(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Pierre Trudeau is still the favourite former head of government for Canadians, according to a poll by Angus Reid Strategies. 38 per cent of respondents think Trudeau has been Canada’s best prime minister since 1968, up five points since October.

Stephen Harper is second with 12 per cent, followed by Jean Chrétien with 11 per cent, Brian Mulroney with nine per cent, Paul Martin with three per cent, Joe Clark with two per cent, and John Turner with one per cent.

Trudeau—a member of the Liberal party—headed the federal administration from 1968 to 1979, and from 1980 to 1984. During his tenure as prime minister, Trudeau envisioned the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and Canada patriated the constitution from Britain. The 1982 constitution was signed without Quebec. Two different efforts by the Mulroney government—the Meech Lake Accord in the 1980s and the 1992 Charlottetown referendum—failed to bring the province into the constitution.

Mulroney was regarded as the worst prime minister by 25 per cent of respondents—up five points since late last year—followed by Harper with 15 per cent, Trudeau with 13 per cent, Chrétien with 11 per cent, Martin with eight per cent, Kim Campbell with six per cent, Clark with three per cent, and Turner with two per cent.

Mulroney—a member of the Progressive Conservative party—served as prime minister from 1984 to 1993, winning two majority mandates. His government cancelled the National Energy Program—developed by Trudeau—which proved extremely unpopular in Western Canada, and negotiated two separate free trade agreements.

Mulroney’s second term was marked by an economic recession and the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). In the 1993 Canadian federal election, the governing Progressive Conservatives—led by Campbell—were reduced to just two seats in the House of Commons.

Shortly after leaving office in 1993, Mulroney accepted thousands of dollars in cash from German-Canadian businessman Karl-Heinz Schreiber. In public statements, as well as in testimony provided to a House of Commons ethics committee in 2007, the two men have offered differing accounts on the amount and purpose of the payments.

On Jun. 28, Mulroney discussed his views on the situation in Zimbabwe—where Robert Mugabe was re-elected as president in a deeply flawed democratic process—writing, "Canada should today lead the world in sending (a) message to Robert Mugabe: ‘Please leave, now.’ And to the people of Zimbabwe with the same breath we should add, ‘We will be first among those many countries who will support you in returning to the path of social harmony and development, after too many years of unearned suffering’."

Polling Data

We would like to ask you some questions about the people who have served as prime minister of Canada since 1968. Which of these politicians do you think has been Canada’s best prime minister?

Which of these politicians do you think has been Canada’s worst prime minister?

Source: Angus Reid Strategies
Methodology: Online interviews with 1,000 Canadian adults, conducted on Jun. 24 and Jun. 25, 2008. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.

Archive Search

Over 19,300 Polls
Search the Angus Reid Global Monitor Polls & Research archive.