Hi everyone,
The other day, I was reading up on Canadian politics, and a question got to me;
Who was the greatest Prime Minister?
Well, I'm guessing it was Trudeau. That's what most people I know say.
This is McLean's list:
1. Wilfrid Laurier (Liberal, 1896-1911)
2. John A. Macdonald (Conservative, 1867-1873, 1878-1891)
3. William Lyon Mackenzie King (Liberal, 1921-1926, 1926-1930, 1935-1948)
4. Lester B. Pearson (Liberal, 1963-1968)
5. Pierre Elliott Trudeau (Liberal, 1968-1979, 1980-1984)
6. Jean Chrétien (Liberal, 1993-200)
7. Louis St.-Laurent (Liberal, 1948-1957)
8. Robert Borden (Conservative (Unionist), 1911-1920)
9. Brian Mulroney (Conservative, 1984-1993)
10. John Diefenbaker (Conservative, 1957-1963)
11. Stephen Harper (Conservative, 2006-Present day)
12. R. B. Bennett (Conservative, 1930-1935)
13. Alexander Mackenzie (Liberal, 1873-1878)
14. John Thompson (Conservative, 1892-1894)
15. Paul Martin (Liberal, 2003-2006)
16. Arthur Meighen (Conservative, 1920-1921, 1926)
17. Joe Clark (Conservative, 1979-1980)
18. Charles Tupper (Conservative, 1896)
19. John Abbot (Conservative, 1891-1892)
20. John Turner (Liberal, 1984)
21. Mackenzie Bowell (Conservative, 1894-1896)
22. Kim Campbell (Conservative, 1993)
I would love to get a lot of opinions on this, and a few debates here as well. Just one condition; this isn't the page where we can rant about how much everyone hates Harper. (Even though he got a majority. I still don't get it.)
By the way, I'm only 14, so please don't kill me for bringing up this (somewhat) controversial topic.
Wilfrid Laurier was tremendously important in relieving tensions between French- and English-speaking Canadians. He was a moderate, and pursued a rather peaceful policy. During WWI, he led the opposition to conscription, which will always get you Brownie-points from me. Although his economic policies can be criticized for their one-sidedness, he did oppose big business in a day and age when this was unusual, sticking up for agriculture (and I'm no great fan of farmers!) when it was going through a tough time.
Pierre Trudeau is probably a bit of a cliché choice, but I do think he was important, mainly for finding a middle way between the traditional views of the liberal party and the democratic socialist views. Under his leadership, Canada protected American draft-dodgers during the Vietnam war, for which I cannot possibly praise him enough. Like Laurier, he was an intellectual, and believed in being reasonable as a key to successful policy. This is something most current politicians lack.
Can't add anything to that. Perfectly stated. I'd pick Laurier and Trudeau too.
The worst PM was Diefenbaker. He canceled Avro Arrow project, which would have made Canada world leaders in aircraft engineering. But there was much US pressure to get the best Canadian minds to come south to work for NASA, and he caved. He was the first PM to sell Canada out to the States, and it has been continued by nearly every PM since.
Paul Martin should be much higher on the list. His economic policies are the reason why Canada survived this recession - policies that Stephen Harper takes credit for at every opportunity.
The best PMs Canada never had were Tommy Douglas and Jack Layton. The former must be mentioned here because he is the person who brought Canada universal health care. In minority governments, sometimes the politicians who aren't prime minister can be equally or even more important.