Margaret Trudeau, Canada’s former First Lady and renowned advocate for mental health awareness, will speak at Western University on Thursday, November 1 as part of the Faculty of Health Sciences’ Distinguished Lecture Series. Her presentation, entitled Exploring Mental Health Issues, is scheduled from 5 to 6 p.m. in Alumni Hall.
Mental health-related issues are becoming more and more prominent on campuses across Canada and universities, including Western, are increasing the resources available to help students cope.
Western’s Mental Health resource website can be found here: https://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/
Doors open for the event at 4:30 p.m. Admission is free and the event is open to the public. Free parking is available in both the Springett and Labatt Health Sciences Building parking lots (https://www.uwo.ca/parking/visitormap.pdf).
Trudeau’s lecture is presented by the Faculty of Health Sciences with support from the Office of the Registrar and the Office of President.
ABOUT MARGARET TRUDEAU
In 1971, she became the youngest Prime Minister’s wife in Canadian history, when she married Pierre Elliot Trudeau at the age of 22. For all her adult life, Trudeau has suffered from the debilitating effects of her bipolar condition. Now, after seeking medical treatment that has given her life balance and happiness, she advocates strongly on mental health issues, helping people overcome the stigma of mental illness that often prevents sufferers from getting help.
Trudeau has authored three books, including her latest, Changing My Mind, which has topped the best-selling charts. In it, she discusses the bipolar condition she has struggled with all her life and shares her journey of recovery, acceptance and hope with the wish that others suffering will reach out and get the help they need.
Her son, Justin Trudeau, a member of Parliament, has announced that he will seek the leadership of the federal Liberal Party.