Ordering Canadian Prime Ministers (11th to 20th) Quiz

Richard Bedford Bennett was born in New Brunswick, grew up near the Bay of Fundy, and relocated to Halifax to pursue his law degree at Dalhousie University. He got his first taste of the political life early in his legal career in Chatham, NB, running for and winning the role of alderman for the town.

In 1897, Bennett moved to Calgary, in what was then still the Northwest Territories. The following year, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly, representing West Calgary. With Alberta's establishment as a province in 1905, Bennett became the leader of the Alberta Conservative Party. At the same time, Bennett's law and business efforts were reaping rewards, and he became a multi-millionaire, and one of the richest men in Canada.

Bennett made the move to federal politics in 1911, gaining a seat with the federal Conservatives, but when the Liberals won the 1921 election, Bennett lost his seat. He spent the next few years building his personal businesses, and eventually reentered politics with the 1925 election, with the Conservatives under Arthur Meighen's leadership. After the King-Byng Affair, Meighen stepped down and Bennett won the party leadership. With the 1930 election, Bennett's Conservatives handily defeated the Liberals.

Bennett was handed a difficult job, however, as the bulk of his premiership occurred during the years of the Great Depression. By the time the next election happened in 1935, he was easily defeated by Mackenzie King's Liberals. During his tenure, Bennett established the Bank of Canada and the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission, which became the CBC in 1936. He retired in 1938 and moved to Surrey, England the following year. Prime Minister Winston Churchill awarded Bennett a peerage, making him the Viscount Bennett, of Mickleham in the County of Surrey and of Calgary and Hopewell in the Dominion of Canada. He was the only former Canadian P.M. ever so honoured.

Louis St. Laurent was born and raised in Eastern Quebec, growing up fluently bilingual with a French father and and English mother. He studied at Université Laval, receiving his law degree in 1905 and pursuing his career for the next 36 years before entering politics. It wasn't until he was 60 years of age that Liberal Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King convinced him to join his government as the Minister of Justice in 1941. The following February, St. Laurent won a by-election in Quebec East to secure his position.

Prime Minister Mackenzie King had become Canada's 10th P.M. in 1926, but had three non-consecutive terms, swapping the role with 9th P.M. Arthur Meighen, and then 11th P.M. R.B Bennett before eventually retiring in 1948. St. Laurent (with Mackenzie King's support) won the subsequent Liberal leadership and became Canada's 12th prime minister on November 15th.

St. Laurent became Canada's second French prime minister (after Wilfrid Laurier), and he was the first one to live at 24 Sussex Drive, the official residence of the Prime Minister since 1951. He led the Liberals to two successive majority governments in 1949 and 1953 before falling to defeat in 1957. During his tenure, St. Laurent was instrumental in establishing NATO, bringing Newfoundland into Confederation, and constructing the Trans-Canada Highway and the St. Lawrence Seaway.

John George Diefenbaker was born in and spent his early years in Southern Ontario, until his family relocated to Saskatchewan (a couple of years before it became a province) when he was eight. From an early age, Diefenbaker expressed an interest in politics, purportedly telling his mother that he would one day become prime minister. Despite this, it took some time to accomplish.

Diefenbaker acquired Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees from the University of Saskatchewan in 1915 and 1916, and promptly joined the war effort with the army as an officer. A year later he returned from England and resumed his schooling, becoming the first person to receive three degrees from the University of Saskatchewan with his law degree in 1919.

Over the next many years, Diefenbaker plied his trade as a lawyer, while endeavouring to win various elections. His first effort was with the federal Conservatives in 1925 (he finished 3rd), then ran against Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King in the same riding in 1926 (he lost again). Diefenbaker chose not to stand for election in 1930 or 1934, but then tried his hand at the provincial level in 1938 (again, he did not win).

When P.M. Mackenzie King called another election in 1940, Diefenbaker was finally elected, but he got in with the losing party, with the worst seat count since Confederation (only 39 of 245 seats). For the next 17 years, Diefenbaker worked as a Conservative (and then Progressive Conservative) parliamentarian, filling various roles and unsuccessfully contesting for the party leadership in 1942 and 1948 before finally winning the position in 1956. This proved to be beneficial to the P.C. party, as Diefenbaker led them to a minority government in 1957, a majority government in 1958, and a minority government in 1962 before the Liberals reclaimed power in 1963.

During his tenure, Diefenbaker's government passed the Canadian Bill of Rights (1960) and granted the vote to Indigenous Peoples, he appointed the first female to a cabinet position, and the first Indigenous member of the Senate. He was also instrumental in scrapping the Avro Arrow in 1959. Diefenbaker continued in the role of party leader until losing the leadership convention of 1967, after which he remained a parliamentarian until he died of a heart attack in 1979.

Lester Bowles Pearson was born in and grew up around the Toronto area in Ontario, and after graduation he pursued a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto. This was interrupted by the First World War, and Pearson went overseas as a stretcher bearer, and trained as a pilot before returning to Canada in 1918. He completed his degree, and then returned to England on a scholarship to Oxford, where he completed another Bachelor of Arts (in History) and his Master or Arts in 1925.

Pearson spent some time teaching history at the University of Toronto, but soon sought employment with the Canadian foreign service. He began what would become an exemplary career with the Department of External Affairs, serving in England with the High Commission of Canada to the United Kingdom until he was recalled to Canada in 1941 and sent to Washington, D.C. as part of the Canadian embassy there. From 1945 to 1946, he served as the ambassador to the U.S.

Pearson's entry into politics came with P.M. Mackenzie King appointing him to the position of Minister of External Affairs in 1948. Under the St. Laurent government, Pearson continued in the role until the Conservatives won the 1957 election. Shortly afterwards, when St. Laurent retired, Pearson became the new leader of the Liberal Party and acted as the Leader of the Opposition against P.M. John Diefenbaker until finally defeating him in the 1963 election. During this period, Pearson was instrumental in helping resolve the Suez Crisis in 1957 and to establish U.N. Peacekeeping operations. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.

Pearson served as prime minister until 1968, always with minority governments. During his tenure he established universal health care, the Canada Student Loan Program, and the Canada Pension Plan, and also saw the creation of Canada's Maple Leaf flag along with overseeing Canada's centennial celebrations in 1967. Upon his retirement in 1968, the Liberal leadership was won by Pierre Trudeau.

Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, graduating from the prestigious school Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf in 1940. He went on to acquire his law degree from the Université de Montréal, but did not immediately enter the profession after graduating in 1943. Instead, Trudeau pursued a master's in political economy at Harvard University, then capped that off with a couple of years of travel. In 1949, he began working in the civil service in Ottawa until he took an associate professorship at his alma mater the Université de Montréal teaching law from 1961 to 1965.

Now at the age of 46, Trudeau joined the Liberal Party and ran for office, getting elected in the riding of Mount Royal in Montreal. He was immediately appointed as P.M. Lester B. Pearson's parliamentary secretary. He would later join the cabinet as the minister of justice, and also fill the role of attorney general.

With Pearson's retirement in 1968, Trudeau ran for the party leadership, winning handily over other, more established Liberals, becoming the 15th prime minister on April 20th. This charismatic leader (ever heard of 'Trudeaumania'?) quickly followed up with an election that saw the Liberals earn their first majority government in 15 years. Trudeau would win a minority government in 1972 and another majority in 1974, before falling to the Progressive Conservatives in 1979. But it would prove to be a short hiatus as the Liberals regained power after a vote of no confidence brought down young Joe Clark's government. Trudeau returned to power in 1980, staying until his retirement in 1984 at the age of 64.

During his tenure, Trudeau brought in official bilingualism (English and French) in Canada, as well as multiculturalism. He repatriated the Constitution from the U.K. and instituted the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. And he was also the P.M. who invoked the War Measures Act during the 1970 October Crisis in Quebec.

Charles Joseph Clark was born and raised in High River, Alberta (near Calgary), staying local to complete his university degree in history in 1960, and where he later acquired his master's in political science in 1973. In between, Clark earned some experience with journalism, and also made his first efforts at a political career, unsuccessfully trying to win a seat for the Alberta provincial Progressive Conservatives in the 1967 election (at the age of 28) and again in 1971. But then he tried his hand at the federal level, and was elected to the riding of Rocky Mountain in 1972.

At the tender age of 36, Clark entered the Tory leadership race in 1976 when PC leader Robert Stanfield retired. He became the youngest leader of a major Canadian political party, and just three years later would duplicate that feat by becoming the youngest prime minister at 39 (one day before he turned 40), winning the 1979 election with a minority government.

In total, Clark's tenure as prime minister was a mere 273 days long. He didn't have a lot of time to make any great accomplishments, but his government was credited with introducing the Freedom of Information Act, which was never enacted, but became the basis for the subsequent Liberal government's Access to Information Act.

Clark stayed on as the Leader of the Opposition until 1983, when Brian Mulroney defeated him in the P.C. leadership convention. In the subsequent Mulroney government (1984 to 1993), Clark served on the cabinet as the Secretary of State for External Affairs, and decided to retire prior to the 1993 election.

But it wasn't quite over for Clark, as he was persuaded to return to politics in 1998, taking over the leadership of the P.C. Party once again. He regained a seat in parliament in the 2000 election, but with the right wing vote split between the PCs and the Canadian Alliance, he wasn't able to gain any ground. In 2003, when the two right wing parties merged into the new Conservative Party of Canada, Clark elected not to join them, and retired for the second time, staying in Parliament until the term ended prior to the 2004 election.

John Napier Wyndham Turner was born in Richmond, Surrey, in England to an English father and a Canadian mother. When Turner was just three years old, his father passed away and his mother moved the remaining family back to Canada. Growing up, Turner lived in the West Kootenays in B.C. and in Ottawa, Ontario, until his mother remarried and they went back to B.C., this time to Vancouver.

In 1945, at the age of 16, Turner enrolled at the University of British Columbia, graduating with his B.A. four years later. He was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship, and went to England (Oxford University), earning two more bachelor degrees in law, and his M.A., graduating in 1957.

Returning to Canada, Turner practiced law for a few years before entering politics with the 1962 election. He served on Prime Minister Pearson's cabinet in various appointments and when Pearson retired in 1968, Turner threw his hat in the ring for the Liberal Party leadership (he was 38). He was unsuccessful, and soon found himself a member of Prime Minister Trudeau's cabinets, as well. After a few more years, Turner decided to retire from politics, and returned to practicing law in 1975.

When Trudeau retired in 1984, Turner threw his hat back in the ring and this time he claimed the Liberal leadership on June 30th, taking over as prime minister at the same time. He immediately dissolved parliament to have an election, and this proved an unwise choice, as just 79 days later, the Liberals would fall to the Progressive Conservatives. Turner filled the role of the Leader of the Opposition until the after the next election in 1988. When his Liberals lost again, Turner resigned as the party leader (in early 1989), staying on as a parliamentarian until finally retiring in 1993.

Martin Brian Mulroney was born in Eastern Quebec to Irish Canadian parents, consequently growing up fluently bilingual. His post-secondary education was completed in Nova Scotia (B.A. in political science at St. Francis Xavier University) and Quebec (Law degree at Université Laval). Throughout this time, Mulroney was politically active, assisting with campaigns at the provincial level, and making many important connections.

In 1965, Mulroney began his career as a labour lawyer in Montreal, where he would build his reputation while maintaining his interest and activity in political circles. He threw his hat in the ring for the 1976 Progressive Conservative leadership race, but lost out to Joe Clark. Instead, he moved into the business world, accepting an executive VP position with the Iron Ore Company of Canada. His next chance came after Clark's brief time as prime minister, with a new leadership convention in 1983. This time, Mulroney successfully claimed the party leadership, and becoming the Leader of the Opposition to the Trudeau and Turner Liberals after winning a Halifax seat in a by-election.

The election of 1984 saw the fall of the Liberal government and the first majority P.C. government in 26 years with Mulroney as prime minister. With his second majority government win in the 1988 election, Mulroney became only the second P.M. to have two majority wins (the other was Sir John A. Macdonald). But it would not last. Towards the end of his second term, with his popularity at an all-time low, Mulroney decided to resign as prime minister ahead of the 1993 election, and also retire from politics.

During his tenure, Mulroney introduced the unpopular goods and services tax (GST), privatized many Crown corporations, and attempted constitutional reform with the controversial Meech Lake Accord (1987) and Charlottetown Accord (1992), both of which failed. And then there was the Oka Crisis - an armed standoff between the Mohawk protestors and the police & military over a land dispute. These (and other) factors led to the utter collapse of the Progressive Conservatives in the 1993 election.

Avril Phaedra Douglas "Kim" Campbell was born in Port Alberni, British Columbia, and moved to Vancouver, where she graduated at the top of her class in 1964. She attended the University of British Columbia and earned her B.A. in political science before pursuing a doctorate in Soviet government, which she left incomplete, returning to Vancouver in 1972.

Over the next decade, Campbell delved into various areas, including her first foray into politics with the Vancouver School Board. She also completed her law degree at UBC in 1983 and began practicing law in 1984. Just two years later, however, Campbell earned a seat in the provincial legislative assembly with the Social Credit Party. This phase of her life was also short-lived, as she decided to step up to the federal level in the 1986 election, winning a seat with the Progressive Conservatives. Over the next seven years, she held a number of different cabinet appointments in Mulroney's government, and was well-positioned to contest for the party leadership when Mulroney stepped away after his second term in office.

Winning the leadership race gave Campbell the distinction of becoming Canada's first female prime minister, but unfortunately for Campbell, her timing couldn't have been worse. Mulroney's rapidly plummeting popularity carried over into the 1993 election, and despite his non-involvement, the Progressive Conservatives suffered the worst defeat in their history, dropping from 156 seats to just two. She had held the job for just 132 days, and never actually had parliament in session during that time. Shortly after the election, Campbell stepped down from the party leadership and from federal politics.

Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien was born in and grew up in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec. He attended Université Laval to receive his law degree, and graduated in 1959. During that time he became active with the Young Liberals, and became president of the group, already showing his bent for leadership roles.

After practicing law for a few years, Chrétien entered the 1963 election, winning his first seat along with Lester B. Pearson's new government, and eventually getting an appointment to the cabinet in 1967, a role that he continued when Trudeau won the Liberal Party leadership in 1968. Chrétien filled many different posts over the years, and when Trudeau finally retired in 1984, Chrétien made a bid for the leadership, losing to John Turner.

Chrétien and Turner did not get on well, and in 1986, he stepped away from politics for a time. A few years later, Turner resigned from the Liberal Party leadership (after losing to Mulroney a second time), and Chrétien returned to join the 1990 leadership race. This time, Chrétien won the job, becoming the Leader of the Official Opposition.

In 1993, Chrétien's Liberal Party won the election with a strong majority (and the decimation of the Progressive Conservatives). Chrétien would go on to win the 1997 and 2000 campaigns, as well, both with majority governments. In the early 2000s, however, scandals rocked the Liberal party, and infighting between Chrétien and his finance minister Paul Martin became evident. Chrétien eventually decided to step down, and Paul Martin succeeded him at the 2003 Liberal Leadership convention.

Outside of the later controversies, Chrétien's tenure as prime minister was marked by the 1995 Quebec Referendum (Quebec did NOT separate), and the entry of Canada into the War in Afghanistan following 9/11. He established the long gun registry, passed multiple environmental bills, and began the work that would eventually lead to the establishment of same sex marriage laws.