List of prime ministers of Canada by religious affiliation
This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2019) |
This is a list of prime ministers of Canada by religious affiliation. It notes party affiliation after the name. Of the 23 persons to have held the office, 13 have been Protestants and 10 have been Catholics. However, Catholicism is the denomination that has provided the most prime ministers, as all 10 Catholic prime ministers have been Roman Rite Catholics, while the Protestant ones have belonged to no less than five denominations.
In early Canadian history, religion played an important role in politics. The Conservative Party was composed mainly of Anglicans and conservative French-Canadian Catholics while the Liberal Party was backed by reform-minded French Canadian Catholics and non-Anglican English Canadians due to their support in Quebec and Ontario.
List of prime ministers by religious affiliation
[edit]Name | Party | Religion | Branch | Denomination | Years in office | Notes | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sir John A. Macdonald | Liberal-Conservative | ![]() |
![]() |
Anglican | July 1, 1867–November 5, 1873, October 17, 1878–June 6, 1891 |
Raised Presbyterian, converted in 1875. | |
Alexander Mackenzie | Liberal | ![]() |
![]() |
Baptist | November 7, 1873–October 8, 1878 | Raised Presbyterian, but converted to Baptist at age 19 or 20.[1] | |
Sir John Abbott | Liberal-Conservative | ![]() |
![]() |
Anglican | June 16, 1891–November 24, 1892 | ||
Sir John Thompson | Liberal-Conservative | ![]() |
![]() |
Latin Church | December 5, 1892–December 12, 1894 | Born a Methodist but converted to Catholicism when he married. | |
Sir Mackenzie Bowell | Conservative (historical) | ![]() |
![]() |
Presbyterian | December 12, 1894–April 27, 1896 | Orange Order leader | |
Sir Charles Tupper | Conservative (historical) | ![]() |
![]() |
Baptist | May 1, 1896–July 8, 1896 | Born a Baptist, married an Anglican and attended that church with his family. On his own sometimes attended Baptist churches. | |
Sir Wilfrid Laurier | Liberal | ![]() |
![]() |
Latin Church | July 11, 1896–October 6, 1911 | Strongly anti-clerical.[citation needed] | |
Sir Robert Borden | Conservative (historical) | ![]() |
![]() |
Anglican[2] | October 10, 1911–July 10, 1920 | Raised Presbyterian. | |
Arthur Meighen | Conservative (historical) | ![]() |
![]() |
Presbyterian[3] | July 10, 1920–December 29, 1921, June 29, 1926–September 25, 1926 |
Became a major fundraiser for the Salvation Army. | |
William Lyon Mackenzie King | Liberal | ![]() |
![]() |
Presbyterian | December 29, 1921–June 28, 1926, September 25, 1926–August 7, 1930, October 23, 1935–November 15, 1948 |
Also a believer in various forms of mysticism. | |
Richard Bedford Bennett | Conservative (historical) | ![]() |
![]() |
United Church of Canada | August 7, 1930–October 23, 1935 | Was a Methodist before that denomination merged into the United Church of Canada. | |
Louis St. Laurent | Liberal | ![]() |
![]() |
Latin Church | November 5, 1948–June 21, 1957 | ||
John Diefenbaker | Progressive Conservative | ![]() |
![]() |
Baptist | June 21, 1956–April 22, 1963 | ||
Lester B. Pearson | Liberal | ![]() |
![]() |
United Church of Canada | April 22, 1963–April 20, 1968 | Was a Methodist before that denomination merged into the United Church of Canada. | |
Pierre Trudeau | Liberal | ![]() |
![]() |
Latin Church | April 20, 1968–June 4, 1979, March 3, 1980–June 30, 1984 |
Believer in Catholic Personalism. Former board member of the Humanist Fellowship of Montreal.[4] | |
Joe Clark | Progressive Conservative | ![]() |
![]() |
Latin Church | June 4, 1979–March 3, 1980 | ||
John Turner | Liberal | ![]() |
![]() |
Latin Church | June 30, 1984–September 17, 1984 | ||
Brian Mulroney | Progressive Conservative | ![]() |
![]() |
Latin Church | September 17, 1984–June 25, 1993 | ||
Kim Campbell | Progressive Conservative | ![]() |
![]() |
Anglican | June 25, 1993–November 4, 1993 | Does not attend church and criticizes the treatment of women by organized religion. In 2004 she stated that religion "gets in the way of morality".[5][6] | |
Jean Chrétien | Liberal | ![]() |
![]() |
Latin Church | November 4, 1993–December 12, 2003 | Strongly anti-clerical in his youth. | |
Paul Martin | Liberal | ![]() |
![]() |
Latin Church | December 12, 2003–February 6, 2006 | Came into conflict with the Catholic Church over his support for the Civil Marriage Act, by not allowing Cabinet ministers to have conscience votes. | |
Stephen Harper | Conservative (modern) | ![]() |
![]() |
Christian and Missionary Alliance[7] | February 6, 2006–November 4, 2015 | Raised in the United Church of Canada.[8] | |
Justin Trudeau | Liberal | ![]() |
![]() |
Latin Church | November 4, 2015–present | Baptized and raised as a Catholic, became a lapsed Catholic in his youth until the death of his brother Michel. His mother is Anglican.[9] |
Timeline
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/timeline/95zs8bbnlvpjq27mtz6oi7teqgsp9vn.png)
See also
[edit]- Other countries
- Religious affiliations of chancellors of Germany
- Religious affiliations of presidents of Lebanon
- Religious affiliations of prime ministers of the Netherlands
- Religious affiliations of presidents of the United States
References
[edit]- ^ Forster, Ben (1990). "Mackenzie, Alexander". In Halpenny, Francess G (ed.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. XII (1891–1900) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
- ^ Brown, Robert Craig (2004). "Borden, Sir Robert Laird". Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved December 7, 2006.
- ^ Glassford, Larry A. (2004). "Meighen, Arthur". Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved December 7, 2006.
- ^ Bushfield, Ian (September 21, 2013). "Political Atheists". Terahertz. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
- ^ Dobbin, Murray (1993). The Politics of Kim Campbell: From School Trustee to Prime Minister. James Lorimer.
- ^ "Morality vs Religion". 2004. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
- ^ Campbell, Colin (February 20, 2006). "The church of Stephen Harper". Maclean's. Archived from the original on November 14, 2006. Retrieved December 7, 2006.
- ^ Mackey, Lloyd. "Comment: Latest evangelinks in the CA world". canadianchristianity.com.
- ^ Ditchburn, Jennifer (November 2, 2011). "Justin Trudeau fumes at Tory MP's 'bad Catholic' taunt". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved October 29, 2020.