Rank the Prime Ministers

[Hatman 🍁]

Rank the Prime Ministers of Canada, or at least the top 5.

Here's my ranking:

1 ) Pierre Trudeau
2)  Lester B. Pearson
3) Jean Chretien
4) Sir Wilfrid Laurier
5) Mackenzie King
6) Joe Clark
7) Kim Campbell
8 ) John Diefenbaker
9) Sir Robert Borden
10) Sir John A. Macdonald
11) Louis St. Laurent
12) Sir John Thompson
13) Alexander Mackenzie
14) John Turner
15) Arthur Meighen
16) Sir Mackenzie Bowell
17) Sir Charles Tupper
18) Sir John Abbott
19) Stephen Harper
20) Paul Martin
21) Brian Mulroney
22) R. B. Bennett

[Linus Van Pelt]

1. Pearson
2. Laurier
3. St-Laurent
4. Trudeau
5. King

I won't do them all - I find it basically impossible to compare people with an actual record to someone like Kim Campbell or Joe Clark.

I seem to remember you're an NDP-er, right? (I'm not a weird spy, but I did read this forum sometimes before I started posting). If so I find your choice of #1 a little surprising. Also LOL at the order 19 & 20. Does the Kelowna Accord count for nothing at least?

[Hatman 🍁]

1. Pearson
2. Laurier
3. St-Laurent
4. Trudeau
5. King

I won't do them all - I find it basically impossible to compare people with an actual record to someone like Kim Campbell or Joe Clark.

I seem to remember you're an NDP-er, right? (I'm not a weird spy, but I did read this forum sometimes before I started posting). If so I find your choice of #1 a little surprising. Also LOL at the order 19 & 20. Does the Kelowna Accord count for nothing at least?

Yes, I am an NDPer. If I grew up during the Trudeau era as a staunch NDPer, than I would probably hate his guts. However, I did not, and I can comfortably view his reign through rose coloured glasses.

And, does the Kelowna Accord count for something? Yes, but that doesn't mean Martin wasn't a complete failure as a Prime Minister, and that Harper is at least marginally better.

[Linus Van Pelt]

Hmm, now that I look at wikipedia I see that official bilinguialism came in in 1969 under him, so maybe I would rank him a little higher in that case - I was misremembering it as a Pearson accompishment. But still, it was Pearson who brought in medicare. And I'm not a huge fan of the whole "leaving Quebec out of the constitution" thing.

[Hatman 🍁]

And of course, the top 5 people who "should have been Prime Minister"

1) Ed Broadbent
2) Tommy Douglas
3) Robert Stanfield
4) David Lewis
5) J.S. Woodsworth

[Psychic Octopus]

1. Steven Harper

[Hatman 🍁]

1. Steven Harper

fail.

[Bleeding heart conservative, HTMLdon]

1. John Diefenbaker
2. Joe Clark
3. Brian Mulroney

[Robespierre's Jaw]

6) Joe Clark
7) Kim Campbell

Earl, I'm interested as to why both Clark and Campbell are so high up in your list of Canadian Prime Ministers. Surely, I would have assumed that neither of them would have served as Prime Minister long enough to be credited as "good" ones at that.

[Hatman 🍁]

6) Joe Clark
7) Kim Campbell

Earl, I'm interested as to why both Clark and Campbell are so high up in your list of Canadian Prime Ministers. Surely, I would have assumed that neither of them would have served as Prime Minister long enough to be credited as "good" ones at that.

Clark is high, because I generally like him. Campbell is high, because I have respect of her due to her status as first female Prime Minister.  I don't think we should discriminate based on term length.

[k-onmmunist]

1. Diefenbaker
2. Trudeau
3. MacDonald
4. Mackenzie-King
5. Borden
6. Pearson

[Hash]

1. Pearson
2. Diefenbaker
3. Mackenzie King
4. Clark
5. Chretien
6. Laurier

[Robespierre's Jaw]

1. Lester B. Pearson
2. John Diefenbaker
3. Pierre Trudeau
4. Wilfrid Laurier
5. Joe Clark

Just a bit of an eclectic list of Canadian Prime Ministers don't you think?

[Hatman 🍁]

For all of those mentioning Diefenbaker, you should read up on his canceling of the Avro Arrow. A national disgrace canceling it!

[Lief 🗽]

For all of those mentioning Diefenbaker, you should read up on his canceling of the Avro Arrow. A national disgrace canceling it!

But the Diefenbunkers!

[Robespierre's Jaw]

For all of those mentioning Diefenbaker, you should read up on his canceling of the Avro Arrow. A national disgrace canceling it!

Sure "The Chief" cancelled the Avro Arrow program, but look what else he did as Prime Minister. I mean, he was arguably one of the most progressive PC leaders, and consequently Prime Minister's  they ever had. Then again, I seem to have a "thing" for those types .

[Hatman 🍁]

For all of those mentioning Diefenbaker, you should read up on his canceling of the Avro Arrow. A national disgrace canceling it!

Sure "The Chief" cancelled the Avro Arrow program, but look what else he did as Prime Minister. I mean, he was arguably one of the most progressive PC leaders, and consequently Prime Minister's  they ever had. Then again, I seem to have a "thing" for those types .

He was also adamantly against Canada's new flag.