The recently published diaries of Jim Coutts, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau from 1973 to 1981, offer a candid and uninhibited look at the personalities and policies of the Trudeau Government and cabinet government in general. I’ve just invented the word “eccentocracy,” which means rule by eccentric people. The three key players in the Trudeau Government of that period – Pierre Trudeau, Coutts, and Cabinet Secretary Michael Pitfield – were each eccentric in their own way.

An In-the-Moment Inside View

Before getting to the three individuals, there are other ways the book is valuable. Historians of Canadian government in that period should read it to see how Coutts’ in-the-moment inside view of events influences their interpretations. This includes topics like the aimlessness of the Trudeau Government between 1974 and 1979, the defeat of the Clark Government and return of Trudeau, the Quebec referendum and repatriation of the Constitution, and the National Energy Policy. But that’s not all. Coutts offers a detailed account of a lengthy evening meeting Trudeau held with Charles Bronfman and several leaders of the Canadian Jewish community that will be of interest to historians attempting to trace the evolution of Canadian policy towards Israel. Coutts also provides observations about Michael Pitfield’s role in numerous meetings that will be essential to an historian writing his biography. Pitfield, who played so significant a role in the Trudeau Government and then was appointed by Trudeau to the Senate, merits the attention.

Coutts stationed himself beside the coffee pot at cabinet meetings to have frank tete-a-tetes with many ministers. He became aware of their fears (offending or being ignored by the prime minister), their turf battles and rivalries with other ministers, and their ambitions. It is an axiom in social psychology that ambition is often stimulated by the success of a person perceived to be a lesser talent. Coutts recounts that Paul Martin Jr.’s desire to become prime minister was piqued in the early 1980s by his envy of Brian Mulroney, whom he considered to be a minor player in the Montreal business community. But Mulroney turned out to be a much more successful prime minister than Martin.

Peter Pan, The Wizard of Oz, and The Gambler

Pierre Trudeau’s place in the eccentocracy was his Peter Pan complex regarding his relationships with women. Coutts observes how distracted Trudeau was by his painful breakup with a wife several decades younger than himself: there were meetings he missed because he was dealing with Margaret. After the breakup, Trudeau returned to his old form. Coutts relates that Trudeau wanted to bring an unnamed woman along while sailing with German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt. Trudeau’s rationale was that Schmidt always did that. Coutts and Pitfield told him bluntly that “you’ll look like a couple of dirty old men.” In this instance, Trudeau deferred to his advisers. The #MeToo movement has vindicated the advisers: what they saw as questionable 50 years ago has now become completely unacceptable.

Coutts shows Michael Pitfield to be a hyper-rationale strategic planner and systems-thinker at the apex of government. But the wizard is also a political partisan, venturing far beyond his role as a career public servant to join Coutts in numerous meetings giving Trudeau political advice. Pitfield isn’t surprised, but is bitter, when Joe Clark fires him immediately after taking office in 1979. Pitfield’s rationality applies to his own career as well, as he wants to know what he will be doing three years down the road, something that Coutts realizes is intrinsically uncertain in politics and the highest levels of the public service..

Does He Play the Ponies?

Coutts’ eccentricity was gambling addiction, specifically playing poker. Coutts played regularly on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights, in games that often lasted until 7 the next morning. Coutts admitted to losing far more often than winning. These wee high stakes games, and it was not unusual for Coutts to drop $10,000 (which would be the equivalent of $40,000 today) on any given night. Warren Buffet famously noted that “if you’ve been playing poker for half an hour and you still don’t know who the patsy is, you’re the patsy.” Coutts never seemed to realize he was the patsy. Also, staying up until 7 a.m. playing poker doesn’t seem like a smart practice if you have a 9 a.m. meeting with the Prime Minister, as was often the case.

A friend of mine had been appointed to a senior public service position in the Mulroney Government in the late 1980s. He gave my name as a reference for his security clearance. A Mountie asked to meet me to check the reference. He asked if I thought my friend could be compromised in various ways. One question was “does he play the ponies?” Had this same Mountie done a security check on Jim Coutts, he would have likely recommended against the clearance. Trudeau would likely have overruled him. I think Trudeau and Coutts, as fellow eccentrics, made allowances for one another.

Coutts’ was a lifelong bachelor. He tells us that he had a long attraction to Jennifer Rae, Bob Rae’s sister. She married someone else. It is reasonable to ask whether anyone who spends three nights every week gambling and regularly loses thousands of dollars is a great catch.

These were the three eccentric people at the pinnacle of the Trudeau Government. They were also brilliant, talented, and shared a vision of Canada. They did important and consequential things, most notably directing the repatriation of the Canadian constitution. Coutts’ diaries provide a fascinating perspective on both the eccentricities and the achievements.