# Michel Trudeau
**Michel Charles-Émile Trudeau** (2 October 1975 – 13 November 1998) was the youngest son of former Canadian prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau and [Margaret Trudeau](https://www.edgepedia.org/margaret-trudeau), and the younger brother of [Justin Trudeau](https://www.edgepedia.org/justin-trudeau) and Alexandre (Sacha) Trudeau. He died at the age of 23 in an avalanche while backcountry skiing in Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park, British Columbia, and his body was never recovered.[1](https://www.memoria.ca/grand-disparu/trudeau-michel/) • [2](https://sencanada.ca/en/content/sen/chamber/361/debates/096db_1998-11-25-e)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1975, Ottawa, Ontario, youngest son of Pierre Elliott Trudeau and Margaret Trudeau[1](https://www.memoria.ca/grand-disparu/trudeau-michel/) • [3](https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/michel-trudeau-obituary?id=41896262) |
| Died | 13 November 1998, aged 23, in an avalanche at Kokanee Lake, Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park, British Columbia[2](https://sencanada.ca/en/content/sen/chamber/361/debates/096db_1998-11-25-e) |
| Circumstances | A small avalanche swept him onto the thin ice over Kokanee Lake, where he broke through while wearing skis, poles, and pack[4](https://www.landofthunderingsnow.ca/lecons_du_passe-lessons_from_the_past/index-eng.php) |
| Recovery | His body was never found; the family recommended standing down the search so no other lives would be put at risk[1](https://www.memoria.ca/grand-disparu/trudeau-michel/) • [4](https://www.landofthunderingsnow.ca/lecons_du_passe-lessons_from_the_past/index-eng.php) |
| Memorial | Service held 20 November 1998 at St. Viateur Church, Outremont, Quebec[3](https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/michel-trudeau-obituary?id=41896262) |
| Legacy | The Trudeau family became strong supporters of avalanche safety in Canada and helped create the Canadian Avalanche Foundation[4](https://www.landofthunderingsnow.ca/lecons_du_passe-lessons_from_the_past/index-eng.php) • [5](https://avalanchejournal.ca/caa-history-project-interview-jack-bennetto/) |
## Family
Michel was born in Ottawa in 1975, while his father was serving as prime minister of Canada, a fact that drew special public attention to the family's loss.[1](https://www.memoria.ca/grand-disparu/trudeau-michel/) • [2](https://sencanada.ca/en/content/sen/chamber/361/debates/096db_1998-11-25-e) His obituary names him as the beloved son of Margaret Kemper and the Right Honourable Pierre Elliott Trudeau, brother of Justin and [Alexandre Trudeau](https://www.edgepedia.org/alexandre-trudeau), and half-brother of Kyle and Alicia Kemper and Sarah Elizabeth Coyne; his stepfather was Fried Kemper.[3](https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/michel-trudeau-obituary?id=41896262)
In Justin Trudeau's 2014 memoir *Common Ground*, the author wrote that Michel's death had a profound impact on the family, especially on their father.[6](https://www.ipolitics.ca/2014/10/18/ten-surprising-revelations-from-justin-trudeaus-memoir-common-ground/) After the death, Alexandre Trudeau moved in with his father and cared for him at the end of [Pierre Trudeau](https://www.edgepedia.org/pierre-trudeau)'s life in 2000.[7](https://www.speakers.ca/2016/09/being-sacha-trudeau/) Justin Trudeau later said that his brother Michel had been able to avoid a criminal record after being caught with marijuana because of their father's connections; he used the anecdote in 2017 to argue that people without such connections often cannot clear their names in the justice system.[8](https://toronto.citynews.ca/2017/04/24/trudeau-says-father-got-brother-help-dealing-pot-charge/) Sophie Grégoire, Justin's future wife, had been a classmate of Michel's.[9](https://apnews.com/article/b193146f2c72ec68641e94eb3db3abe4)
## The 1998 avalanche
On Friday, 13 November 1998, Michel Trudeau was backcountry skiing with three friends in Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park in the Kootenay mountains of southeastern [British Columbia](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-columbia) when an avalanche struck the group on a trail between Kokanee Lake and the cliffs at its far end.[2](https://sencanada.ca/en/content/sen/chamber/361/debates/096db_1998-11-25-e) • [10](https://www.caymancompass.com/1998/11/18/trudeau-son-killed) • [4](https://www.landofthunderingsnow.ca/lecons_du_passe-lessons_from_the_past/index-eng.php) According to the [Royal Canadian Mounted Police](https://www.edgepedia.org/royal-canadian-mounted-police) in Nelson, B.C., Trudeau and Andrew Bednarz, also 23, were swept into Kokanee Lake; Bednarz and the two other hikers reached higher ground and were rescued.[11](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-nov-16-mn-43422-story.html)
An account by the Revelstoke Museum & Archives describes the mechanism of the accident: a small avalanche pushed Trudeau onto the thin ice covering Kokanee Lake, and he broke through while still wearing his skis, poles, and pack, unable to reach shore.[4](https://www.landofthunderingsnow.ca/lecons_du_passe-lessons_from_the_past/index-eng.php) Search efforts, including a helicopter and ground teams, were hampered by heavy snow and poor visibility.[11](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-nov-16-mn-43422-story.html) • [12](https://grandquebec.com/nouvelles-quebec/fils-trudeau-mort/) [Avalanche](https://www.edgepedia.org/avalanche) professional John Tweedy described the family's decision: "We have decided as a family that this is too risky... we do not want to put any other lives at risk, and we are making a recommendation that we stand down on the recovery," as Sacha Trudeau stated in 1998.[4](https://www.landofthunderingsnow.ca/lecons_du_passe-lessons_from_the_past/index-eng.php) His body has never been found, and his funeral was held in absentia on 20 November 1998 at St. Viateur Church in Outremont.[1](https://www.memoria.ca/grand-disparu/trudeau-michel/)
The death received extensive coverage across Canada, with newspapers and electronic media giving the story prominent play; Reuters reported that the nation of 30 million was in shock.[10](https://www.caymancompass.com/1998/11/18/trudeau-son-killed) In the [Senate of Canada](https://www.edgepedia.org/senate-of-canada) on 25 November 1998, senators from all parties offered tributes, and Senator Joyce Fairbairn noted an outpouring of public empathy from grandparents, parents, and siblings across the country.[2](https://sencanada.ca/en/content/sen/chamber/361/debates/096db_1998-11-25-e) Premier Glen Clark of British Columbia issued a statement of condolence on behalf of the province the day the death was confirmed.[13](https://archive.news.gov.bc.ca/releases/archive/pre2001/1998/1208.asp)
## Avalanche safety legacy
Justin Trudeau described his brother as "the backcountry Trudeau; his was to be a life in and of the mountains: skiing, guiding, exploring, discovering and sharing the immensity of the western Canadian backyard."[14](https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.avalancheassociation.ca/resource/resmgr/files/avalancheaccidentsv5.pdf) After the death, he made national headlines working with the Canadian Avalanche Association.[15](https://www.rcinet.ca/en/2015/10/20/who-is-justin-trudeau-canadas-new-prime-minister/)
The [Trudeau family](https://www.edgepedia.org/trudeau-family)'s involvement in avalanche safety predated and then outlasted the accident. The Canadian Avalanche Foundation, a charity supporting public avalanche safety, was registered as a nonprofit in May 1998, months before Michel's death, which the Foundation's co-founder Jack Bennetto described as coincidental timing; Margaret Trudeau later served among its founding directors, and a [Bryan Adams](https://www.edgepedia.org/bryan-adams) benefit concert in Cranbrook contributed $50,000 to its early fundraising.[5](https://avalanchejournal.ca/caa-history-project-interview-jack-bennetto/) Since Michel's death, the family has been a strong supporter of avalanche safety in Canada, with a public message summed up in the CBC archives as "don't cross the stupid line," a phrase used to mark the boundary beyond which backcountry travelers take on avalanche risk.[4](https://www.landofthunderingsnow.ca/lecons_du_passe-lessons_from_the_past/index-eng.php) In 2001, a mountain in British Columbia was reported to be under consideration for naming in honor of Pierre Elliott Trudeau and his son Michel.[16](https://www.tvanouvelles.ca/2001/04/19/une-montagne-pourrait-finalement-porter-le-nom-de-trudeau)
## References
1. [Trudeau Michel, Memoria](https://www.memoria.ca/grand-disparu/trudeau-michel/)
2. [Debates of the Senate (Hansard), Issue 96, November 25, 1998](https://sencanada.ca/en/content/sen/chamber/361/debates/096db_1998-11-25-e)
3. [Michel Trudeau Obituary, Legacy Remembers, November 19, 1998](https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/legacyremembers/michel-trudeau-obituary?id=41896262)
4. [Lessons from the Past, Land of Thundering Snow, Revelstoke Museum & Archives](https://www.landofthunderingsnow.ca/lecons_du_passe-lessons_from_the_past/index-eng.php)
5. [CAA History Project Interview: Jack Bennetto, Avalanche Journal](https://avalanchejournal.ca/caa-history-project-interview-jack-bennetto/)
6. [Ten surprising revelations from Justin Trudeau's memoir Common Ground, iPolitics](https://www.ipolitics.ca/2014/10/18/ten-surprising-revelations-from-justin-trudeaus-memoir-common-ground/)
7. [Being Sacha Trudeau, Speakers Spotlight](https://www.speakers.ca/2016/09/being-sacha-trudeau/)
8. [Trudeau says his father got his brother help in dealing with pot charge, CityNews Toronto](https://toronto.citynews.ca/2017/04/24/trudeau-says-father-got-brother-help-dealing-pot-charge/)
9. [Prime Minister Justin Trudeau thanks Canadians for support after separation, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/b193146f2c72ec68641e94eb3db3abe4)
10. [Trudeau son killed, The Cayman Compass (Reuters), November 18, 1998](https://www.caymancompass.com/1998/11/18/trudeau-son-killed)
11. [Accident Reportedly Kills Trudeau Son, Los Angeles Times, November 16, 1998](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-nov-16-mn-43422-story.html)
12. [Le fils de Trudeau périt, Voyage à travers le Québec, November 14, 1998](https://grandquebec.com/nouvelles-quebec/fils-trudeau-mort/)
13. [Premier Clark offers condolences to family of Michel Trudeau, Government of BC, November 14, 1998](https://archive.news.gov.bc.ca/releases/archive/pre2001/1998/1208.asp)
14. [Canadian Avalanche Centre, Avalanche Accidents in Canada, volume 5](https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.avalancheassociation.ca/resource/resmgr/files/avalancheaccidentsv5.pdf)
15. [Who is Justin Trudeau, Canada's new prime minister, RCI](https://www.rcinet.ca/en/2015/10/20/who-is-justin-trudeau-canadas-new-prime-minister/)
16. [Une montagne pourrait finalement porter le nom de Trudeau, TVA Nouvelles, April 19, 2001](https://www.tvanouvelles.ca/2001/04/19/une-montagne-pourrait-finalement-porter-le-nom-de-trudeau)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Individual sports and outdoor recreation › Winter and ice sports › Winter sport venues, equipment, and culture › Skiing culture, media, and organizations › Skiing deaths and fatalities*
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