Sir John Thompson is the only Canadian Prime Minister to be a provincial premier. Ten years before becoming Canada’s leader, he spent less than a month as premier of Nova Scotia, taking the Conservatives into an election they didn’t win.
Two Prime Ministers served as pre-Confederation premiers: Sir John A. Macdonald in the Canadas and Sir Charles Tupper in Nova Scotia.
Five Leaders of the Opposition who never became PMs were provincial premiers: Edward Blake and George Drew in Ontario, John Bracken in Manitoba, Robert Stanfield in Nova Scotia, and Lucien Bouchard in Quebec. Blake was the first of many provincial premiers who went on to serve in a Canadian cabinet.
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