Best Canadian Prime Ministers that never were

A shameless ripoff of this thread.

So, who in your opinion are some politicians who would make excellent Prime Ministers if they were given the chance?

Peter Lougheed. (PC) Premier of Alberta 1972-1984

John Manley. (LPC) Liberal MP, served in multiple cabinet roles under Chretien and Martin.

Preston Manning. (R) Leader of the Reform Party from 1988 to 1999, Leader of the Official Opposition from 1995 to 1999.

Lawrence Decore. (LP) Mayor of Edmonton in the '80s, Leader of the Alberta Liberals from ~1990 until his death in 1999. In 1993 his Alberta Liberals nearly unseated the governing Tories.

Roy Romanow. (NDP) Premier of Saskatchewan in the 1990s. Headed a provincial NDP that was known for being more pragmatic and successful than it's federal counterpart.

Interesting. No offense, but I was expecting you list nothing but Tories

For me personally I think John Tory would have made an amazing Prime Minister.

CanadianTory said:

For me personally I think John Tory would have made an amazing Prime Minister.

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... Why? Not that he's awful, he's just not a particularly good politician.

Every Canadian I know of regards him as a competent bureaucrat whose campaigns have been "vote for me because I'm a safe establishment choice" which hasn't won elections in decades.

Back on the subject, I think that Claude Wagner (PC) and John Crosbie also (PC) would have made good PMs.

I have a feeling this would be more suited to Political Chat.

Tommy Douglas

Paul Martin. Yes I know that he briefly was Prime Minister, but only just long enough for Jean Chretien's shenanigans to blow up in his face.

Peter North?

Stanfield, of course.

One from each party: Frank McKenna and Paul Sauvé.

RCAF Brat said:

Peter Lougheed. (PC) Premier of Alberta 1972-1984

John Manley. (LPC) Liberal MP, served in multiple cabinet roles under Chretien and Martin.

Preston Manning. (R) Leader of the Reform Party from 1988 to 1999, Leader of the Official Opposition from 1995 to 1999.

Lawrence Decore. (LP) Mayor of Edmonton in the '80s, Leader of the Alberta Liberals from ~1990 until his death in 1999. In 1993 his Alberta Liberals nearly unseated the governing Tories.

Roy Romanow. (NDP) Premier of Saskatchewan in the 1990s. Headed a provincial NDP that was known for being more pragmatic and successful than it's federal counterpart.

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Correction:

Decore was Liberal leader only until 1994. Interestingly, in the '93 campaign, it was Decore, not Klein, who first started preaching fiscal austerity, even promising "massive and brutal cuts", a phrase most people would now associate with Klein.

re: Manning, I dunno. I've always thought there was something amateur-hour about the guy. I remember how he made SUCH a big deal about how his MPs were gonna forego the "gold-plated pensions", and then, one by one, they all quietly lined up to re-enlist.

I realize politicians often break their promises, but there was just something really ham-fisted about the way Reform ditched that one. They couldn't even claim "Well, we hadn't seen the books before we got to Ottawa", since MPs' salaries and pensions are public knowledge.

I recall that the first MP to bite the bullet on pensions actually cried in front of the media, and said that his wife sat him down and said that they couldn't afford to retire comfortably without the full payment. It was pretty pathetic.

Manning has long had the dream, inherited from his father, of killing Toryism in Canada and replacing it with something more like American-style Republicanism. To be honest, the whole thing seemed more like an alternative history thread("Make Canada more right-wing") than a realistic proposal. Even Harper hasn't outlawed abortion, gay marriage, or reinstated capital punishment.

There really only is one that would have been great: Robert Stanfield.

For Stanfield folks: why? He seems to me a decent man but a weak federal leader.

Tories: Odd one perhaps, but Robert Manion. progressive Tory (before they were 'Progressive')... Franco-Ontarian would have been interesting. Might have salvaged Quebec for the Tories better than Dief?

P.S. I like Bracken over Socialism too

Grits: Maybe Paul Martin Sr. Get rid of Trudeau and Pearson can only be good

I also really like Paul Martin Jr. As much as I like Chretien, I think Martin would have been better.

Dippers: meh...

Robert Stanfield: A cliché answer, but sometimes we have clichés for a reason. A man of deep integrity and compassion, and very successful at the provincial level… who was sadly undone the age of television.

Jack Layton: Layton always struck me as having a sort of hard-nosed realism to him. I think he would have been an inspiring voice of optimistic moderation and pragmatic governance. It’s too bad he never got a shot.

John Manley: Held many high-profile cabinet positions and served ably in all of them. Plus, as a Blue Liberal who was in the Chrétien camp, he might be poised to heal party divisions… but that might be expecting too much.

Stéphane Dion: A humble academic, staunchly pro-science and pro-environment, unassailable federalist credentials, and who promoted compromise and the sharing of ideas. For all the 'crisis' it created, wrangling together an agreement between four parties is an impressive feat.

And a (right) honourable mention to Joe Clark, who was prime minister, but who never got a proper chance. Would have been great in 2000, too.

RogueBeaver said:

For Stanfield folks: why? He seems to me a decent man but a weak federal leader.

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I don't think that's any more true of Stanfield than most these suggestions... decent, intelligent people who lacked the personality to command enough respect or devotion to reach the top job. I get the impression this topic is more about policy and direction than the nebulous concept of "leadership".

Talbot Papineau I think he was a Liberal but sadly he died in World War I.

... oh hell, there's too many to mention .... besides, I'm not as much concerned with who might have been missed in the past as I am with figuring out just how the hell we can convince Brad Wall to be the next one!

... We can always hope!

Hedy Fry .... holy crap!
I really think she should be Prime Minister for a week or ten days .... just as long as we all have enough beer to stay pickled until she self destructs .... a lot of weird hating going on in that lady ... but it would be great fun to see what the hell she would do ... and she would probably be better than Jack Layton!

I would also like to mention Bracken, who very well could have changed the country for the better.

Tom Mulcair (NDP).

Seriously, I would have to back Major James Coldwell (CCF/NDP). The man sounded like a principled person. He refused to sell out his beliefs and join the Liberals even if it could have made him PM, like one offer to him included. A Coldwell ministry could have transformed Canada.

Plus, Bracken over Socialism missed a golden opportunity to have him as PM and Bracken as opposition.

Turquoise Blue said:

Tom Mulcair (NDP).

Seriously, I would have to back Major James Coldwell (CCF/NDP). The man sounded like a principled person. He refused to sell out his beliefs and join the Liberals even if it could have made him PM, like one offer to him included. A Coldwell ministry could have transformed Canada.

Plus, Bracken over Socialism missed a golden opportunity to have him as PM and Bracken as opposition.

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I look forward to seeing your own series than