10 Most Famous Canadian Prime Ministers

Photo by Rob Mieremet / Anefo – Wikimedia

10 Most famous Canadian Prime Ministers

Canada is a country in the North American continent. They gained their independence on the 1^st of July, 1867. Since then, there have been 33 prime ministers in office leading the country differently.

Some of the prime ministers gained fame for what they did for the country. The most famous are the following.

1. Justin Pierre James Trudeau

Photo by Radio Television Malacañang (RTVM) – Wikimedia

Justine Pierre James Trudeau is the 23^rd Prime Minister of Canada. Since 2013, he has been the leader of the Liberal Party. He followed his father’s footsteps who was the 15^th Prime Minister of Canada, Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliot Trudeau.

He was born on the 25^th of December, 1971 in Ottawa, Canada and is married to Sophie Gregoire Trudeau.

His first election was into the House of Commons when he was 36 years of age. He is currently 50 years old.

2. Sir John Alexander Macdonald

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John Alexander Macdonald was born on the 11^th of January, 1815 in Glasgow, United Kingdom. He was the first prime minister of Canada with the Conservative Party of Canada’s political affiliation.

He was married to Isabella Macdonald, who was John’s cousin, then to Agnes Macdonald, 1^st Baroness Macdonald of Earnscliffe. John Macdonald had a racist attitude and was criticized for his policies of discriminating against the indigenous.

He came up with a foundation of creating the county’s residential schools which were meant to assimilate indigenous children and in return, it caused many deaths.

On the best side of his leadership, he fulfilled his promise of the completion of the transcontinental railway via the help of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR).

He also played important roles in building and guiding a successful government for the new dominion. He died on the 6^th of June, 1892 in Ottawa, Canada.

3. Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliot Trudeau

Photo by Rob Mieremet / Anefo – Wikimedia

Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliot Trudeau was born on the 18^th of October, 1919 in Montreal, Canada. He was married to Margaret Trudeau and they brought to life four children. He served as the 15^th Prime Minister of Canada.

He was also a Liberal Party of Canada leader with a period as an opposition leader. He was the last prime minister who served in the military, during the Second World War.

He was behind the making of the Canadian constitution and the charter of rights and freedom which are the actions that led to Canada achieving full sovereignty.

All this he was doing to make Canada less dependent on the United States and United Kingdom’s dependency.

4. Stephen Joseph Harper

Stephen Harper was born on the 30^th of April, 1959 in Leaside, Toronto Canada. He served as the 22^nd Prime Minister for Canada. He was the leader of the official opposition of Canada since 2004.

He is married to Laureen Ann Harper. He was among the founders of the Reform Party of Canada.

After his term as a prime minister was over, he did not seek re-election and instead, he joined the National Citizens’ Coalition which is a conservative lobbyist group.

He managed to accomplish one of his major policies of taxes reduction in his 9 years in office, he managed to reduce GST, income taxes, and corporate taxes.

5. Jean Chrétien

Photo by Joe Howell – Wikimedia

Joseph Jacques Jean Chretien was a Canadian lawyer and politician. He was born on the 11^th of January, 1934 in Shawinigan, Canada.

He was the 20^th Prime Minister of Canada under the political party of the Liberal Party for Canada. He was first elected to the House of Commons in 1963.

He was married to Aline Chretien from 1957 to 2020 and they brought to life 3 children. He is a law graduate from the University of Lavai.

6. Brian Martin Mulroney

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Martin Brian Mulroney was a lawyer, businessman, politician, and also he was a political scientist.

He was born on the 20^th of March, 1939 in Baie-Comeau, Canada. He served as the 18^th Prime Minister of Canada. He is married to Mila Mulroney and they have four children.

Mulroney’s popularity was reduced due to things like the collapse of the Charlottetown Accord, the 1990s recession, growing western alienation that triggered the rise of the Reform Party.

For this and other causes, he was induced to quit and resign from office in 1983.

7. Charles Joe Clark

Joe Charles Clark was a businessman, writer, statesman, and politician. He was born on the 5^th of June, 1939 in High River, Canada.

He is married to Maureen McTeer and they have one child. He was the president of the Queen’s Privy Council for Canada and also served as the 16^th Prime Minister inclusive of other offices.

A leadership review was conducted at the Progressive Conservative Party conversion where Joe Clark won with a 69.9% approval.

He felt as if this was a low qualification and he resigned from leadership claiming that he needed a stronger mandate and would run for the leadership and seek another approval from the party.

He is now working as a university professor and a president of his consulting firm. He is currently 82 years old.

8. William Lyon Mackenzie King

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William Lyon was born on the 17^th of December, 1874 in Kitchener, Canada.

He was a politician and a statesman. He was the 10^th prime minister of Canada who served 3 terms but non-consecutive ones. He was of the Liberal Party of Canada political party. He is the Prime Minister who served for the longest period.

He is also overrated as the best prime minister of all time based on three aggregate Maclean’s results. He was married to Isabel Baxter. He died on the 28^th of August, 1822 in Chelsea at the age of 66 years.

9. Avril Phaedra Douglas Kim Campbell

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Avril Douglas Campbell was the 19^th Prime Minister of Canada and the only female who has so far served as a Prime Minister of Canada.

She is a politician, lawyer, diplomat, and writer. She served as the minister of Justice and Attorney General, Minister of National Defense, and Minister of Veteran Affairs. Campbell was born on the 10^th of March, 1947 in Port Alberni, Canada.

She has been married thrice, by Nathan Divinsky, Howard Eddy, and currently to Hershey Felder. Her political affiliation is the Conservative Party of Canada.

She has written and published a book, Time and Chance. She is also the third shortest-serving Prime Minister having served for 169 days only after her resignation.

This was after she had been defeated in her seat, which was caused by Progressive Conservatives lack of enough seats for the official party, hence, the worst loss for a federal government in Canadian history.

10. Lester Bowles Pearson  

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Lester Bowles Pearson was a scholar, politician, diplomat, and statesman. He was born on the 23^rd of December, 1972 in Newton brook, Toronto Canada. He was married to Maryon Pearson.

His political affiliation was the Liberal Party of Canada and he served as the 14^th Prime Minister. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

He is ranked among the greatest Canadian prime ministers and the most influential Canadian of the 20^th century for his government programs and policies.

His groundbreaking work at the United Nations and international diplomacy ended ended the Suez crisis. He died on the 27^th of December, 1972 in Ottawa, Canada.

The most famous Canadian Prime Ministers appear to be so selfless by their actions and roles played, other than John Alexander’s racist attitude.

Avril Douglas Campbell was the only female who has ever served as a Prime Minister in the history of Canada.

This is well brought out by the act of a good number resigning from office due to reasons showing their incompetency. These are the top 10 most famous Canadian Prime Ministers.