Browse "Prime Ministers"

Alexander Mackenzie, 2nd prime minister of Canada 1873–78, stonemason, building contractor, author, insurance executive (born 28 January 1822 in Logierait, Scotland; died 17 April 1892 in Toronto, ON).

Arthur Meighen, lawyer, politician, businessman, prime minister of Canada (b at Anderson, Ont 16 June 1874; d at Toronto 5 Aug 1960).

In the mid-1930s, at the height of the Great Depression, Prime Minister R.B. Bennett’s political demise seemed inevitable. He sought to reverse the tide running against his Conservative Party. In January 1935, he began a series of live radio speeches outlining a “New Deal” for Canada. He promised a more progressive taxation system; a maximum work week; a minimum wage; closer regulation of working conditions; unemployment insurance; health and accident insurance; a revised old-age pension; and agricultural support programs. But Bennett’s 11th-hour proposals were seen as too-little, too-late. He lost the 1935 election to William Lyon Mackenzie King and the Liberals.

Martin Brian Mulroney, PC, CC, GOQ, lawyer, businessman, politician, prime minister of Canada 1984 to 1993 (born 20 March 1939 in Baie-Comeau, QC). Former Progressive Conservative Party leader Brian Mulroney helped his party win the most seats ever (211) in the 1984 election. As prime minister, he signed a landmark free trade deal with the United States and Mexico (NAFTA) and oversaw passage of the unpopular Goods and Services Tax (GST). He also spent much political capital trying unsuccessfully to persuade Quebec to sign the Constitution. (See Meech Lake Accord; Charlottetown Accord.) Mulroney took a strong stance against apartheid and made great strides in protecting the environment. But his historically low popularity led to an unprecedented defeat in 1993, which sent the Conservative Party into disarray for a decade.

“Let me tell you, my fellow countrymen, that all the signs point this way, that the 20th century shall be the century of Canada and Canadian development.… For the next 100 years, Canada shall be the star towards which all men who love progress and freedom shall come.” — Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier speaking at Toronto’s Massey Hall on 14 October 1904.

Canadian Prime Ministers as Seen by Their Loyal Cartoonists

It did not take an Ottawa insider to know George Baker was on slippery ground with his own government.This article was originally published in Maclean's Magazine on October 19, 1998

This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on December 23, 1996. Partner content is not updated. Inside his third-floor Parliament Hill office last Thursday, Prime Minister Jean CHRÉTIEN spent part of the morning signing some of the 1,000 Christmas cards that will be sent out with his personal signature.

This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on July 8, 1996. Partner content is not updated. Few would disagree. At 2:10 a.m. on Nov. 5, Dallaire arrived at the fence surrounding 24 Sussex Drive - and spent 20 minutes throwing stones onto the grounds and waving at security cameras that, ostensibly, were being monitored by Jean Chrétien's RCMP security staff.

Maclean's:The furor over the GST raised emotions on all sides.This article was originally published in Maclean's Magazine on December 30, 1996

As he prepared to deal with mounting criticism of his government's handling of national unity issues and last week's cabinet shuffle, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien spoke to Ottawa Editor Anthony Wilson-Smith.This article was originally published in Maclean's Magazine on February 5, 1996

There had to be a better way for Paul Martin to quell the jitters in that band of Liberal supporters who can't wait for him to become top dog in the pound.This article was originally published in Maclean's Magazine on March 27, 2000

This article was originally published in Maclean’s magazine on May 5, 1997. Partner content is not updated. Memories are made of such things - if any of those patrons could later find anyone who believed them. Other than that, there are several prospective lessons to be drawn from the latest escapade of Jean Chrétien, full-time prime minister and sometime prankster.

No one doubts the sincerity of Jean Chrétien's unabashed, if sometimes hokey, expressions of love for Canada. His years as prime minister may best be remembered for ending the spiral of deficit spending by federal governments, but Chrétien has always envisaged leaving a less actuarial legacy.This article was originally published in Maclean's Magazine on December 6, 1999

Jean CHRÉTIEN has always looked back at his six years as minister of INDIAN affairs with an equal measure of fondness and something resembling regret. He has called his work from 1968 to 1974 among the most satisfying of his career.This article was originally published in Maclean's Magazine on October 14, 2002