudeau'sexecutive assistant, Gordon Gibson, after the ceremony that took place on the evening of March 4.

CBC reporter MikeMcCourtwas among members of the media who caught up with the new couple outside achapel in Whistler, B.C., where they attended a service after a morning of skiing.

"Got a quote for today, sir?" asked someoneas Trudeaugot into a departing car.

"Oh,fuddle duddle," said the prime minister after a pause, eliciting laughter from the assembled reporters.

Later, as the Trudeaus were boarding their plane back to Ottawa, a reporter had another question.

Media catches up to Trudeau and his bride in Whistler

54 years ago

Duration 2:14

The public gets a glimpse of Mrs. Trudeau for the first time.

"Are you anxious to get back to Ottawa, sir?" he asked.

"Not particularly, no," Trudeaureplied.

Women 'absolutely delighted'

Sinclairwas 22 years old toTrudeau's51. He was considered "the country's most eligible bachelor," according to the Globe and Mail at the time.

She was the daughter of James Sinclair, a former Liberal MP from B.C. and the federal fisheries minister in the 1950s.

The pair had been engaged for six months, according to the Globe and Mail.

On a Toronto street, a reporter stopped women passing by to ask their impressions of the surprise news.

"She must be an exceptional gal," said one woman.

'I was hoping he would have called me'

54 years ago

Duration 2:26

Women on the streets of Toronto are delighted by or indifferent to news of Pierre Trudeau's marriage.

"She's a little young for him, but that's his affair," said another.

Another woman thought the bride's young age would suit Trudeau's personality.

"He seems to like having a good time and going out, and I think he needs a younger woman for that," she said.

The last word went to a woman in a fur coat with a sense of humour about the whole thing.

"I was just hoping that he would have called me, but he never did."