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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
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