Lester B. Pearson

Lester Bowles "Mike" Pearson, PC, CC, OM, OBE, MA, LL.D. (April 23, 1897 – December 27, 1972) was a Canadian statesman, diplomat and politician who was made a Nobel Laureate in 1957. He served as the fourteenth Prime Minister of Canada from April 22, 1963, to April 20, 1968, during which period he led two back-to-back minority governments following elections in 1963 and 1965.

During his time as Prime Minister, Pearson's minority governments introduced universal health care, student loans, official bilingualism, the Canada Pension Plan, and Canada's flag. With these accomplishments, together with his groundbreaking work at the United Nations and in international diplomacy, Pearson can safely be regarded as one of the most influential Canadians of the twentieth century.

Early life

He was born in Newtonbrook, Ontario (now part of Toronto), the son of Edwin Arthur Pearson, a Methodist (later United Church of Canada) minister, and Anne Sarah Bowles. He entered Victoria College at the University of Toronto in 1914, where he lived in residence in Gate House and shared a room with his brother Duke. While at the university, he became a noted athlete, excelling at both hockey and rugby. As he was too young to enlist in the army when World War I broke out in 1914, he instead volunteered for the medical corps, where he served two years in places such as Egypt and Greece. In 1916 he transferred to the Royal Flying Corps (as the Royal Canadian Air Force did not exist at that time), where he served until being sent home as a result of a bus accident in 1917. It was as a pilot that he received the nickname of "Mike", given to him by a flight instructor who felt that "Lester" was too weak a name for an airman.

After the war, he returned to school, receiving his BA from the University of Toronto in 1919. While Attending the University of Toronto, Pearson became a member of the Delta Upsilon Fraternity. After receiving a scholarship, he studied at St John's College Oxford University, where he received a BA in modern history in 1923 and the MA in 1925. In 1925, he married Maryon Moody (1902–1991), with whom he had one daughter, Patricia, and one son, Geoffrey.

Early career

After Oxford, he returned to Canada and taught history at the University of Toronto, where he also coached the men's Varsity Blues ice hockey team. He then embarked on a career in the Department of External Affairs. He had a distinguished career as a diplomat, including playing an important part in founding both the United Nations and NATO. During World War II, he once served as a courier with the codename "Mike". He was appointed Secretary of State for External Affairs in the government of Liberal Prime Minister Louis St. Laurent in 1948. Pearson won a seat in the Canadian House of Commons, for the federal riding of Algoma East shortly afterward. In 1957, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in defusing the Suez Crisis through the United Nations. The selection committee claimed that Pearson had "saved the world." The United Nations Emergency Force was Pearson's creation, and he is considered the father of the modern concept of peacekeeping. His peaceful ways would soon lead to his nomination for secretary-general of the United Nations.

Party leadership

He was elected leader of the Liberal Party at its 1958 leadership convention, but his party was badly routed in the election of that year. In the 1962 election, his party reduced the Progressive Conservative Party of John Diefenbaker to a minority government.

Prime minister

Pearson led the Liberals to a minority government in the 1963 general election, and became prime minister. He had campaigned during the election promising "60 Days of Decision" and support for the Bomarc missile program.

Pearson never had a majority in the Canadian House of Commons, but he introduced important social programs (including universal health care, the Canada Pension Plan, and Canada Student Loans), and the Maple Leaf Flag. Pearson's government instituted many of the social programs that Canadians hold dear. This was due in part to support for his minority government in the House of Commons from the New Democratic Party, led by Tommy Douglas. His actions included instituting the 40-hour work week, 2 weeks vacation time, and a new minimum wage.

Pearson signed the Canada-United States Automotive Agreement (or Auto Pact) in January of 1965, and unemployment fell to its lowest rate in over a decade. [1]

While in office, Pearson resisted U.S. pressure to enter the Vietnam War. Pearson spoke at Temple University in Philadelphia on April 2, 1965, while visiting the United States, and voiced his support for a negotiated settlement to the Vietnam War. When he visited U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson the next day, Johnson strongly berated Pearson. According to Canadian legend, Johnson grabbed Pearson by the lapels, shook him, and shouted "Dammit, Les, you pissed on my rug!" Pearson later recounted that the meeting was acrimonious, but insisted the two parted cordially. After this incident, LBJ and Pearson did have further contacts, including two further meetings together, both times in Canada. (Canadians most remember the Pearson years as a time Canada-U.S. relations greatly improved.) [2]

Pearson also started a number of Royal Commissions, including one on the status of women and another on bilingualism. They instituted changes that helped create legal equality for women, and brought official bilingualism into being. After Pearson, French was made an official language, and the Canadian government would provide services in both. Pearson himself had hoped that he would be the last unilingual Prime Minister of Canada, and indeed fluency in both English and French became an unofficial requirement for Prime Ministeral candidates after Pearson left office.

Pearson was also remarkable for instituting the world's first race-free immigration system, throwing out previous ones that had discriminated against certain people, such as Jews and the Chinese. His points-based system encouraged immigration to Canada, and a similar system is still in place today.

Pearson also oversaw Canada's centennial celebrations in 1967 before retiring. The Canadian news agency, Canadian Press, named him "Newsmaker of the Year" that year, citing his leadership during the centennial celebrations, which brought the Centennial Flame on Parliament Hill.

Also in 1967, the President of France, Charles de Gaulle made a visit to Quebec. During that visit, de Gaulle was a staunch advocate of Quebec separatism, even going so far as to say that his procession in Montreal reminded him of his return to Paris after it was freed from the Nazis during World War II. President de Gaulle also gave his now infamous "Vive le QuÃ©bec libre" speech during the visit. Given Canada's efforts in aid of France during both world wars, Pearson was enraged. He rebuked de Gaulle in a speech the following day, remarking that "Canadians do not need to be liberated", and making it clear that de Gaulle was no longer welcome in Canada. The French President returned to his home country, and would never visit Canada again.

Supreme Court Appointments

Pearson appointed the following Justices to the Supreme Court of Canada:
* Robert Taschereau (Chief Justice) — (April 22, 1963 – September 1, 1967) (appointed a Puisne Justice by William Lyon Mackenzie King in 1940)
* Wishart Flett Spence — (May 30, 1963 – December 29, 1978)
* John Robert Cartwright (Chief Justice) — (September 1, 1967 – March 23, 1970) (appointed a Puisne Justice by Louis St. Laurent in 1949)
* Louis-Philippe Pigeon — (September 21, 1967 – February 8, 1980)

Retirement

Pearson, and three of his cabinet ministers who later became Prime Ministers. From left to right, Pierre Trudeau, John Turner, Jean ChrÃ©tien, and Pearson.

After his announcement on December 14, 1967, that he was retiring from politics, a leadership convention was held. There, Pearson announced that the new leader chosen by the Liberal party was Pierre Trudeau, a man who Pearson had recruited and made Minister of Justice in his cabinet. He later became Prime Minister, and two other cabinet ministers Pearson recruited, John Turner and Jean ChrÃ©tien, served as prime minister in the years following Trudeau's retirement. Paul Martin, the son of Pearson's minister of external affairs, Paul Martin Sr., also went on to become prime minister.

Pearson later became a professor of international relations at Carleton University in Ottawa, as well as the school's chancellor. In 1968, he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada. In 1971, he was awarded the Order of Merit by Queen Elizabeth II.

Pearson's gravestone in Wakefield Quebec taken in 2004

Pearson died of cancer in Ottawa on December 27, 1972, and was buried in the nearby Gatineau Hills in the MacLaren Cemetery, Wakefield, Quebec.

Honours and awards

* The Lester B. Pearson Award is awarded annually to the National Hockey League's outstanding player in the regular season, as judged by members of the NHL Players Association (NHLPA). First awarded in 1971 to Phil Esposito, a native of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.
* The Lester B. Pearson Building, completed in 1973, is the headquarters for Foreign Affairs Canada, a tribute to his service as external affairs minister.
* Lester B. Pearson College, opened in 1974, is a United World College near Victoria, British Columbia.
* The Pearson Medal of Peace, first awarded in 1979, is an award given out annually by the United Nations Association in Canada to recognize an individual Canadian's "contribution to international service".
* Toronto Pearson International Airport, first opened in 1939 and re-christened with its current name in 1984, is Canada's busiest airport.
* The Pearson Peacekeeping Centre, established in 1994, is an independent not-for-profit institution providing research and training on all aspects of peace operations.
* The Lester B. Pearson School Board is the largest English-language school board in Quebec. The majority of the schools of the Lester B. Pearson School Board are located on the western half of island of Montreal, with a few of its schools located off the island as well.
* Lester B. Pearson High School lists 5 so named schools, in Calgary, Toronto, Burlington, Ottawa, and Montreal. There are also schools (also Elementary) in Ajax, Ontario, Aurora, Ontario, London, Ontario, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and Wesleyville, Newfoundland.
* Pearson Avenue is located near Highway 407 and Yonge Street in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada; less than five miles from his place of birth.
* Pearson Way is an arterial access road located in a new subdivision in Milton, Ontario; many ex-Prime Ministers are being honoured in this growing community.
* Lester B. Pearson Place a four storey seniors residence in Newtonbrook, Ontario and steps from his place of birth; completed in 2006
* A plaque at the north end of the North American Life building in North York commemorates his place of birth. The manse were he was born is gone, but plaque is located at the site were Pearson was born.