Search Results - Pearson, Mike

Lester B. Pearson

Lester Bowles Pearson (23 April 1897 – 27 December 1972) was the 14th prime minister of Canada, serving from 1963 to 1968. He also served as leader of the Liberal Party from 1958 to 1968 and as leader of the Official Opposition from 1958 to 1963.

Born in Newtonbrook, Ontario (now part of Toronto), Pearson pursued a career in the Department of External Affairs went on to serve as the Canadian ambassador to the United States from 1944 to 1946. He entered politics in 1948 as Secretary of State for External Affairs, serving in that position until 1957 in the governments of William Lyon Mackenzie King and Louis St. Laurent. Pearson was also the seventh president of the United Nations General Assembly from 1952 to 1953. He was a candidate to become secretary-general of the United Nations in 1953, but was vetoed by the Soviet Union. He later won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for organizing the United Nations Emergency Force to resolve the Suez Crisis, for which he received worldwide attention. After the Liberal Party was defeated in the 1957 federal election, Pearson handedly won the leadership of the party in 1958. He suffered two consecutive defeats by Progressive Conservative prime minister John Diefenbaker in 1958 and 1962. He successfully challenged Diefenbaker for a third time in the 1963 federal election, winning a minority government. Pearson's Liberals won another minority government in the 1965 federal election.

During Pearson's tenure as prime minister, he launched progressive policies including the Canada Student Loan Program, the Canada Pension Plan, the Canada Assistance Plan, the Canada Labour Code, and universal health care. He introduced royal commissions on bilingualism and biculturalism and the status of women, and unified the Canadian Armed Forces. Pearson's government also oversaw the creation of the Maple Leaf flag in 1965 (after a national debate known as the Great Canadian flag debate) and the Canadian Centennial celebrations in 1967. In foreign policy, Pearson signed the Auto Pact with the United States and kept Canada out of the Vietnam War. Under his leadership, Canada became the first country in the world to implement a points-based immigration system. After a half-decade in power, Pearson resigned as prime minister and retired from politics.

With his government programs and policies, together with his groundbreaking work at the United Nations and in international diplomacy, which included his role in ending the Suez Crisis, Pearson is among the most influential Canadians of the 20th century and is ranked among the greatest Canadian prime ministers. Provided by Wikipedia