Canadian Prime Ministers

Post WWII - Present

• Term of Office: 1948-57• Political Party: Liberal• Background: Born in Ontario,

he had a distinguished legal career and became Minister of Justice

• Major Events:– Newfoundland joins Canada

– Trans-Canada Highway

– Canada joins NATO

– Korean War

– St. Lawrence Seaway

Louis St. Laurent

John Diefenbaker

• Term of Office: 1957-63• Political Party: Conservative• Background: Born in

Saskatchewan, he was a career politician and remained an MP until 1979

• Major Events:– First female Cabinet Minister

appointed

– Gave Native peoples the vote

– Canada joins NORAD

– BOMARC missile (atomic bomb) debate

Lester Pearson

• Term of Office: 1963-68• Political Party: Liberal• Background: Originally a

History professor, he became a well-known diplomat. As External Affairs Minister he helped to resolve the Suez Crisis

• Major Events:– Adopted the current Canadian

flag

– Created the Canada Pension Plan

– Introduced universal government healthcare

Pierre Elliott Trudeau

• Term of Office: 1968-79 (1st ) • Political Party: Liberal• Background: Son of a multi-

millionaire, Trudeau lived the playboy lifestyle. Well traveled and educated, he was a lawyer and university professor

• Major Events:– October Crisis

– Official Languages Act

– Energy Crisis

Joe Clark

• Term of Office: 1979-80• Political Party: Progressive

Conservatives

• Background: Youngest man to ever become PM, he stayed an MP for more than 20 years after he lost the PM’s office

• Major Events:– Only in office for 9 months,

Clark’s minority government fell to a “no confidence” motion after the other parties joined together to out-vote his tax initiative

Pierre Elliott Trudeau

• Term of Office: 1980-84 (2nd )• Political Party: Liberal• Major Events:

– 1980 Quebec Referendum

– Canada Act 1982 (repatriation of the Constitution)

– Charter of Rights and Freedoms

John Turner

• Term of Office: 1984-84• Political Party: Liberal• Background: A lawyer by

trade, Turner spent years in Trudeau’s shadow until Trudeau finally retired and Turner was appointed PM

• Major Events:– Turner immediately called an

election and was defeated

Brian Mulroney

• Term of Office: 1984-93• Political Party: Progressive

Conservative• Background: Both a lawyer and

a corporate CEO. Mulroney achieved the highest parliamentary majority in Canadian history

• Major Events: – Can/US Free Trade– North American Free Trade

Agreement– Canadian Multiculturalism Act– Canada’s involvement in the 1st

Gulf War

– Introduction of the 7% Goods and Services Tax (GST)

– Meech Lake Accord

– He resigned after his 2nd term, as the most unpopular PM in Canadian history

– Due to his legacy, the PC party gained only 2 seats in the next election

Kim Campbell

• Term of Office: 1993-93• Political Party: Progressive

Conservative

• Background: A lawyer and university lecturer, she was appointed to PM after Mulroney resigned. She was the 1st Canadian female PM

• Major Events:– Unable to shake the Mulroney

legacy, Campbell was easily and resoundingly defeated in the election

Jean Chretien

• Term of Office: 1993-2003• Political Party: Liberal• Background: A lawyer by

trade, Chretien served in the Trudeau cabinet. Although disfigured by a stroke, it did not hamper his political career

• Major Events:– 1995 Quebec Referendum

– September 11, 2001

– Invasion of Afghanistan

– Stayed out of 2nd Gulf War (Iraq)

Paul Martin

• Term of Office: 2003-06• Political Party: Liberal• Background: CEO of a major

shipping company, Martin served as Finance Minister in the Chretien government

• Major Events:

- Refused to make Canada part of the American Missile Defense Shield

- Forged closer relations with China

Stephen Harper

• Term of Office: 2006-present• Political Party: Conservative• Background: Worked as an

Economics Lecturer at the University of Calgary. He was a founding member of the Reform Party which later joined with the Progressive Conservatives to form the current Conservative Party