PRIME MINISTERS OF CANADA

1867-2004

Part of the Teaching & Learning About Canada Website

Take the PM Quiz - now there are 2

CLICK PM'S NAME TO OPEN NEW WINDOW

PRIME MINISTERS

Four prime ministers- L to R: Trudeau, Turner, Chretien, and then ( 1967) Prime Minister Lester Pearson

Feb. 2002: Pierre Trudeau was the top pick as the greatest Canadian of the 20th Century, a new national public opinion survey suggests.

In second place was Terry Fox, the inspirational hero who tried to walk across Canada after losing a leg to cancer, while hockey great Wayne Gretzky was the top choice of living Canadians.

The poll, conducted by Ekos Research Associates, asked more than 3,000 Canadians to name their choice for top honours. Trudeau was the resounding favourite at 32 per cent, with Fox coming a distant second at six per cent and Gretzky placing third with four per cent.

Fourth-place honours were shared by former prime minister Lester B. Pearson, who is viewed as the father of Canadian peacekeeping, and Rene Levesque, who led the separatist Parti Quebecois to its first electoral victory. Both men were named by three per cent of respondents.

Former prime ministers William Mackenzie King, Wilfrid Laurier, John Diefenbaker and Brian Mulroney were also named in the survey, but received less than two per cent of the votes. Story ©Canadian Press

1.Oldest to take office:

Rt. Hon. Sir Charles TUPPER (Cons.) b. 1821 d. 1915

Became Prime Minister May 1, 1896 at the age of 74 years 10 months.

2.Youngest to take office:

Rt. Hon. Charles Joseph Clark (P.C.) b. 1939

Became Prime Minister June 4, 1979 at the age of 39 years 11 months

Average of ages- 56 years 9 months

3. Longest time being P.M. :

Rt. Hon. William Lyon Mackenzie KING (Lib.) b.1874 d.1950

21 years 4 1/2 months from December 29, 1921 to June 8, 1926, from September 25, 1926 to August 7, 1930 and from October 23, 1935 to November 15, 1948.

4.Shortest time being P.M.:

Rt. Hon. Sir Charles TUPPER (Cons.) b. 1821 d. 1915

2 months 7 days from May 1 to July 8, 1896

Shortest time being P.M. in the 20th Century:

Rt. Hon. John Napier TURNER (Lib.) b. 1929

2 months 18 days from June 30 to September 17, 1984.

See First Among Equals- resources for teachers, students and those interested in Canadian politics. EXCELLENT SITE!

For information and pictures on the graves of some of the PM's,

see Parks Canada's excellent site " Grave Sites of the Prime Ministers".

The photos ( on this site) of Sir. John Thompson's and Sir. Charles Tupper's & Sir. Mackenzie Bowell's graves are by my son Peter and me respectively.