Lester B. Pearson
Categories: 1897 births | 1972 deaths | Canadian Prime Ministers | Leaders of the Liberal Party of Canada | Nobel Peace Prize winners | Members of the Order of Canada | Canadian diplomats | Torontonians | Canadian historians | Canadian university chancellors and presidents | Members of the Canadian House of Commons from Ontario | Members of the Order of Merit | Members of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada | Officers of the British Empire | University of Toronto alumni
| Image:Lesterbpearson.PNG | |
| Rank: | 14th |
| Predecessor: | John Diefenbaker |
| Successor: | Pierre Trudeau |
| Date of Birth: | April 23, 1897 |
| Place of Birth: | Newtonbrook, Ontario |
| Spouse: | Maryon Moody |
| Profession: | Diplomat, Politician |
| Political Party: | Liberal |
| Religion: | Methodist |
The Right Honourable Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson, PC , CC , OM , OBE , LL.D , MA , BA (April 23, 1897 – December 27, 1972) was a Canadian statesman, diplomat and politician who was made a Nobel Laureate in 1957 and served as the fourteenth Prime Minister of Canada from April 22, 1963, to April 20, 1968.
During his time as Prime Minister, Pearson's minority government introduced universal health care, student loans, bilingualism, the Canada Pension Plan, and Canada's flag. Combined with his groundbreaking work at the United Nations, and in international diplomacy, Pearson can safely be regarded as one of the most influential Canadians of the twentieth century.
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Early life
He was born in Newtonbrook, Ontario (now part of Toronto), the son of a Methodist preacher. He entered Victoria College at the University of Toronto in 1914, where he lived in residence in Gate House and shared a room with his brother Duke. While at the university, he became a noted athlete, excelling at both hockey and rugby. As he was too young to enlist in the army when World War I broke out in 1914, he instead volunteered for the medical corps, where he served two years in places such as Egypt and Greece. In 1916 he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps (as the Royal Canadian Air Force did not exist at that time), where he served until being sent home as a result of a bus accident in 1917. It was as a pilot that he received the nick-name of "Mike", given to him by a flight instructor who felt that "Lester" was too weak of a name for an airman.
After the war, he returned to school, receiving his BA from the University of Toronto in 1919. While Attending the University of Toronto, Pearson became a member of Delta Upsilon Fraternity. After receiving a scholarship, he studied at Oxford University, where he received a BA in modern history in 1923 and an MA in 1925. In 1925, he married Maryon Moody (1902-1991), with whom he had one daughter, Patricia, and one son, Geoffrey.
Early career
After Oxford, he returned to Canada and taught history at the University of Toronto. He then embarked on a career in the Department of External Affairs. He had a distinguished career as a diplomat, including playing an important part in founding both the United Nations and NATO. During World War II, he once served as a courier with the codename "Mike". He was appointed Secretary of State for External Affairs in the government of Liberal Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent in 1948. Pearson won a seat in the Canadian House of Commons, for the federal riding of Algoma East shortly afterward. In 1957, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in defusing the Suez Crisis through the United Nations. The selection committee claimed that Pearson had "saved the world". The United Nations Peacekeeping Force was Pearson's creation, and he is considered the father of the modern concept of peacekeeping.
Party leadership
He was elected leader of the Liberal Party at its 1958 leadership convention, but his party was badly routed in the election of that year. In the 1962 election, his party reduced the Progressive Conservative Party of John Diefenbaker to a minority government.
Prime minister
Pearson led the Liberals to a minority government in the 1963 general election, and became prime minister. He had campaigned during the election promising "60 Days of Decision" and support for the Bomarc missile program.
Pearson never had a majority in the Canadian House of Commons, but he introduced important social programs (including universal health care, the Canada Pension Plan, and Canada Student Loans), and the Maple Leaf Flag. Pearson's government instituted much of the modern welfare state in Canada, due in part to support for his minority government in the House of Commons from the New Democratic Party, led by Tommy Douglas. His actions included instituting the 40-hour work week, 2 weeks vacation time, and a new minimum wage.
It should be noted that such policies did not prevent a strong economy. Pearson signed the Canada-United States Automotive Agreement (or Auto Pact) in January of 1965, and unemployment fell to its lowest rate in over a decade. [1]
While in office, Pearson resisted U.S. pressure to enter the Vietnam War. Pearson spoke at Temple University in Philadelphia on April 2, 1965, while visiting the United States, and voiced his support for a negotiated settlement to the Vietnam War. When he visited U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson hours later, Johnson strongly berated Pearson. According to Canadian legend, Johnson grabbed Pearson by the lapels, shook him, and shouted "You pissed on my rug!" Pearson later recounted that the meeting was acrimonious, but insisted the two parted cordially. After this incident, LBJ and Pearson did have two further meetings together, both times in Canada. [2]
Pearson also started a number of Royal Commissions, including one on the status of women and another on bilingualism. They instituted changes that helped create legal equality for women, and brought official bilingualism into being. After Pearson, French was made an official language, and the Canadian government would provide services in both. Pearson himself had hoped that he would be the last unilingual Prime Minister of Canada, and indeed fluency in both English and French became an unofficial requirement for Prime Ministeral candidates after Pearson left office.
Pearson was also remarkable for instituting the world's first race-free immigration system, throwing out previous ones that had discriminated against certain people, such as Jews and the Chinese. His points-based system encouraged immigration to Canada, and a similar system is still in place today.
Pearson also oversaw Canada's centennial celebrations in 1967 before retiring. The Canadian news agency, Canadian Press, named him "Newsmaker of the Year" that year, citing his leadership during the centennial celebrations, which brought the Centennial Flame on Parliament Hill.
Also in 1967, the President of France, Charles de Gaulle made a visit to Quebec. During that visit, de Gaulle was a staunch advocate of Quebec separatism, even going so far as to say that his procession in Montreal reminded him of his return to Paris after it was freed from the Nazis during World War II. President de Gaulle also gave his now infamous "Vive le Québec libre speech" during the visit. Given Canada's efforts, in aid of France during both world wars, Pearson was enraged. He rebuked de Gaulle in a speech the following day, remarking that "Canadians do not need to be liberated", and making it clear that de Gaulle was no longer welcomed in Canada. The French President returned to his home country, and would never visit Canada again.
Retirement
After his announcement on December 14, 1967, that he was retiring from politics, a leadership convention was held. There, Pearson announced that the new leader chosen by the Liberal party was Pierre Trudeau, a man who Pearson had recruited and made Minister of Justice in his cabinet. He later became Prime Minister, and two other cabinet ministers Pearson recruited, John Turner and Jean Chrétien, served as prime minister in the years following his retirement. Another cabinet minister Pearson recruited, Paul Martin Sr., is the father of the current prime minister, Paul Martin.
Pearson later became a professor of international relations at Carleton University in Ottawa, as well as the school's chancellor. In 1968, he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada. In 1971, he was awarded the Order of Merit by Queen Elizabeth II.
Pearson died of cancer in Ottawa on December 27, 1972, and was buried in the nearby Gatineau Hills in the MacLaren Cemetery, Wakefield, Quebec.
Honours and awards
Besides the Nobel Peace Prize, Pearson has been the recipient of numerous national and international accolades.
In 1984 Pearson's successor, Pierre Trudeau, renamed Canada's busiest airport in Toronto in his honour. The airport is now named Toronto Pearson International Airport. YYZ is its Aerodrome Location Indicator.
Pearson is also the namesake of the Lester B. Pearson College in Victoria, British Columbia (one of the United World Colleges), and of the Lester B. Pearson School Board in Montreal. Lester Pearson International, an administrative unit of Dalhousie University, is also named in honour of his international work.
The Lester B. Pearson Award is presented annually to the most valuable NHL player as judged by his peers. Pearson's favourite sport was baseball and the Pearson Cup, named after him, was awarded to the winner of an annual contest between the Toronto Blue Jays and the former Montréal Expos (now the Washington Nationals).
The Canadian news agency, Canadian Press, chose Lester Pearson its Newsmaker of the Year nine times, a record he held until Pierre Trudeau broke it in 2000. He and Brian Mulroney are the only prime ministers to have received this award both before becoming prime minister and while prime minister.
In 2003 a survey of prominent academics, journalists, and former government officials named Pearson Canada's best prime minister of the preceding fifty years. In 2004, he finished #6 on the CBC program The Greatest Canadian.
The Lester B. Pearson Building is the headquarters for Foreign Affairs Canada, a tribute to his service as external affairs minister.
The Pearson Medal of Peace is an award given out annually by the United Nations Association in Canada to recognize an individual Canadian's "contribution to international service".
Besides the Nobel Peace Prize, Pearson has been the recipient of numerous national and international accolades.
Established in 1994, The Pearson Peacekeeping Centre is an independent not-for-profit institution providing research and training on all aspects of peace operations.
In 1984 Pearson's successor, Pierre Trudeau, renamed Canada's busiest airport in Toronto Toronto International Airport) in his honour. The airport is now named Lester B. Pearson International Airport. YYZ is its Aerodrome Location Indicator.
See also
External links
- Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
- "Greatest Canadian" write-up of Lester Pearson
- National Archives biography
- Nobel prize website
- Order of Canada Citation
- Political Biography from the Library of Parliament
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| Preceded by: {{{before}}}}|before=Louis St. Laurent}} | {{{title}}} {{{years}}}}|title=Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada|years=1958–1968}} | Succeeded by: {{{after}}} |
| Preceded by: {{{before}}}}|before=John Diefenbaker}} | {{{title}}} {{{years}}}}|title=Prime Minister of Canada|years=1963–1968}} | Succeeded by: {{{after}}} |
| Leaders of the Liberal Party of Canada | Image:Lib-can.png | |
|---|---|---|
| Mackenzie | Blake | Laurier | McKenzie | King | St. Laurent | Pearson | Trudeau | Turner | Chrétien | Martin | ||