by Neil Bowen for the Sarnia Observer
(2003) He left the starting gate as a “dark horse” in 1968, but Bud Cullen finished as Sarnia’s first federal cabinet minister since Alexander Mackenzie. Cullen, a lawyer, won the Liberal nomination in May, 1968 and the Observer’s front page story called the Sudbury-area native “something of a dark horse.” With the win announced, supporters cheered and did a victory dance around Cullen, who, at 41, reflected the youthful groundswell that was rocking Canadian politics, Marcella Brown wrote in the Observer.
Cullen assumed the Liberal mantle from Walter Foy, who had served Sarnia in the House of Commons for six years. Foy told the newspaper it was time for younger men with energy and new ideas. Cullen vowed to be a member of the Trudeau team, saying “whatever he says is fine with me.”
A few months later The Observer headline read: Trudeaumania 154; PCs 71. The Liberals swept to a majority and Cullen won by 1,620 votes, his victory proclaimed just an hour after the polls closed. A rare front page editorial called him a worthy victor. It went on to say Trudeau was able to spell unity better than PC leader Robert Stanfield. Regional disparity, housing and unemployment were the issues demanding government attention in 1968.
Cullen’s star rose in Ottawa. He was named parliamentary secretary to three cabinet ministers, including John Turner, who would eventually take a turn in the prime minister’s chair. A secretary job is considered the ministerial training ground.
During his rise, The Observer recorded many of Cullen’s stands on issues, including his contention in May of 1972 that Camp Ipperwash should be returned to First Nations people. He also called capital punishment a vehicle for vengeance.
By1975, Cullen was in the cabinet and a front page picture showed an energetic but mature man with well-styled hair. The Observer said he had pulled an ace during Trudeau’s shuffle of the cabinet deck, becoming minister of national revenue. He later advanced to the more senior post of employment and immigration minister.
Cullen’s life as a cabinet minister was featured in a 1976 article by staffer Bill Petrusiak. Cullen still took out the garbage and made his own bed. But as a cabinet minister who could sway the direction of the nation, he also had a chauffeur-driven limousine waiting to take him to work, where he earned $59,600.
Cullen left politics in June of 1984, telling The Observer he was looking for a third career. A month later he was appointed a federal court judge, a job he held in Ottawa for another 15 years.