Domestic policy and events Pearson campaigned during the 1963 election promising "60 Days of Decision" and supported the
Bomarc surface-to-air missile program. Pearson never had a majority in the
House of Commons, but he brought in many of Canada's major updated social programs, including
universal health care (though that credit should be shared with
Tommy Douglas, who as premier of Saskatchewan had introduced the country's first medicare system), the
Canada Pension Plan, and
Canada Student Loans. Pearson instituted a new national flag, the
Maple Leaf flag, after a national debate known as the
Great Canadian flag debate. He also instituted the 40-hour work week, two weeks vacation time, and a new
minimum wage for workers in federally-regulated areas. In hopes of winning an outright majority, Pearson called an election for
November 1965, three years before it was due. Ultimately, the Liberals were only able to pick up three more seats, leaving them two short of a majority. As in 1963, the Liberals were almost nonexistent in the Prairies, winning only one seat there, that of Veterans Affairs minister
Roger Teillet. Pearson also started a number of
royal commissions, including the
Royal Commission on the Status of Women and the
Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism. These suggested changes that helped create legal equality for women and brought official
bilingualism into being. After Pearson's term in office, French was made an
official language, and the Canadian government provided services in both English and French. Pearson hoped to be the last unilingual prime minister of Canada, and fluency in both English and French became an unofficial requirement for candidates for prime minister after Pearson left office. In 1966, the
Canada Assistance Plan was introduced, under which the federal government supported provincial social assistance costs (including half the cost of various health services for those in need such as eyeglasses, dental services, and prescription drugs) and (as noted by one study) “required the provinces to provide assistance to those in need.” In 1967, French president
Charles de Gaulle made a visit to
Quebec. A staunch advocate of
Quebec separatism, de Gaulle went so far as to say that his procession in
Montreal reminded him of his return to Paris after it was freed from the
Nazis during the
Second World War. President de Gaulle also gave his
"Vive le Québec libre" speech during the visit. Given Canada's efforts in aiding France during both world wars, Pearson was enraged. He rebuked de Gaulle in a speech the following day, remarking that "Canadians do not need to be liberated", and made it clear that de Gaulle was no longer welcome in Canada. Pearson signed the
Canada–United States Automotive Agreement (or Auto Pact) in January 1965, and unemployment fell to its lowest rate in over a decade. While in office, Pearson declined U.S. requests to send Canadian combat troops into the
Vietnam War. Pearson spoke at
Temple University in
Philadelphia on 2 April 1965 and voiced his support for a pause in the
American bombing of North Vietnam, so that a diplomatic solution to the crisis might unfold. To president
Lyndon B. Johnson, this criticism of
American foreign policy on American soil was intolerable. Before Pearson had finished his speech, he was invited to
Camp David, Maryland, to meet with Johnson the next day. Johnson, who was notorious for his personal touch in politics, reportedly grabbed Pearson by the lapels and shouted, "You pissed on my rug!" Text of his Philadelphia speech, however, showed that Pearson in fact supported president Johnson's policy in Vietnam, even stating "The government and great majority of people of my country have supported wholeheartedly the US peacekeeping and peacemaking policies in Vietnam." After this incident, Johnson and Pearson did have further contacts, including two more meetings together, both times in Canada. Canada's exported raw materials and resources helped fuel and sustain American efforts in the Vietnam War.
Military Pearson's government endured significant controversy in Canada's military services throughout the mid-1960s, following the tabling of the
White Paper on Defence in March 1964. This document laid out a plan to merge the
Royal Canadian Navy, the
Royal Canadian Air Force, and the
Canadian Army to form a single service called the
Canadian Forces. Military unification took effect on 1 February 1968, when
The Canadian Forces Reorganization Act received royal assent.
Supreme Court appointments Pearson chose the following jurists to be appointed as justices of the
Supreme Court of Canada by the
governor general: •
Robert Taschereau (as chief justice, 22 April 1963 – 1 September 1967; appointed a
puisne justice under prime minister King, 9 February 1940) •
Wishart Flett Spence (30 May 1963 – 29 December 1978) •
John Robert Cartwright (as chief justice, 1 September 1967 – 23 March 1970; appointed a puisne justice under prime minister
St. Laurent, 22 December 1949) •
Louis-Philippe Pigeon (21 September 1967 – 8 February 1980)
Retirement After his 14 December 1967 announcement that he was retiring from politics,
a leadership convention was held. Pearson's successor was
Pierre Trudeau, whom Pearson had recruited and made
justice minister in his
cabinet. Two other cabinet ministers Pearson had recruited,
John Turner and
Jean Chrétien, served as prime ministers following Trudeau's retirement. ==After politics==