Who was Lester B. Pearson?
Answer
Canada's 14th Prime Minister (1963 to 1968), a Liberal Nobel Peace Prize laureate who introduced Medicare, the Canada Pension Plan, and the maple leaf flag.
Explanation
Lester Bowles Pearson (April 23, 1897 to December 27, 1972) was Canada's 14th Prime Minister, serving from April 22, 1963 to April 20, 1968. Pearson was a Liberal and led the Liberal Party from 1958 to 1968. Before entering politics he had a distinguished diplomatic career, serving as Canada's Ambassador to the United States (1944 to 1946), Under-Secretary of State for External Affairs (1946 to 1948), and Secretary of State for External Affairs (1948 to 1957) under Louis St. Laurent.
Pearson received the 1957 Nobel Peace Prize for his diplomatic role in resolving the 1956 Suez Crisis through the creation of the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF), the first United Nations peacekeeping operation. The award is sometimes called the founding moment of modern peacekeeping. Pearson is the only Canadian Prime Minister to have won a Nobel Prize (though Norman Bethune was nominated for one and Aurelio Peccei was Italian-born). The Lester B. Pearson International Airport in Toronto is named for him.
Pearson's two minority governments (1963 to 1965, 1965 to 1968) introduced major social-policy reforms despite lacking parliamentary majorities. The Canada Pension Plan came into force on January 1, 1966 (with a parallel Quebec Pension Plan in Quebec). The Medical Care Act of 1966 introduced national medicare (federal-provincial cost-shared health insurance, expanded from Tommy Douglas's 1962 Saskatchewan plan and St. Laurent's 1957 hospital insurance). The Canada Student Loans Act of 1964 introduced federal post-secondary loans. The federal-provincial Canada Assistance Plan (1966) coordinated provincial social-assistance programmes.
Pearson introduced the modern maple leaf flag of Canada, which was raised over Parliament Hill on February 15, 1965 after the Great Flag Debate of 1964 (the longest single debate in Canadian House of Commons history at the time). The flag replaced the Canadian Red Ensign and was a symbol of Canadian independence from British imperial heritage. Pearson also commissioned the Royal Commission on the Status of Women (the Bird Commission, 1967 to 1970) and the Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism (reporting 1965 to 1970, leading to the Official Languages Act of 1969). Pearson retired April 20, 1968 and was succeeded by Pierre Trudeau.
Why this matters for your test
Lester B. Pearson is one of the most consequential post-war Prime Ministers and the only Canadian PM to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Recognising his 1957 Nobel Prize and the introduction of Medicare and the maple leaf flag gives candidates structured anchors.
Source: Library and Archives Canada; Nobel Foundation
