Louis Stephen St.
Publié le 10/05/2013
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St.
Laurent brought to office a new concept of government.
His broad, all-national view firmly rejected Québec's traditional isolationism.
He made his decisions with coolimpartiality, giving first consideration to the welfare of Canada as a whole.
St.
Laurent's foreign policy involved Canada in world politics.
He supported the UN, fully endorsing the initiatives proposed by Pearson, his representative there.
St.Laurent actively sponsored and subsequently cooperated with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), a defensive alliance of North American and WesternEuropean countries, and he formulated an expanding economic and social role for NATO.
He convinced India and Pakistan to remain in the British Commonwealth whenthey threatened to leave, thus preserving the organization.
He gave full cooperation to the UN forces during the Korean War (1950-1953), despite some opposition inCanada to this policy.
St.
Laurent's important domestic accomplishments included concluding negotiations that had been going on for 75 years over the entrance of Newfoundland into theconfederation.
In 1949, Newfoundland became Canada's tenth province.
One of St.
Laurent's main policies was to integrate Québec as a full and responsible partner inthe Canadian Confederation.
St.
Laurent improved relations between the English-speaking and French-speaking communities of Canada, and he enlarged Québec's rolein Canada's postwar economic boom.
He abolished the carrying of judicial appeals to the Privy Council in London and made the Supreme Court the highest court inCanada.
In 1952 he further asserted Canada's independence by appointing Vincent Massey as the first non-British governor-general.
St.
Laurent set up and appointed aroyal commission on the state of the arts in Canada.
It led to the establishment in 1957 of the Canada Council, which provided for government grants in scholarship andthe creative arts.
A drive was launched to encourage foreign immigration.
Canada's limited population was substantially increased by this measure and came to includea large proportion of people from countries outside the United Kingdom.
St.
Laurent broadened the national welfare program to cover more of Canada's citizens,considerably increasing the variety of social services.
He established a universal old-age pension, and he expanded the coverage and effectiveness of hospital insurance.He also delegated more authority to the provinces in all welfare and economic matters.
During St.
Laurent's tenure in office the United States agreed, after years of negotiations, to join Canada in building the St.
Lawrence Seaway connecting the GreatLakes, the St.
Lawrence River, and the Atlantic Ocean.
St.
Laurent also invited more British and U.S.
companies to make surveys and explorations of Canadian oil andmineral resources in the undeveloped northern territories.
During the economic boom of the late 1940s and early 1950s the government was able to reduce the debtCanada had incurred during the war years.
As a result of St.
Laurent's successful policies, his government was reelected twice with large majorities.
The election in June 1949 gave the Liberal Party a landslidevictory, with 190 seats, compared to the 41 seats for the Conservative opposition.
He thereby earned the broadest national acceptance ever achieved up to that timeby any prime minister.
Canadians were getting used to the upward trend in their economy and to positive social change.
The second election, held in August 1953,proved that the public still approved of the government.
The voters elected 170 Liberals, as compared to 51 Conservatives.
These results showed a slight loss to theLiberals in favor of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) and the Social Credit Party, but there was no significant change in the Liberal government'sstrength.
B Domestic Crises
After 1953, St.
Laurent's administration was less successful.
The elderly prime minister's health began to fail, while the political, economic, and administrative problemswith which he had to deal began to increase.
There was a financial dispute between the federal government and Québec over taxes.
The dispute brought about a sharpconflict between St.
Laurent and Maurice Lenoblet Duplessis, the popular leader of Québec.
St.
Laurent had over-played his impartiality to the point where he wasexhorting the French Canadians to abandon their dream of independence and to put national interests before those of Québec.
Although he patched up the break withDuplessis, St.
Laurent's declarations provoked controversy and weakened his support among French Canadians.
The next major crisis caused a split in the cabinet when, under pressure from members of his government and the public, St.
Laurent reduced the emergency warpowers of Clarence Howe, his economic planner.
Not long after this incident a more severe crisis began, again involving Howe.
Howe proposed the construction of atrans-Canada gas pipeline from Alberta to the St.
Lawrence River, and he asked the government to pay the $80 million that was needed to begin construction.
Becausethe project was heavily backed by U.S.
private capital, a commitment from the Canadian government was sought to guarantee the investment.
The debate inParliament was long and violent, and the entire project was delayed.
Desperate to get legislative approval in time to meet the construction timetable, the governmentmoved to apply closure on debate, which would have forced a vote immediately.
There was a parliamentary and public uproar, which resulted in the temporary shelvingof the project.
C Suez Crisis
A third crisis occurred in the fall of 1956, with the news of the invasion of Egypt by the United Kingdom and France.
Canada had not been notified of Britain's plans.When St.
Laurent learned of the invasion, he sent a cable to London, stating his disapproval of what he considered an immoral and irresponsible act.
He did not havemany followers in the Canadian Parliament, because there was strong support in Canada for Britain and France.
Nevertheless, St.
Laurent dispatched Pearson to the UNand gave him a free hand in trying to bring about an immediate cease-fire.
Pearson's historic resolution calling for the establishment of an immediate truce and thedispatching of a UN peacekeeping force was accepted.
To back up the UN decision, St.
Laurent immediately made available Canadian troops, which were sent to thetroubled area.
Although the stand of Pearson and his government was highly acclaimed throughout the world, St.
Laurent was criticized by many in his own country.
Hereacted to his sudden unpopularity by stating in Parliament that the era when supermen of Europe could govern the whole world was quickly coming to an end.Eventually, the wisdom of St.
Laurent's position became apparent, and he regained much of the respect he had lost.
D Economic Troubles
In 1956 and 1957, the cost of goods and services was increasing.
Canadians were also concerned about their ability to compete in export markets as Europe's economywas becoming stable again after its postwar depression.
Unemployment was also becoming a serious problem in the mid-1950s.
To discourage inflation, St.
Laurent'sminister of finance, Walter E.
Harris, fought to hold down all wage increases and reduced a much needed increase in old-age pensions.
These cautious tactics proved tobe unpopular and were successfully challenged by the Conservatives.
In his preparation for the 1957 election, John G.
Diefenbaker, the head of the Conservativeopposition, launched a vigorous attack on the government for trying to implement these policies.
VI RESIGNATION
St.
Laurent, who was then past 75, put on a surprisingly strong campaign.
However, it was apparent that the ailing prime minister could not be expected to carry on formuch longer.
The Liberals had been in power for 21 years.
Their campaign, which emphasized their past achievements, proved to be inadequate in getting votes.
Theelection of June 10, 1957, brought the Conservatives to power, with a narrow parliamentary majority of 112 members to 105 for the Liberals.
Several cabinet membersadvised St.
Laurent to ally himself with the 25 members of the CCF, but he chose to resign.
He announced his resignation as prime minister on June 21 but continued tolead the opposition Liberal Party for a few months.
In January 1958 St.
Laurent passed on the party leadership to Pearson, and he retired to a private law practice.
Hedied in 1973..
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