Trudeau buried as Canadians, Castro, Carter mourn

MONTREAL - Thousands of Canadians wept and applauded at former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's funeral Tuesday as his son remembered his father's love of country, told the nation to carry on his work - and then buried his tearstained face in the flag draping his father's coffin.

''The woods are lovely, dark and deep. He has kept his promises, and earned his sleep,'' Justin Trudeau said, near tears as he paraphrased the American poet Robert Frost to close his eulogy. ''Je t'aime (I love you) Papa.''

Inside and outside Montreal's ornate Notre-Dame Basilica, dignitaries including Jimmy Carter and Fidel Castro and thousands of ordinary Canadians gathered to pay their respects to Trudeau, the dashing former prime minister who boosted a nation's pride with his charisma, his willingness to buck the United States and his dedication to Canadian unity. Five days of nationwide mourning culminated at the two-hour state funeral here. Solemn prayers mixed easily with tears and applause from the 2,700 mourners inside during the service, conducted in French and English.

Justin, Trudeau's eldest son and a Vancouver teacher, delivered the final eulogy in a voice eerily like his father's and cracking with emotion. He spoke movingly of his father's abiding love of his country and family and of his admonition never to speak harsh words about any individual.

''This simple tolerance and (recognition of) the real and profound dimensions of each human being, regardless of beliefs, origins, or values - that's what he expected of his children and that's what he expected of our country,'' Justin said.

Trudeau, who died last Thursday of prostate cancer at the age of 80, served as prime minister from 1968 to 1984 with a short interruption. Justin Trudeau challenged Canadians to keep his father's dream of a united, tolerant, bilingual and multicultural nation alive, saying: ''It's all up to us, all of us now.''

After he finished speaking, he walked to his father's coffin in the center aisle of the basilica, kissed the red and white Canadian flag draping it and buried his face in it as he sobbed.

Earlier, Trudeau's younger son, Sacha, a documentary filmmaker, likened his father to a towering tree that provided sustenance and shade for all Canadians.

Justin and Sacha both wore red roses, their father's trademark. A red rose rested on the flag on Trudeau's coffin. And many in the crowd, like Dorothy Auclair of Montreal, carried red roses in his memory.

''He was my hero,'' said Auclair, 60. ''He loved this country and he tried to keep Canada together - and I hope that after today we will be united, all of Canada.''

Trudeau's daughter, Sarah, whom he fathered at the age of 71, made a rare appearance with her mother, constitutional lawyer Deborah Coyne.

The VIP list was headed by Carter and Castro. The political foes were both honorary pallbearers. They entered the church talking and even sharing a laugh, which commentators said would have pleased Trudeau, a champion of improved U.S.-Cuban relations.

''Pierre Trudeau was a great personal friend,'' Carter said. ''He was my first visitor to the White House. He was a wonderful man, a good adviser for me.''

Castro, meanwhile, paid tribute to Trudeau as a ''world-class statesman'' and was greeted with shouts of ''Viva Fidel!''

Castro and Trudeau met in Cuba in 1976, breaking Castro's isolation and ruffling U.S. feathers. The two leaders saw each other regularly until well after Trudeau had left politics. Before the funeral, Castro hugged Trudeau's sons and daughter, and his ex-wife Margaret, the ''flower child'' Trudeau married at age 51 when she was just 21.

Margaret made no effort to mask her sobs from the back of a limousine carrying her and her sons to Notre-Dame. Justin embraced her before the two followed Trudeau's body up the steps and into the basilica.

Montreal's Cardinal Jean-Claude Turcotte presided over the funeral, which was also attended by Britain's Prince Andrew and a who's who of Canadians. It was followed by a private burial for family and close friends.

Trudeau swept to power in 1968 on a wave of support nicknamed ''Trudeaumania.'' His charisma was reminiscent of another young, dashing politician who captivated the United States when he became president eight years earlier - John F. Kennedy.

Trudeau completely shattered the stodgy, understated Canadian image of the time. He liked sports cars, scuba diving, canoeing and skiing. He dated stars like Barbra Streisand and Margot Kidder before marrying Margaret. Kidder turned up at Tuesday's service clutching a bouquet of white roses.

Trudeau had been a leftist lawyer and professor of constitutional law before becoming prime minister, and when he took power he pushed through major social changes - making divorce easier, relaxing laws on abortion and homosexuality, tightening gun control and expanding social welfare.

Trudeau's two greatest legacies, according to most commentators, were his successful campaign against Quebec separatism and his successful fight to give Canada, not Britain, responsibility for the Canadian constitution.

''We want to honor this man who inspired us, who gave us an identity - a bilingual identity,'' said Madeleine McDonald, a French teacher from Peterborough, Ontario, who was in the crowd outside the church.

Internationally, Trudeau adopted a foreign policy independent of the United States and Britain, called the ''Third Way.'' He recognized communist China long before the United States did and supported nuclear disarmament.

''I think he was one of the greatest statesmen we'll ever know,'' said Claudio Iadeluca, who also watched the service outside the basilica. ''I don't think we'll see a man like Trudeau for a long, long time.''