Friday, July 07, 2006

What If Politics

Judging from the feedback, I’ve decided to follow up last year’s “Greatest Prime Minister” contest with a “Greatest Prime Minister…We Never Had”. The question is simple “Which politician who never rose to the highest office would have made for our finest Prime Minister?”.

I’m still toying around with format, but I suspect there will be an open round with four groups (likely geographic regions), to narrow the field down to eight. At that point, the candidates will be bracketed and will face off one-on-one in knock out matches until a winner is crowned.

Unlike with Greatest PM, the field is close to infinite here so I’m opening the floor up for nominations. Below are a few of the candidates who I think should be included; any other suggestions will be added to the list for first round. So let's hear some names of who you think would have made for a great Prime Minister if given the chance.

Robert Stanfield
Joey Smallwood
Frank McKenna
John Crosbie
Joseph Howe
Allan MacEachen
George Murray
Jean Lesage
George Etienne Cartier
Ernest Lapointe
Rene Levesque
Lucien Bouchard
Ed Broadbent
Mitchell Sharp
Paul Martin Sr.
CD Howe
Oliver Mowat
Bill Davis
David Lewis
Agnes McPhail
Flora MacDonald
John Manley
Sheila Copps
John Bracken
Preston Manning
Tommy Douglas
JS Woodsworth
HH Stevens
Lloyd Axworthy
Peter Lougheed
Ernest Manning
Nellie McClung

posted by calgarygrit at 12:32 a.m.

47 Comments:

  • I nominate Louise Arbour, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.

    I also nominate Stephen Lewis, the Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa.

    By Blogger rob, at 1:26 a.m.  

  • This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    By Blogger The Frog Lady, at 1:54 a.m.  

  • I've got three nominees:
    1) Dalton Camp - the only guy in the Tory party with the guts to bring down Dief. Unfortunately, Conservatives try to avoid choosing leaders with an IQ above room temperature, which ruled him out permanently.
    2) John Morgan (better known as "Mike from Canmore") was hilarious on Air Farce (back when Air Farce was actually funny.) I think he'd have been a fun PM.
    3) Jack Pickersgill. Oxford-educated. Former Clerk of the Privy Council. Advisor to PMs from Mackenzie King to Pearson. He certainly had the brains for the job. Heck, Pearson even gave him the title "Rt. Honourable." What does that tell ya?

    Great idea, BTW - look forward to seein' the results!

    By Blogger The Frog Lady, at 1:58 a.m.  

  • I would probably say Bill Davis here. Although a Tory, he was a consensus builder rather than a divisive type so I think he would have been a good leader to unite the country. Some other names you might want to consider adding although I don't necessarily endorse these are:

    1. Mike Harris
    2. Ralph Klein
    3. Jean Charest
    4. Frank McKenna
    5. Sheila Copps
    6. Rene Levesque (If you could name Bouchard you could put him on as well)
    7. Clyde Wells
    8. Elijah Harper (he was one of the ones who helped kill the Meech Lake Accord)

    By Blogger Monkey Loves to Fight, at 3:04 a.m.  

  • Henri Bourassa... very interesting thought.

    By Blogger Dan McKenzie, at 3:21 a.m.  

  • Just out of curiousity, why has no one named George Brown?

    The guy did propose the co-alition government that gave us our first Parliament.

    By Blogger trustonlymulder, at 6:21 a.m.  

  • Interesting to see Lesage on the list. I remember reading once that various federal Liberals encouraged him to jump to the national scene at different times, but he didn't have the stomach for it. One glaring omission: Jean Marchand. The legendary leader of the Asbestos Strike was widely considered Pearson's heir in '68, but his poor English opened a path for PET.

    By Blogger Michael, at 6:36 a.m.  

  • I'll second the suggestions of Elija Harper and George Brown.


    I'd add Frank R. Scott and Thomas Darcy McGee.

    By Blogger Matthew, at 7:58 a.m.  

  • Just for fun: Stockwell Day.

    By Blogger RGM, at 8:33 a.m.  

  • Don't count Jean Charest out yet. He will be done in Québec by next year if he loses the prov. election or in 3-4 years if he wins it.

    Give him a few years of rest and some time on the treadmill to regain his former shape, and he suddenly becomes a very strong candidate to recapture the federal seat of Sherbrooke as a Conservative.

    By Blogger Dr.Winston Chan, chiropraticien, at 11:21 a.m.  

  • Anyway, onto my suggested list:

    - John Crosbie
    - Brian Tobin
    - Joe Volpe (ha ha)
    - Ed Broadbent
    - Bret "The Hitman" Hart
    - Barbara MacDougall
    - Deborah Grey
    - Pierre Marchand
    - Wayne Gretzky

    By Blogger Dr.Winston Chan, chiropraticien, at 11:25 a.m.  

  • 1. Ernest Lapointe
    2. Joe Ghiz
    3. James Gardiner

    By Blogger IslandLiberal, at 11:42 a.m.  

  • I'm still on the fence about the non-politicos like Gretzky and Brett Hart and I would lean against including them. Of course, with the "Michael Ignatieff precedence" maybe it's not as far fetched as some might have thought. At the very least backroom boys like Dalton Camp and policy people like Jack Pickersgill certainly deserve inclusion, even though I forgot them in my main list.

    For the time being, I think Charest and Stock should be left off, just because they're young enough that they could still rise to the top. People like Manley and McKenna have pretty much ruled it out with their pass at the current leadership so I don't mind including them.

    By Blogger calgarygrit, at 1:09 p.m.  

  • Eddie Goldenberg!

    But then he sort of "was" prime minister.

    Actually, why did Eddie put up Bob Rae instead of himself? Bob Rae can't possibly win. If Goldenberg wants to be PM "again", maybe he should stop playing the puppetmaster.

    By Blogger godot10, at 1:15 p.m.  

  • Also...remember most everyone thought Paul Martin was the greatest prime minister we never had for the longest time.

    By Blogger godot10, at 1:19 p.m.  

  • McKenzie King's grandmother.

    By Blogger FRANCISM, at 2:05 p.m.  

  • Rock????

    By Blogger TDH Strategies, at 2:13 p.m.  

  • Allan MacEachen, Marc Lalonde

    By Blogger SteelCityGrit, at 2:17 p.m.  

  • Technically, John Manley could still be PM some day. Should we restrict it to people who are either deceased/finished their political careers?

    If not, I nominate both Mike Harris and Bernard Lord.

    By Blogger Michael Fox, at 2:26 p.m.  

  • TT; Mike Harris is in his 60s, so we can probably safely add him to the list. Lord I'd rather not since he could certainly still make a leadership run. The problem with looking for "retired" policians is that the comeback is a very common occurence in Canadian politics. We would have assumed Bob Rae's political career was done a year or two ago.

    I think the best bet is to go on a case by case basis and not include anyone who still has an outside chance of becoming PM.

    By Blogger calgarygrit, at 2:54 p.m.  

  • This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    By Blogger Christopher Young, at 4:23 p.m.  

  • Hum, maybe too little known outside Quebec (or even inside), but what about Geroge-Émile Lapalme ?

    By Blogger Christopher Young, at 4:26 p.m.  

  • james; I certainly wouldn't pick Sheila as the winner, but as a 20 year politician who has run for 3 leaderships and was a former Deputy PM, she's certainly worthy of being included on the nomination list.

    By Blogger calgarygrit, at 6:27 p.m.  

  • As a western Manitoban, I'm impressed you've even heard of John Bracken, let alone thrown him on your list. But if you're going to toss his name in, you also have to go with Sir Clifford Sifton — Laurier's Western right-hand man and architect of the plan to bring thousands of people to settle Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba before Uncle Sam snatched it.

    I'd also nominate Duff Roblin and Ed Schreyer.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:12 p.m.  

  • Definitely think this team should be on there:

    -Roy Romanow
    -Alexa McDonough
    -Audrey McLaughlin
    -Stephen Lewis
    -Ed Broadbent
    -David Lewis
    -Tommy Douglas
    -J.S. Woodsworth

    Since ya know, dippers are always the best leaders we never had...for now. ;)

    By Blogger bza, at 8:01 p.m.  

  • Preston Manning and Oliver Mowat.

    By Blogger The Invisible Hand, at 12:26 a.m.  

  • oh, forgot to mention dave barrett and Major James Coldwell to round out the dipper lineup.

    By Blogger bza, at 1:01 a.m.  

  • A little short on BC content, I think. Here're a few off the top of my head:

    Dippers-in-chief Mike Harcourt and Dave Barrett might've had interesting high-level federal careers, particularly if the latter had won the federal NDP leadership rather than McLaughlin.

    The mind wilts at what shenanigans W.A.C. Bennett might've gotten up to on a national stage. Might the man who tried and failed to build a monorail to the Yukon have succeeded with a federal budget behind him?

    Larry Campbell. It might have let CBC make "Da Vinci's PMO." Seriously, though, fascinating character, brilliant man.

    For shits and giggles, we could throw Bill Vander Zalm or Glen Clark into the mix. Are we trying to have the most high-powered ladder, or the most entertaining one?

    Other half-joking half-serious nominees might include Bill Aberhart, Paul Hellyer and Maurice Duplessis. I mean, they were conceivable, right?

    By Blogger Tom, at 12:49 p.m.  

  • Definitely Stephen Lewis.

    By Blogger WRG, at 1:14 p.m.  

  • Definitely Stephen Lewis.

    By Blogger WRG, at 1:14 p.m.  

  • Stockwell Day!!!!

    By Blogger daveberta, at 2:27 p.m.  

  • tom; I was planning to toss Hellyer and a few other "joke" candidates in.

    Stockwell, I'm still on the fence about because, from age alone, he'd be too young to proclaim that he can never be Prime Minister. But that's a pretty safe bet at this point.

    By Blogger calgarygrit, at 7:20 p.m.  

  • I'm not sure if you had him on the list but what about Robert Winters? As i recall he almost beat Trudeau at the convention that picked Trudeau to be Prime Minister. Considering he had a totally different agenda its an interesting what if?

    By Blogger Chris, at 8:04 p.m.  

  • I have one name for you... WARREN KINSELLA!!!

    Seriously, my vote goes to Preston Manning... he'd have made a great PM.

    By Blogger Christian Conservative, at 10:02 p.m.  

  • Sorry to flood this post with comments, but yeah, MJ Coldwell should definitely be on this list. The CCF's popularity was pretty massive in the 40's.

    There was even a gallups poll in 1943 that put the CCF (29%) ahead of the Liberals (28%), and the Conservatives (27%). Things could have turned out different, this was the first victory of the CCF in Sask and in Ontario they were the official opposition. Even the Conservative leader was defeated in a federal by-election.

    By Blogger bza, at 11:28 p.m.  

  • Angus MacLean.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angus_MacLean

    Making It Home: Memoirs of the Honourable J. Angus MacLean

    If you can get your hands on a copy of this book you'll find that it's a very worthwhile read.

    By Blogger Paul MacPhail, at 4:14 p.m.  

  • I can not believe ha this does not have Ralph Klein but it has Sheila Copps and Lloyd Axworthy.

    By Blogger Brad, at 4:59 p.m.  

  • I nominate the great and often forgotten ADÉLARD GODBOUT.

    Not well known outside of La Belle Province, this Liberal Québec Premier (1939-1944) gave women the right to vote, started the nationalization of hydro power and instituted mandatory education for Québec kids. No small task in 1940's Québec.

    Mackenzie King wanted HIM to go to Ottawa to succeed Ernest Lapointe; when Godbout refused, King turned to Louis St-Laurent.

    Godbout also had the rare distinction of not being a lawyer...

    By Blogger Alter Boys, at 12:42 a.m.  

  • Bracken is really well known in Tory circles, especially among the former PC types (like me), for the Progressive party connection.

    By Blogger Michael Fox, at 12:12 p.m.  

  • Interesting choices.

    I should have this up and running sometime next week but feel free to keep e-mailing in suggestions to be included.

    By Blogger calgarygrit, at 1:40 p.m.  

  • No Roy Romanow. Shame.

    By Blogger Shaky, at 8:59 p.m.  

  • Hands down, Romeo Dallaire is a must!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:25 p.m.  

  • Deb Grey!

    You have to admire her tenacity in helping to bring down Stockwell Day. Look at the result!

    By Blogger Hatrock, at 3:55 p.m.  

  • Edward Blake.
    Oliver Mowat.
    David Real Caouette.
    Joseph Adolphe Chapleau.
    Henri Bourassa.
    Daniel Johnson.
    Preston Manning.
    Ernest Manning.
    Adelard Godbout.
    Maurice Duplessis.

    By Blogger Jarrett, at 11:58 p.m.  

  • Finance Minister Paul Martin Jr.

    OC

    By Blogger no sleep, at 10:56 a.m.  

  • Talbot Mercer Papineau should win this pool hands-down if anyone knows their Canadian history.

    http://www.biographi.ca/EN/ShowBio.asp?BioId=41759

    By Blogger Ned Noodle, at 11:15 a.m.  

  • Do you know something about Mr. Manley that we don't or do you have the power of clairvoyance?

    By Blogger scott, at 5:27 p.m.  

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