Pearson, Lester Bowles National Historic Person
Ottawa, Ontario
Pearson with Nobel Peace Prize
© NAC/C-94168/Duncan Cameron
Address :
Ottawa, Ontario
Recognition Statute:
Historic Sites and Monuments Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. H-4)
Designation Date:
1974-05-18
Life Date:
1897 to 1972
Other Name(s):
-
Pearson, Lester Bowles
(Designation Name)
Importance:
Prime Minister of Canada (1963-68); Nobel Peace Prize (1956)
Plaque(s)
Canada’s fourteenth prime minister, Lester B. “Mike” Pearson had a profound impact on both national and international politics. An influential diplomat who became Secretary of State for External Affairs in 1948, he was active in forming NATO and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957 for his leadership at the United Nations during the Suez crisis. Leader of the Liberal Party from 1958 and prime minister from 1963 to 1968, Pearson promoted bilingualism, championed the new Canadian flag, and introduced a number of important social measures, including a universal medicare system and the Canada Pension Plan.