GOVERNING THE NATION

Prime Ministers of the 1950s-1960s

LOUIS ST. LAURENT (1948-1957)“UNCLE LOUIS”

UNCLE LOUIS – 1949-1957

In 1948 William Lyon Mackenzie King retired as PM after almost a total of 22 years in office

Louis St. Laurent succeeded King as leader of the Liberal party and became PM in 1949 with a majority election win

The economic prosperity after WWII helped to solidify the popularity of the Liberal Party

One of the main tasks for St. Laurent was to bring NFLD into the confederation

After defeating anti-confederalists (lead by Joey Smallwood) in a referendum NFLD officially joined Canada in 1949

Joey Smallwood would become the first Premier of Newfoundland

ST. LAWRENCE SEAWAYSt. Laurent was also responsible for building the St. Lawrence Seaway – a series of locks and channels that linked the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean.

The economic prosperity of the 1950s and low unemployment led to a second victory in the 1953 elections

• Began work on the Trans-Canada Highway and Trans- Canada Pipeline.

St. Laurent’s government finally fell in 1957 after forcing through an unpopular construction project to build a pipeline from the west to eastern Canada

John Diefenbaker led the Conservatives to victory in the 1957 election

JOHN DIEFENBAKER (1957-1963)“DIEF THE CHIEF”

JOHN DIEFENBAKERElected with a minority government in

1957

During his time as Prime Minister he cut taxes, helped farmers, and raised senior pensions

He was an excellent speaker and promised a bright future and more jobs -- this made him very popular

In 1958 a new election was called and Diefenbaker won with the largest majority in the history of Canadian politics (208 seats out of 265)

In 1960, Diefenbaker introduced and passed the Canadian Bill of Rights

He promoted development in the North and the West

“Diefendollar” – lowered the Canadian dollar to 92.5 cents USD to improve trade.

Diefenbaker was responsible for stopping the ‘Avro Arrow’ project – the development of a supersonic, interceptor jet aircraft

Approximately 28 000 Canadians lost their jobs with the cut of this project

Avro Arrow – Canada began building the world’s most advanced ‘supersonic’ jet fighter

Cost was much higher than anticipated – rose from $2 million per plane to $12 million per plane

Diefenbaker cancelled the program – still a controversial topic.

AVRO ARROW

MISSILE UPROARIn the fall of 1958, Diefenbaker agreed to

accept 56 BOMARC missiles from the United States and deploy them in North Bay, Ontario and La Macaza, Quebec.

Canada soon discovered the type of BOMARC missiles it received was designed to hold nuclear warheads.

The missiles touched off anti-nuclear protests in the country, although Canada eventually accepted the nuclear warheads on New Year's Eve, 1963.

During his time, the economy slowed and Diefenbaker barely won a minority gov’t in 1962

In 1963 Diefenbaker lost the election and Lester B. Pearson, a Liberal, becomes Prime Minister of Canada

LESTER B. PEARSON (1963-1968)

A NEW CANADIAN FLAG

Pearson believed there was need to develop national symbols to help strengthen Canadians’ sense of identity

He believed that one way to do this was by having a new flag created that did not reflect Canada’s colonial past

On February 15, 1965, the new Canadian flag was raised for the very first time.

THE PEARSON PENNANT

THE FLAG DEBATEThe flag debate was a hot topic of

Pearson’s government. Many of British heritage wanted to keep the Red Ensign; however other Canadians wanted our own flag separate to Britain.

Looked at over 2000 designs and after much debate the Maple Leaf was chosen

PEARSON’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• Nobel Peace Prize winner• Introduced universal health care to

all Canadians (Tommy Douglas)• Interest-free student loans• Bilingualism in Gvt buildings and

services• Canada Pension Plan• Canada's flagAll of these were done with a minority

gvt

PIERRE ELLIOTT TRUDEAU (1968-1979)“TRUDEAUMANIA”

“TRUDEAUMANIA”

BECAME VERY POPULAR DURING ELECTION CAMPAIGN

CHARISMATIC, NONCONFORMIST, YOUNG

“JUST SOCIETY” ELECTION SLOGANELECTED PRIME MINISTER IN 1968

ISSUESOctober Crisis - 1970

FLQ kidnapped government officials

Trudeau invoked War Measures Act

ISSUESOfficial Languages Act - 1969

Made English and French the official languages of Canada

Bill 101 made French the only language of Quebec

ISSUESPatriated the Constitution

Brought the constitution home from Britain

Successfully negotiated details with provinces

ISSUES

Repatriation of the Constitution in 1982 including the Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Protects human rights of Canadians