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The Best Prime Minister of the Last 50 Years — Pearson, by a Landslide

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The Best Prime Minister of the Last 50 Years — Pearson, by a Landslide THE BEST PRIME MINISTER OF THE LAST 50 YEARS — PEARSON, BY A LANDSLIDE Mulroney Second Overall, Trudeau and St-Laurent in a Virtual Tie for Third, Chrétien Fifth and Diefenbaker a Distant Sixth in Policy Options Rankings L. Ian MacDonald ester B. Pearson, who in four elections never won a office. Yet there was general agreement that the balancing of majority government, is the landslide winner in a the budget and the fiscal dividend, as well as the Clarity Act, L Policy Options ranking of Canadian prime ministers of defining rules of the road for Quebec separating from the last half-century, coinciding with the 50th anniversary Canada, were the major achievements of the Chrétien years. of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth on June 2, 1953. John Diefenbaker, a towering personality and mesmer- In a survey by IRPP and Policy Options in consultation izing campaigner, finished a distant sixth, with most panel- with eminent authorities on Canadian history and public pol- lists regarding his time in office as a succession of missed icy, Canada’s 14th prime minister emerged as the overwhelm- opportunities and failed policies, though he received due ing first choice of a panel of 30 leading historians, political recognition for initiatives such as the Bill of Rights, wheat scientists, economists, former senior government officials and sales to Communist China in the face of US opposition, and a sprinkling of top editors, authors and journalists. (Two duos the expulsion of South Africa from the Commonwealth over on the panel each cast a single vote, for a total of 28 votes.) apartheid. In winning the 1957 and 1958 elections, he also Brian Mulroney, father of free trade and the GST, was a broke the stranglehold of a Liberal dynasty, swollen with clear second choice, though respondents were sharply divided, arrogance after 22 years in office, and provided the fresh air usually between English- and French-speaking Canada, in their of democratic change. assessments of his failed constitutional deals at Meech Lake and Charlottetown. Pierre Trudeau finished in third place in espondents were asked to rate prime ministers on a scale the overall rankings, receiving high marks for the Charter of R of 1 to 10, low to high marks, in four critical policy Rights and Freedoms, but low scores for his mismanagement of areas: Canadian unity and the management of the federa- the economy and the fiscal framework during an era that saw tion; the economy and the fiscal framework; Canada’s role in Canada’s federal debt increase by more than 1,000 percent. the world, as measured by foreign and defence policy and Trudeau was closely followed in the overall rankings, in international trade; and social policy and the concerns of virtually a statistical dead heat, by Louis St-Laurent, who Canadians. Panellists were then asked to evaluate how each governed in an era of postwar expansion and prosperity, prime minister found the country and how he left it, and to and received generally high scores for both his economic assess the leadership of each as transformational, transition- management, as well as Canadian unity and conduct of al or transactional. Finally, taking all of those factors into Canadian foreign policy. Jean Chrétien ranked fifth overall, account, the panel members were asked to rank each prime though he received the highest scores for the economy and minister from first to sixth place. The scores were tabulated fiscal framework, notably the balancing of the budget and by Daniel Schwanen, IRPP senior economist. paying down debt out of the resulting fiscal dividend. But Though nine Canadian prime ministers have served Chrétien also received poor marks on leadership, as well as the Queen during her remarkable 50-year reign, we arbi- his conduct of foreign affairs, particularly Canada’s rela- trarily relegated Joe Clark, John Turner and Kim Campbell tionship with the United States. to 7th, 8th and 9th place. Clark is ranked seventh because, However, several panellists pointed out that it is early alone among the last three, he at least won an election — days to be measuring a prime minister who has not yet left in 1979. Turner is ranked eighth because he at least fought 8 OPTIONS POLITIQUES JUIN-JUILLET 2003 The best prime minister of the last 50 years — Pearson, by a landslide two elections — in 1984 and 1988, ing out formula that allowed the He received the highest marks of and in the second campaign took a establishment of the Caisse de Dépôt all “the Serious Six” prime ministers bold stand against free trade. et Placement du Québec. While on Canadian unity and managing the Campbell is ranked last because being Quebec’s Quiet Revolution was federation, as well as on social policy prime minister turned out to be her unquestionably a seismic event, and foreign affairs. And why not? In summer job in 1993. Pearson’s leadership from 1963 to addition to the flag and the B&B That left us with what we called 1968 averted a tectonic shift along the Commission, Pearson practised execu- “the Serious Six” prime ministers of fault line of the Ottawa River. tive federalism in a dizzying succes- the last 50 years: Louis St-Laurent, When he left office, as Peter C. sion of federal-provincial conferences, from 1948 to 1957; John Diefenbaker, Newman wrote in his perceptive 1968 of first ministers as well as ministers from 1957 to 1963; Lester Pearson, bestseller, The Distemper of Our Times: with portfolios. from 1963 to 1968; Pierre Trudeau, “No matter how history finally judges While federal-provincial confer- from 1968 to 1979, and from 1980 to him, there can be little doubt that ences had no constitutional role, they 1984; Brian Mulroney, from 1984 to Lester Pearson provided the moderat- became important, if not indispensa- 1993; and Jean Chrétien, from 1993 to ing influence that helped bring under ble, in the governance of the federa- the present. at least temporary control the cen- tion during the Pearson years and ever trifugal forces threatening to split since. When Trudeau wanted to patri- rom English- and French-speaking English and French Canada apart dur- ate the Constitution, when Mulroney F Canada, from East and West, from ing the mid-Sixties.” wanted to amend it, when Chrétien left to right on the political wanted new arrangements of spectrum, Pearson was a clear From English- and French-speaking the social union, each called first choice. Though he gov- Canada, from East and West, from the premiers to the table of the erned through chaos and con- federation. Each had a different fusion, with an unrelenting left to right on the political vision, or concept, of function- John Diefenbaker dogging him spectrum, Pearson was a clear first al federalism, but each adhered every step of the way, it is clear choice. Though he governed to the Pearsonian model of a that as history settles on the through chaos and confusion, with partnership between Ottawa Pearson years, it is his achieve- and the provinces. ments, not his bungling or a an unrelenting John Diefenbaker As for the Maple Leaf flag numbing succession of petty dogging him every step of the way, that Canadians now take for scandals, that stand out. it is clear that as history settles on granted as a symbol of unity, it “An exciting turning the Pearson years, it is his is generally forgotten that the point in Canadian political flag debate was among the history,” writes jury member achievements, not his bungling or most divisive public policy Antonia Maioni, director of numbing succession of petty issues of the last 50 years. It the McGill Institute for the scandals, that stand out. should not be forgotten that Study of Canada. “Pearson Pearson, with his determina- found the country stuck in the past, As Alain Gagnon, Canada tion to put it on the national agenda and decided to do something about it. Research Chair at l’Université du and his quiet courage in carrying it to Pearson arguably laid the groundwork Québec à Montréal, wrote in his a Canadian Legion meeting in for the three significant facets of the appraisal: “Lester B. Pearson is surely Winnipeg, not only framed the discus- present era: the multilateral agenda, the prime minister who contributed sion but carried the day. free trade, co-operative federalism the most to bringing English On social policy, in addition to and the welfare state.” Canadians and French Canadians the Canada and Quebec pension On Canadian unity and the man- together. He left his mark by making a plans, Pearson increased Old Age agement of the federation — the call for asymmetric federalism.“ Security, and as the father of adoption of the Canadian flag, the medicare, adopted the 50-50 cost- Royal Commission on Bilingualism ronically, as his biographer John sharing between Ottawa and the and Biculturalism, and the spirit of co- I English notes in his appreciation of provinces that was later replaced by operative federalism are clearly land- Pearson in this special issue of Policy the block-funding formula imple- mark achievements of the Pearson Options, he made his reputation in for- mented by Trudeau. years. His determination to accommo- eign policy as external affairs minister On foreign policy and Canada’s date the aspirations of Quebec within in the 1950s, but created his lasting role in the world, Pearson also ranked Confederation enabled the creation of legacy in domestic policy as prime first, partly because of his record dur- the Canada Pension Plan with an opt- minister in the 1960s. ing his decade at External Affairs, a POLICY OPTIONS 9 JUNE-JULY 2003 L.
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