Angus Reid polls has recently surveyed the most popular and best Canadian Prime Minister ever as being Pierre Trudeau. Give us your vote and opinion on who's the best ever in regards of popularity, intelligence, and productivity.
The best Canadian Prime Minister Ever
- Thread starter Loosely
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I went with Wilfred Laurier, but Trudeau dating Barbra Streisand in the early 70's probably added five cents to the value of the Canadian dollar.
I voted for McDonald.
From what I know of Canadian history, he accomplished the impossible - uniting a country against all odds and building a transcontinental railway. Build the railway in the 1960's in Canada has been compared to Canada putting a man on MARS in 2011 in terms of the effort that was required.
Second would be Trudeau because he accomplished the impossible when he framed the constitution of Canada.
Diefenbaker would be my choice as worst PM ever since he scrapped the Avro ARROW and i still have not forgiven the conservatives for that.
From what I know of Canadian history, he accomplished the impossible - uniting a country against all odds and building a transcontinental railway. Build the railway in the 1960's in Canada has been compared to Canada putting a man on MARS in 2011 in terms of the effort that was required.
Second would be Trudeau because he accomplished the impossible when he framed the constitution of Canada.
Diefenbaker would be my choice as worst PM ever since he scrapped the Avro ARROW and i still have not forgiven the conservatives for that.
Where's Brian "Cash-In-A-Bag" Mulroney on this list?
And let's not forget the genius of Stephen Harper who wrote his Master's thesis about the need for governments to be financially-tight in recessions and then instead blew the bank on a very-Liberal-like 'Build Canada' spending spree to encourage growth to combat the recession.
And let's not forget the genius of Stephen Harper who wrote his Master's thesis about the need for governments to be financially-tight in recessions and then instead blew the bank on a very-Liberal-like 'Build Canada' spending spree to encourage growth to combat the recession.
That's so we can catch the wingnutts.
My vote, Lester Pearson, with Trudeau as an honourable mention.
The question is confusing. Best ever PM is one thing, but intelligence and popularity have nothing to do with best ever PM. Its like saying, who is the tallest PM based on weight and hair colour.
And you left Pearson off the list. He would be my choice. Brian Baloney should probably be on the list too, although he has been badly discredited in the eyes of most. But he did bring in the GST and NAFTA.
Honorable mention to MacDonald, Laurier, King, Trudeau.
Intelligence and popularity should not be the criteria to choose best ever PM, although these qualities obviously served Trudeau well. I think legislation passed, ability to lead the country and create a vision of some kind, and ability to manage a crisis...those are what make a great PM. The PMs in my honorable mention list had those qualities.
In my estimation political leaders are like sports heros in a way, the longer they are out of the game the better they were. For charisma, it is Trudeau, falling in with the wave of Beatle mania. Statemanship is Lester Pearson, citing the Nobel Peace prize and his gentle hand and quiet leadership of this country with many of the programs listed earlier in this thread as the backbone of the society that we now have, for better or worse. Over blown and coat tail runner goes to Brian Mulroney, who's greatest claim to fame outside of the kick to the balls GST was singin with Ronald Reagan. All the others are just fill ins with the exception of Sir John A who gets a bye as the first one to hold the position.
This may not be to everone's agreement but this is politics and political opinion.
This may not be to everone's agreement but this is politics and political opinion.
Paul Martin actually managed to wrench this country back to fiscal sanity and unlike Trudeau who paid little attention to the economy Martin behaved responsibly with all our money. Unfortunately he was saddled with Chretien's legacy and look at the Liberal party today. He may not have been the most charismatic of PMs but he stopped the legacy of deficit spending and resisted the demands to loosen restrictions on banks. This country would have been in much worse shape today without him. The greatest Canadian Prime Minister should be more substance than sizzle.
Sorry, Pearson was not responsible for time zones. That was Sir Sanford Fleming. However, it was the Pearson government that gave us our maple leaf flag.
The measure of a good leader is the legacy they leave behind. Many on the list, and several who were omitted, clearly fit that bill. Too hard to pick just one since their achievements span 140+ years.
The measure of a good leader is the legacy they leave behind. Many on the list, and several who were omitted, clearly fit that bill. Too hard to pick just one since their achievements span 140+ years.
