Pierre Trudeau always had a way of grabbing headlines. As the Unconventional Prime Minister, he attracted attention from the start of his political career, capturing his first Newsmaker of the Year nod in 1968, the year he became PM. He went on to win the designation 10 more times, being chosen an impressive eight years in row from 1968 to 1975, then again three years later. In 1999, he was picked again — as well as crowned Canadian Newsmaker of the Century. Trudeau received the title one last time in 2000, the year he died.
The PM with the second most Newsmaker titles is Lester Pearson, clocking in with nine wins. Interestingly, he received six of those while serving as a foreign affairs diplomat or minister, and just three as leader. Other PMs to be CP’s Newsmaker of the Year have been John Diefenbaker (5 times), Brian Mulroney (3), Jean Chrétien (2), Paul Martin (2), Stephen Harper (2), William Lyon Mackenzie King (1), Louis St. Laurent (1), Joe Clark (1), Kim Campbell (1) and Justin Trudeau (1).
It helps to have thick skin if you’re contemplating serving as Prime Minister of Canada. One only has to look at the many books about recent leaders that take a negative — even hostile — stance. In fact, in the past 50 years the number of diatribes about PMs has kept pace with the number of dispassionate biographies.
2010: Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his family were at the opening of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver. Sharing the dais with the Harpers were Governor General Michaelle Jean and the chiefs of the Lil’wat, Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh nations.
Canadian Prime Ministers 