Archive

Prime Minister who?

November 14, 2024   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

So, Donald Trump was again elected EL PRESIDENTÉ of the U.S. of A.

If anything, there is no doubt that this is one of the biggest political comebacks in history.

Some people love him, some people hate him. There doesn’t seem to be much room for those that are decidedly indifferent.

A question came up on a forum I am part of, on how Mr. Trump will be remembered in history.

One American fellow came up with an answer I found very interesting.

He said that Trump will be remembered as a great man and a great president. He said he didn’t necessarily agree with that, however, in American schools, they are taught all about the 46 men who have been president, and in school, those men are all placed on a pedestal as being great men.

They are taught that all presidents achieved greatness by being president of the greatest country on earth. They are given information about the great things they accomplished while downplaying the failures.

They aren’t taught that John F. Kennedy was in very poor health and consorted with prostitutes while he was married. They aren’t taught that Harry S. Truman was so bad with money, that he and his wife had to go live with his mother-in-law when he left office. They steer away from the fact that George Washington owned slaves.

Everyone has skeletons in the closet – even presidents.

In Canada, we tend to have the opposite memory of former leaders – once you’re out of office, you’re yesterday’s news.

When was the last time you heard anything about Stephen Harper, Paul Martin, Jean Crétien, or Kim Campbell?

The schools teach Canadian history, but I recall learning very little about former Prime Ministers other than John A. MacDonald. I don’t know what the current history curriculum is.

Some are well-known. The average Canadian should know about Lester B. Pearson and Wilfrid Laurier.

Pearson had an airport named after him and Laurier’s name has become a university. 

The name Diefenbaker is still well known even though he left office 61 years ago.

Does anyone know much about Alexander Mackenzie, the nation’s second Prime Minister? He held the office for five years. In addition to being a rather tough guy, he was apparently unpretentious, down-to-earth and sought no recognition or personal enrichment.

John Abbot assumed the office of Prime Minister in 1891 upon the death of John A. MacDonald. He was a reluctant P.M., who assumed the job at the request of the Conservative Party.

He considered himself to be a ‘caretaker’ Prime Minister, holding the office until someone suitable could take over. He was in office for only 17 months.

Sir John Thompson served as Prime Minister from 1892 to 1894. As Minister of Justice, he was largely responsible for Louis Riel being hung after the North-West Rebellion.

Thompson was never elected to the office of P.M., rather, he was appointed after John Abbot retired. A former Premier of Nova Scotia, Thompson was in office for only two years before dying suddenly at age 49, while visiting England.

He was given an elaborate funeral by Queen Victoria before his body was shipped home.

Mackenzie Bowell was the third Prime Minister to be appointed rather than elected.

As senior cabinet minister, he assumed the job after Thompson’s sudden death.

Bowell was forced to resign after two years in office after a crisis and revolt in his own cabinet in 1896.

Charles Tupper was another appointed P.M. who served in office for only two months in 1896. He had previously held the position of Nova Scotia Premier and was a Founding Father of Confederation.

Tupper had several high-ranking posts in the federal government.

He served as an interim P.M. for only 68 days.

Arthur Meighen served as Prime Minister twice – both times he was appointed.

He became Prime Minister for the first time in 1920 when Robert Borden resigned due to health reasons. Meighen was in office for a year and a half during his first term.

He was again appointed to the office after a scandal in 1926 and served for three months until an election placed William Lyon Mackenzie King in office.

In Canada, we don’t build great monuments to honour former leaders. There are some statues around Parliament Hill, but you will never see something like the Lincoln Memorial built to honour a politician.

However, the careers of these men are fascinating and they all made great contributions to the country. 

Readers Comments (0)