Lester B. Pearson: Canada's Greatest Prime Minister

Superior Essays
Lester B. Pearson: Canada 's Greatest Prime Minister
Being elected as prime minister of Canada is the greatest honour a Canadian political leader can receive. Lester Bowles Pearson was the most impactful man ever to take on the role of prime minister. Lester B. Pearson Pearson deserves this title because he defined Canada 's identity whilst creating and improving various social programs, which drastically improved the overall quality of life in Canada.(Biris ‘6’) Additionally, Pearson elegantly established Canada as a peacekeeping nation through his international relationships.(Biris ‘2’)
Lester B. Pearson built Canada’s identity through the introduction of the Canadian flag, he also established the Canadian Royal Commision of Bilingualism
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To them this flag was very important and they felt that the introduction of a new flag would diminish Canada 's connection with Britain. On the other side, many non British Canadians felt that the existing flag did not represent them, and they wanted something that independently represented Canada without any British connection.(Columbo ‘7’) Despite all of the controversy, on February 15, 1965 the “maple leaf flag” was unanimously declared as Canada 's official national flag, replacing the Red Ensign.(Columbo ‘13’) Pearson also founded The Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism (RCBB). The RCBB was one of the most recognized and influential commissions in Canadian history. The commission 's primary goal was to protect the language and culture of French Canadians.(Laing ‘1’) The commission was successful in increasing the number of bilingual workers in the federal government and spreading awareness about French culture. They also increased availability of educational programs to allow Canadians to become fluent in both French and English. This was a big accomplishment for French Canadians, but it did not come without controversy. Many …show more content…
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