Canadian Prime Ministers 1900-1970s

Sir Wilfrid Laurier

Liberal (1896-1911)

• Creation of Alberta and Saskatchewan (1905).

• Founding of the Royal Canadian Navy (1910).

• Introduction of the Juvenile Delinquents Act (1908

Sir Robert Borden

Conservative / Unionist (1911–1920)

• Leadership through World War I (1914–1918).

• Passage of the War Measures Act (1914).

• The Conscription Crisis of 1917.

• Granting federal voting rights to some women (1917–1918).

• The devastating Halifax Explosion (1917).

• The historic Winnipeg General Strike (1919).

Arthur Meighen

Conservative (1920–1921)

• Creation of the Canadian National Railway (1920).

William Lyon Mackenzie King

Liberal (1921–1926) (1926-1930) (1935-1948)

• Landmark Balfour Declaration declaring Dominion autonomy (1926).

• Outbreak of the Great Depression (1929).

• Leadership through World War II (1939–1945).

• Introduction of unemployment insurance (1940) and family allowances (1944).

• Enactment of the Canadian Citizenship Act (1946).

Arthur Meighen

Conservative (1926)

• Sparked the King-Byng constitutional crisis (1926).

Richard Bedford Bennett

Conservative (1930–1935)

• Creation of the Canadian Radio Broadcasting Commission, later the CBC (1932).

• Founding of the Bank of Canada (1934).

• The On-to-Ottawa Trek and Regina Riot (1935).

Louis St. Laurent

Liberal (1948–1957)

• Entry of Newfoundland into Confederation (1949).

• Sending troops to the Korean War (1950–1953).

• Creation of the Canadian Volunteer Service Medal.

• Launch of the Trans-Canada Highway project (1950).

• Appointment of Vincent Massey as the first Canadian-born Governor General (1952).

John Diefenbaker

Progressive Conservative (1957–1963)

• Passage of the Canadian Bill of Rights (1960).

• Extension of unconditional federal voting rights to Indigenous peoples (1960).

• Cancellation of the Avro Arrow fighter jet program (1959).

• The Cuban Missile Crisis diplomatic strain with the US (1962).

Lester B. Pearson

Liberal (1963–1968)

• Adoption of the maple leaf National Flag of Canada (1965).

• Introduction of the universal Canada Pension Plan (1965).

• Introduction of the Medical Care Act, creating universal healthcare (1966).

• Celebration of Canada's Centennial and Expo 67 in Montreal (1967).

Pierre Elliott Trudeau

Liberal (1968–1979)

• Passage of the Official Languages Act, making Canada officially bilingual (1969).

• Decriminalization of homosexuality and legalization of contraception (1969).

• Invocation of the War Measures Act during the FLQ October Crisis (1970)