Lecture 6: Canada’s Prime Ministers and the Cult of Personality

Question 1

the cult of personality

Answer 1

A situation in which a public figure (such as a political leader) is deliberately presented to the people of a country as a great person who should be admired and loved

Question 2

Max Weber on the cult of personality

Answer 2

• Considers charismatic authority
• Saw this harnessed by cults of personality
• Contrasted with “bureaucratic authority”; charisma does not work through the rules-based system of bureaucracy but rests “on devotion to exception sanctity, heroism, or exemplary character of a person

Question 3

charismatic authority figures

Answer 3

• Their authority is not based on birthright, heritage, political prowess, or leadership skills, but rather on the belief of the citizens that these individuals deserve such obedience based on the strength of their character (Conger & Kanungo, 1987).
• Connection to totalitarianism
• Historically, charismatic leaders and the cults of personality they often produce
  often arise from totalitarian regimes (Lu & Sovoleva, 2014).
• The interest in the preservation of the nation over any individual concerns is a necessary component for the establishment of a cult of personality.

Question 4

Prime Minster survey today method

Answer 4

• 2023 online survey
• A weighted distribution of 1,000 people across Canada were asked who they thought were the nation’s best and worst prime ministers of the last 55 years

Question 5

who is Canada’s favourite Prime Minister?

Answer 5

1. Pierre Trudeau – 20 per cent
2. Stephen Harper – 17 per cent
3. Jean Chrétien – 11 per cent
4. Justin Trudeau – 11 per cent
5. Brian Mulroney – 8 per cent
6. Paul Martin – 3 per cent
7. Joe Clark – 2 per cent
8. John Turner – 1 per cent
9. Kim Campbell – 1 per cent
   The remainder of respondents, around 26 per cent, said they were not sure.

Question 6

who is Canada’s “worst” Prime Minister

Answer 6

1. Justin Trudeau – 30 per cent
2. Stephen Harper – 18 per cent
3. Kim Campbell – 7 per cent
4. Brian Mulroney – 6 per cent
5. Pierre Trudeau – 5 per cent
6. Jean Chrétien – 3 per cent
7. Joe Clark – 3 per cent
8. Paul Martin – 2 per cent
9. John Turner – 1 per cent
   Around 25 per cent of respondents said they were not sure.

Question 7

ranking Canada’s top 5 leaders 1988

Answer 7

1. Sir John A. Macdonald
2. Pierre E. Trudeau
3. W. L. Mackenzie King
4. Sir Wilfrid Laurier
5. Sir Robert Borden

Question 8

ranking Canada’s top 5 leaders 1999

Answer 8

1. William Lyon Mackenzie King
2. Sir John A. Macdonald
3. Sir Wilfrid Laurier
4. Louis St. Laurent
5. Pierre Elliott Trudeau

Question 9

ranking Canada’s top 5 leaders 2016 (short-term leaders)

Answer 9

1. Justin Trudeau
2. Paul Martin
3. John Thompson
4. Arthur Meighen
5. Joe Clark

Question 10

ranking Canada’s top 5 leaders 2016 (long-term leaders)

Answer 10

1. William Lyon Mackenzie King
2. Wilfrid Laurier
3. John A. Macdonald
4. Pierre Trudeau
5. Lester Pearson

Question 11

Ballard and Suedfeld, 1988
“Performance Ratings of Canadian Prime Ministers: Individual and Situational Factors”

Answer 11

• First to provide a systematic ranking or rating of Canadian PMs
• PMs were rated on 10 scales by 37 historians and 60 political scientists, all specializing in Canadian studies
• Interested in the ways that combinations of environmental factors and leader behaviors affect the perceived success of a leader
• Those PMs who were seen as having faced difficult problems during their term were most likely to be positively evaluated
• Ratings of current prestige were significantly and positively correlated with perceived strength, activeness, innovativeness, flexibility, effectiveness as party leader, overall accomplishment, and lack of honesty with the public
• The greatest PMs were determined to be Sir John A. Macdonald, Pierre E. Trudeau, W. L. Mackenzie King, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, and Sir Robert Borden

Question 12

Ballard and Suedfeld, 1988
“Performance Ratings of Canadian Prime Ministers: Individual and Situational Factors” interesting findings

Answer 12

• “…One was that not being honest with the public was perceived as positively related to general performance in the role of PM: The three PMs rated as most dishonest were among the top four in perceived prestige and accomplishment. Perhaps it takes a certain amount of deception or reticence for a good PM to get on with the job. PMs who are “too” honest may be seen as naive or garrulous, or excessive honesty may be viewed as part of an ineffectual personality configuration…”
• “…For a PM to be rated high…he has to be perceived as strong, active, effective, innovative, flexible, and somewhat dishonest. This cluster dramatically contradicts the view of some Canadians, including specialists, that success as Prime Minister depends on not being divisive, on not taking striking policy initiatives, and on being wary of innovation… “Courage, determination, patience, tolerance”––a list which, unlike the one we found, seems to be fairly low in dominance and activity––along with the more assertive factors of power, motivation and self-confidence. In the interplay between situation and personality, Canadian PMs facing difficult problems certainly have shown decisiveness comparable to other national and international leaders.” (p.300)

Question 13

J. L. Granatstein and Norman Hillmer, Prime Ministers: Ranking Canada’s Leaders

Answer 13

• The book began as a study carried out for Maclean’s in 1997
• Based on findings on a canvas of 26 academics, a group of historians and political scientists, who were asked to rate the twenty prime ministers on a ten-point scale – results were averaged
• “Today’s scoundrel can be tomorrow’s hero, depending on how events and perceptions alter interpretations.” (p.12)

Question 14

J. L. Granatstein and Norman Hillmer, Prime Ministers: Ranking Canada’s Leaders rankings

Answer 14

1. King
2. MacDonald
3. Laurier
4. St. Laurent
5. P.E. Trudeau
6. Pearson
7. Borden
8. Mulroney
9. Chretien
10. Thompson
11. MacKenzie
12. Bennett
13. Diefenbaker
14. Meighen
15. Clark
16. Tupper
17. Abott
18. Turner
19. Bowell
20. Campbell

Question 15

Stephen Azzi and Norman Hillmer “Ranking Canada’s Best and Worst PMs”

Answer 15

• 123 responses from experts in Canadian political history -> “economists, journalists, political scientists, historians, and international relations”
• Two lists of ranking
• Timing of the ranking
• Advantages of the “Fresh Face”
• Traits deemed important for effective leadership
• Common challenges prime ministers face
• Changes in opinion about prime minister over time
• Ideology influences selection

Question 16

Amanda Bittner “Leaders Always Mattered”

Answer 16

• The idea of “presidentialization”
• Argues elections are not becoming more personalized over time
• What do voters pay attention to?
• Personality traits are considered in two main categories: character and competence

Question 17

cult of personality key conclusions

Answer 17

• Significance of accomplishments, strength of role as PM, and degree of activity in governing correlated positively with high leader prestige; honesty may be less valued than we presume
• Environmental pressures generally have a significant impact on the historical stature of Canadian PMs
• Interpretation is key and changes with time
• Central categories considered are competence and character