John Lennon, Yoko Ono and the Year Canada Was Cool
by Greg Marquis
While the Beatles were breaking up, John Lennon and Yoko Ono headed to Canada to stage a bed-in for peace, play a peace concert, and meet prime minister Trudeau.
Rockstars John Lennon and Yoko Ono touched down in Toronto in May 1969, setting off a media frenzy. Peace was the message, and to convey it they camped out in their bed at a swanky Montreal hotel, staging a "bed-in." Journalists flocked to see them, as did celebrities from Canada and the US. Some ended up singing along while the couple recorded the anthem "Give Peace A Chance" in their hotel room. Many Canadians were riding high on the success of Expo '67, and had just elected Pierre Elliott Trudeau, a seemingly hip bachelor, as prime minister. But there were simmering tensions that would soon boil over, particularly in Quebec, jolting the country. In the story of John and Yoko in Canada, you'll discover the spirit of a country wide open to new ideas and experiences.
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"Captures a seminal moment in Canada’s socio-cultural development."