How was Lester B. Pearson a force for positive change in Canada? Lester B. Pearson; his last name sounds very familiar. If you have ever left the country for a vacation with the family or to attend some business, you most likely went through Toronto Pearson International Airport. Today, Pearson International is one of the most well-known airports out there. Toronto Pearson Airport began construction in 1957–1964 and was officially opened for service on February 28th, 1964, by Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson. Lester B. Pearson was born on April 23rd, 1897, in Newtonbrook, Toronto, Ontario. Pearson began his university years at the University of Toronto in 1913 at the age of sixteen. Pearson was then sent to fight in World War I from 1914–1918. …show more content…
Pearson rebuilt the Liberal Party and, as prime minister, strove to maintain Canada's national unity. The article by Lester B. Pearson found in the Canadian Encyclopaedia says, "The Liberals were reduced to 49 of the 265 seats in the House of Commons. Pearson began the slow task of rebuilding the party. With the assistance of parliamentary debaters such as Paul Martin and J.W. Pickersgill, as well as party workers such as Walter Gordon, Mitchell Sharp, and Maurice Lamontagne, Pearson re-established the Liberals as a national party. In the 1962 general election, Pearson raised the party’s total to 100 seats." Lester B. Pearson not only rebuilt the liberal party after it almost fell apart, but he also started restoring the number of seats the party originally had. This act of rebuilding the Liberal Party placed Pearson as the 14th prime minister of Canada. This wouldn't have been possible without the help of Walter Gordon. The article on Walter L. Gordon found on Wikipedia says, "Gordon was the Chancellor of York University from 1973 to 1977. According to Dr. Stephen Azzi, Walter Gordon is responsible for "New Nationalism" in Canada. This is the idea of supporting stronger ties with Great Britain to prevent Canada from being absorbed by the United States. He published his political memoirs in 1977." This is how Lester B. Pearson rebuilt the Liberal Party and became the prime minister of Canada. Today, the Liberal Party has around 338 seats in
He pushed an ambitious agenda promoting industries, building railways and opening the west to immigrants from Europe. With that Canada started its way to multiculturalism. However, this plan didn’t present equal opportunities for immigrants. British people got jobs before others, and immigration threatened the survival of the natives.
Tommy Douglas was Premier of Saskatchewan, first leader of the New Democratic Party, Baptist minister and a politician. Douglas was the 7th Premier of Saskatchewan by 1961 he resigned and lead the federal New Democratic Party (NDP). Despite his lost in the federal election of 1962, Douglas continued on creating programs that would better help others like pension plan, free healthcare and education and much more. Tommy Douglas is a significant person throughout the cold war was known for his as progressive social initiatives ability as a speaker that lead Canada to have free healthcare, to create the first socialist government which is the NDP and these factors indicate how important Tommy Douglas was throughout the cold war years. As this man
he also won the party´s nomination for the riding of the electoral district of Papineau, and after beating Vivian Barbot he assured a seat in the parliament as a member of the official opposition. It was then that a lot of people realized that Justin Trudeau was not just another young emerging politician, he was special and a bright future seemed to be his destiny.
Firstly, Westerners of the early 1900’s would prestigiously claim that they were a big factor in bringing Canada together. Some would claim that Canada would not maintain its unity and would break off in the middle if there was no steel trail to link the East to the West (Macbeth 20). This is demonstrated because the truth of the matter is that many cannot fathom how the continuance of inter travel and trade over the pioneer railway across Canada brought the East and West together (Macbeth 21). All of these were sought out by politicians that realized the potential of brining in the West into Canada’s unity. Furthermore, in the early 60’s all politicians took steps towards joining confederation of provinces from the east all the way to the Pacific Coast (Macbeth 21).
This was especially true when he witnessed firsthand the horrors of the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike (Reb). Growing up, he went into politics where he gradually accumulated influence from voters in Saskatchewan’s provincial election to lead the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation [CCF] to form the first socialist government in North America (Bonikowsky). His leadership was often challenged by his political opponents that hailed him as a communist or even a fascist with their aggressive propaganda. However, Tommy responded strategically through radio telecasts that made use of his remarkable oratory skills to secure his seat as Saskatchewan’s premier for 17 years (Wong). Tommy’s humanitarian ideology made Saskatchewan a leader in progressive social policy that is still reflected through the NDP today.
Pearson completed and formed many programs and acts that helped Canada and beyond. As shown through his excellent job in politics, international affairs and improvement of Canadian lives, Pearson was able to become a successful Prime Minister. Over time, Canada has selected many strong Prime Ministers. However, as shown throughout this essay, Lester B. Pearson was possibly the
Lester. B.Pearson was renowned as one of Canada 's greatest Prime Ministers. But the successes in his career overshadowed the few, but impactful failures. His title as Nobel peace prize winner and father of Canadian peacekeeping efforts acts as cover for his war motivated failures. From allowing the sale of toxic chemicals to the U.S. and allowing the testing of chemical weapons on canadian soil.
Not only universal healthcare, Tommy Douglas has also introduced paved roads, sewage systems and more power to farmers. During his years as a politician, he served in the Saskatchewan Labour Party in 1932 (SLP), CCF MP in 1935, leader of the CCF in 1944 and then later became the Premier of Saskatchewan. Out of his many contributions to Canada, undoubtedly the
Canada has come a long way. From becoming an independent nation to participating in the first and second World Wars, Canada has lost a lot but gained even more. Many of the Canadians have grown from the history of their past and others made history. Lester Pearson was one of those individuals who left behind a positive legacy. Pearson was the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and the most notable Prime Minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968.
There are countless leaders that changed Canada’s history in both good and bad ways. Some leaders and prime ministers are forgotten as history proceeds. Many tried shaping Canada’s history and changing its reputation. Canada had great leaders that made tremendous benefits to improve their country. However, a very kind man named Richard Bennett became a prime minister in the worse of Canada’s economics situation.
The language and regional conflicts within Canada, gave the flag dispute added weight. It grew more general concerns about cultural rights, particularly those involving Quebec and the rest of the nation. In addition, the Canadian Parliament developed into a highly heated political topic. The Progressive Conservative Party, led by John Diefenbaker, passionately opposed the change of a new flag, while the Liberal Party, led by Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, strongly supported it. Political parties became divided as a result of the argument, which resulted in a big political disagreement that affected the general public's opinion of the government and caused them to side with the party they favored.
Canada is now known to be a diverse, multicultural, bilingual and inclusive nation largely as a result of his work. Pierre Elliott Trudeau also believed in an equal Canada for all, he is primarily the one to introduce rights and freedoms to the citizens of Canada. While some view Pierre Trudeau as impulsive, for enforcing the War Measures Act, Trudeau enacted this for the protection of Canadian citizens against radical extremist and his actions were more rational than impulsive for the situation that had suddenly occurred. Pierre Trudeau was one of Canada’s greatest Prime Minister’s, who’s impact fundamentally changed the course of the nation by introducing multiculturalism, for introducing the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and for paradoxically upholding democracy by strong action during the October Crisis.
Pearson was “a wonderful compromiser …he could bring together opposites” (Baldwin 31) which is what connects him and other great leaders together in leaving a great influence on their country. Then, there is the controversy between Diefenbaker and Pearson, which caused many doubts in Canadians towards Pearson’s choices/judgment. However, in the midst of those doubts Pearson managed to prove that he was the ideal leader for Canada by _____ ________________________________. In all, throughout Pearson’s political life despite the flaws and controversy, he indeed established unity in Canada by the skills he provided through the leadership we pay tribute to
William Lyon Mackenzie King, a man of glory, forever changed Canada’s constitution during the tumultuous nineteenth century and resolved all difficulties Canada faced on its way to becoming a strong, independent, and autonomous nation. His contributions and sanctions targeted all factors at the time and had interrelated effects on the construction of Canada. Unlike other Canadian politicians, King handled every crisis with thorough planning and achieved promising outcomes from unsolvable problems. It is without a doubt that King was the most influential figure in Canada’s development. His role in the autonomy, economic development, and social stability stands as solid evidence of the pioneering impacts he had on Canada’s advancement.
Macdonald often called the father of Confederation, he is the first and second longest serving prime minister in Canada for that many consider him the best leader in Canada. For example said Wilfrid Laurier, said in the House of Commons, June 8, 1891: "It may be said without any exaggeration whatever, that the life of Sir John Macdonald, from the time he entered Parliament, is the history of Canada. " Conservative Senator Hugh Segal said “Macdonald 's legacy to the country is the country itself,” Macdonald shaped the modern Canada and wanted to see it united. He foresaw the expansion of Canada “from sea to sea” and during his leadership, aside for the four original province, Manitoba, British Columbia and Prince Edward Island joined Canada.