St Laurent, Diefenbaker, Pearson, Trudeau

1. Canadian Leaders from 1948-
1970
Chapter 5

2. Louis St. Laurent
• Took over leadership of the Liberal
Party from Mackenzie King in
1948, and was PM till 1957.
• Saw the post-war as a time to
bring prosperity and unity to
Canada.
• Under his gov’t:
- Oil and mining industries boomed
- Initiated the St Lawrence Seaway,
Trans-Canada highway and a trans-
Canada natural gas pipeline
- Tremendous growth of American
investment in the Canadian
economy

3. • Encouraged Joey Smallwood to organize a
petition for Newfoundland’s Confederation
with Canada be included in the referendum
• On March 31st 1949, Newfoundland and
Labrador became Canada’s 10th province, and
Smallwood became its first premier.

4. John Diefenbaker
• In the 1957 federal
election, Diefenbaker
(Progressive Conservative)
defeated the Liberal Party.
• Was known as “The Chief”
because he was a powerful
speaker who reflected
people’s concerns about
the growth of American
influence in Canada.

5. • He strongly believed in a united country and
protecting the less fortunate:
- Raised pensions for the elderly and disabled
- Gave financial aid to farmers in the Prairies &
Atlantic provinces
- 1960 brought in the Canadian Bill of Rights, which
put into law all the basic freedoms including
freedom of speech, worship and assembly (but
this bill was not part of the constitution)

6. Lester B. Pearson
• Pearson (Liberal) was Prime
Minster from 1963-1970.
• He sought to improve French-
English relations by appointing
a Royal Commission on
Bilingualism and Biculturalism –
the report discovered that
French-Canadians did not
receive the same benefits as
English-Canadians outside of
Quebec. This prompted many
French-Canadians in Quebec to
begin thinking of separating
from Canada.

7. • The Pearson gov’t introduced the Canada
Pension Plan and Medicare for all Canadians.
• Pearson thought it was important to cut
Canada’s symbolic ties with Britain by
changing Canada’s flag (the old flag included
the British Union Jack).
• In February 1965, the single red maple leaf
design was officially accepted as Canada’s new
flag after vigorous debate.

8. Pierre Elliott Trudeau
• Trudeau became leader of the
Liberal Party and PM of Canada
in 1968 when Pearson resigned.
• Because he was French-
Canadian, many people hoped
that he would finally address
Quebec’s concerns. People
were also attracted to him
because he was youthful,
casual, stylish, and charismatic.
He became extremely popular
and Trudeaumania ensued.

9. • He implemented the Official Languages Act in
1969, to make Canada truly bilingual and
bicultural. He believed this would help to
make Quebec feel like a part of Canada.
• Trudeau worked on making the Constitution
truly Canadian, as it still remained an act of
British Parliament. The Constitution Act was
signed in 1982, and it included the Charter of
Rights and Freedoms.