Prime Ministers of Canada

"I hate politics, and what are considered their appropriate methods. I hate notoriety, public meetings, public speeches, caucuses and everything that I know of that is apparently the necessary incident of politics – except doing public work to the best of my ability."

—John Abbott, 12 days before becoming Prime Minster of Canada upon the death of Sir John A. Macdonald

Canada has had a wide variety of Prime Ministers since 1867, ranging from staid to flamboyant to ... well ... odd. However, the guiding phrase for most Prime Ministers in Canada at both the federal and provincial level is "Bland Works": don't annoy people, and you can keep getting re-elected.

Sir John A. Macdonald (Liberal-Conservative, 1867-1873)^[1]
Alexander Mackenzie (Liberal, 1873-1878)
Sir John A. Macdonald (again, Liberal-Conservative, 1878-1891) - Built the transcontinental railroad that tied the country together, and started the "residential schools" program that in the early 21st century would be termed a cultural genocide. Known to be a heavy drinker; rumoured to have had gin in his water glass in the House of Commons. Died in office.
Sir John Abbott (Liberal-Conservative, 1891-1892)
Sir John Thompson (Liberal-Conservative, 1892-1894)
Sir Mackenzie Bowell (Conservative, 1894-1896)
Sir Charles Tupper (Conservative) - He held the title of Prime Minister for 69 days, but he never lead a federal Parliament.
Sir Wilfrid Laurier (Liberal, 1896-1911)
Sir Robert Borden (Conservative, 1911-1917; Unionist, 1917-1920)
Arthur Meighen (National Liberal and Conservative Party, 1920-1921)
William Lyon Mackenzie King (Liberal, 1921-1926)
Arthur Meighen (again, Conservative, 1926)
William Lyon Mackenzie King (again, Liberal, 1926-1930) - Staid, never-married, known now (but not while he was Prime Minister) to employ mediums so he could consult dead colleagues and his dead mother.
R. B. Bennett (Conservative, 1930-1935) - Had the misfortune to be Prime Minister during the beginning of the Great Depression. Best-known nowadays for the "Bennett Buggy" - a motorcar pulled by a horse because the owner couldn't afford to buy fuel. (See a photo of one on Wikimedia Commons.)
William Lyon Mackenzie King (one more time, Liberal, 1935-1948) - This time, he ran on the slogan "It’s King Or Chaos", pointing out his track record and the fact that he wasn't responsible for the Depression-era economy. Bland worked. During the 1942 campaign, he promised "not necessarily conscription, but conscription if necessary" (one of the great Canadian non-committal campaign promises), was elected on the implied promise of no conscription to fight WWII, and ended up introducing conscription anyway. He lost the next election.
Louis St. Laurent (Liberal, 1948-1957) - "Papa Louis" in Quebec, "Uncle Louis" everywhere else. Avuncular, paternalistic... and popular even in English-speaking Canada at a time when anti-French racism was on an upward swing. Canada's version of Dwight Eisenhower, who presided over the post-WWII reconstruction of the economy.
John Diefenbaker (Progressive Conservative, 1957-1963) - "Dief the Chief".
Lester B. Pearson (Liberal, 1963-1968) - Credited with inventing UN peacekeeping, for which he received the Nobel Peace Prize.
Pierre Trudeau (Liberal, 1968-1979) - Brought Canadian Politics out of sobriety and into flamboyance. Got inflation under control. Co-founded the G7. Called out the army to deal with a terrorist group in Montreal. Was nicknamed "Captain Canada" for activities than in Eagle Land would be called wrapping oneself in the flag. And despite all that, he was a liberal.
Joe Clark (Progressive Conservative, 1979-1980) - "Joe Who?" Took Canadian Politics right back into sobriety... but it didn't completely take. Lost a confidence motion on his very first budget.
Pierre Trudeau (Liberal, 1980-1984) - This time around, repatriated the Constitution, meaning the UK could no longer overrule Canadian laws. However, the way he did that annoyed Quebec so much that a separatist movement took hold there (and has never completely gone away).
John Turner (Liberal) - He held the title of Prime Minister for 79 days (10 days longer than Tupper), but he never lead a federal Parliament.
Brian Mulroney (Progressive Conservative, 1984-1993) - Privatized a bunch of Crown Corporations, but not all of them. Sang "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" on-stage with Ronald Reagan when they signed NAFTA. As PM, he was loved by many and hated by many. Passed away in 2024.
Kim Campbell (Progressive Conservative, 1993) - The first (and, as of 2019, only) female Prime Minister of Canada. Set up to fail after Mulroney read the popularity polls and resigned (although her saying that the election campaign wasn't long enough to discuss her party's platform didn't help); the Progressive Conservatives went from a majority government to two seats in the 1993 election, splintering the right into various rump parties.
Jean Chrétien (Liberal, 1993-2003) - "The Little Guy from Shawinigan". The Conservatives belittled his facial deformity during the election, causing him to reply "This is the face God gave me," giving him the sympathy vote. He didn't need sympathy to get re-elected, despite being a centrist populist. (Yes, "populism" does not necessarily include "right-wing".) He is a member of the Order of Merit.
Paul Martin (Liberal, 2003-2006) - A competent leader... and that's about all anyone remembers. For once, bland didn't work.
Stephen Harper (Conservative, 2006-2015) - Pulled the splintered right-of-centre political parties back together and pulled the political pendulum back from the left. Another PM who received the "Captain Canada" nickname, in his case for his annual trips to show the flag on the northern border. By the end, he'd pulled the pendulum too far to the right for most people's comfort (including his party promising a "Barbaric Cultural Practices Hotline" if re-elected) - which gave Canada a short grace period before right-wing populism started becoming attractive in the country.
Justin Trudeau (Liberal, 2015- ) - As of February 2024, the incumbent. Pierre Trudeau's son. The first Prime Minister of Canada to have been born in Ottawa. At first, he was best-known as being Pierre Trudeau's son, but his willingness to disagree with Donald Trump has increased his popularity. He's been portrayed on The Simpsons. Grew the Beard both literally and figuratively in January 2020, when the first most people saw of him with facial hair was when he demanded answers from Iran after a passenger jet was shot down.

↑ Not to be confused with Sir John R. Macdonald, premier of Ontario at the same time.

[1] Not to be confused with Sir John R. Macdonald, premier of Ontario at the same time.

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