Evaluating Prime Ministerial Leadership in Canada: The Results of an Expert Survey
This article reports the results of the largest survey of expert opinion on prime ministerial leadership in Canada, conducted in 2011. The top-rated prime ministers were, in order, Laurier, King, Macdonald and Pearson, who were preferred because of their creative records of achievement and capacity to see the country whole, champion its unity and make for positive change. Survey respondents valued transformational leadership that altered the country, but did so in a cautious way that did not threaten national cohesiveness. The article makes frequent reference to the international literature on leadership, allowing for comparisons across a range of countries.
The Strange Afterlives of Canadian Prime Ministers
Neither Canadian law nor custom define the role of former prime ministers, and their experience is so varied that few generalizations can be made. Some disappear from the political stage; others linger, hoping for a return to power. Since the Second World War, such a return has been rare. Of the seven who have been defeated since 1945, three had the chance to fight another election as leader: John Diefenbaker, Pierre Trudeau and John Turner. Only one, Trudeau, regained the prime minister’s office, but only because the Tory Government had self-destructed before the Liberal Party could choose a new leader. This is in contrast to an earlier age, when comebacks were common: John A. Macdonald, Arthur Meighen and William Lyon Mackenzie King all returned for a second act, and King even enjoyed a third. After giving up any hope of returning to the country’s top political office, former prime ministers usually leave political life altogether. No former prime minister has served in provincial or municipal office. Most have left the Commons, with only John Diefenbaker and Joe Clark running for parliament after having relinquished the party leadership. Out of politics, they have engaged in a wide range of activities, involving themselves in business, the law, universities and charities. Since 1957, almost all have taken time to write memoirs and have worked to manage their reputations. They have few financial worries, and some have become very wealthy.
A Deal Undone: The Making and Breaking of the Meech Lake Accord by Andrew Cohen (review)
usually showed concern for the careful use of evidence to support his arguments, in this case he has thrown caution to the wind. There are, on the one hand, the righteous who, he hopes, will rise up from the Meech Lake ddb•tde to secure their place in the sun; on the other hand, there are the francophobes who never wanted Meech Lake to convey significant powers to Quebec and who ultimately saw to its destruction so as not to take any chances. If it were only so simplel Fournier's assertions a ide, the Qu•b•cois, as he calls them, remain unsure as to exactly what they want; Robert BoutasEa is probably a better reflection of the population than Fournier would care to admit. In a similar fashion, English Canadians eem to be largely incapable of articulating their vision of Canada. From the perspective of May 1992 (these things can change rapidly), much of the muddle in the constitutional debate can be attributed t.o the fact