Louis Stephen St. Laurent

Louis Stephen St. Laurent (born 1882) was a Canadian statesman. He was prime minister and leader of the Liberal party of Canada, and during his efficient government Canada experienced an economic boom.

Louis St. Laurent was born in Compton, Quebec, on Feb. 1, 1882, of French-and Irish-Canadian parents. Completely bilingual, St. Laurent was educated at Laval University, where he did brilliantly in legal studies. Until 1941 he was content to be a lawyer, building a large practice and earning a reputation for integrity and honesty.

In 1941, however, World War II was under way, and Ernest Lapointe, the minister of justice and French Canada's spokesman in Ottawa, had just died. Prime Minister Mackenzie King selected St. Laurent to be Lapointe's successor, and after giving serious consideration to the request, St. Laurent decided to accept for war service only.

The relations between French Canadians and English Canadians had always been delicate, but in wartime they were more so. St. Laurent played a major role in reconciling Quebec to conscription, and he quickly established himself as the Prime Minister's right-hand man. With the end of the war, he was persuaded to remain in the Cabinet as secretary of state for external affairs, and in this post he became one of the architects of the North Atlantic Treaty.

When Mackenzie King retired in 1948, St. Laurent was selected as his successor at a leadership convention, and in the next year he led the Liberals to a sweeping victory in a general election. St. Laurent's administration was fortunate to be in office in boom times, and with C. D. Howe, his English-Canadian lieutenant, St. Laurent opened the doors to foreign investment. The results in the short term were astonishing: Canada's gross national product climbed; population increased; the standard of living rose; and resources development proceeded apace. In 1953 the government was again victorious in a general election.

Although the boom continued, charges of arrogance and contempt for Parliament soon were leveled against the St. Laurent government, particularly after the extraordinary measures employed in the House of Commons during the great "pipeline debate" of 1956. St. Laurent's angry attacks on the policies of Britain and France during the Suez crisis of 1956 did little to improve matters, and in the general election of 1957 the government was defeated. St. Laurent continued as leader of the Liberal party until January 1958, after which he entered retirement. St. Laurent was a manager rather than a leader, and although he and his government were undoubtedly efficient, there were few tears shed over the end of his regime.

Further Reading

There are few serious studies of St. Laurent or his administration. The only biography, Dale C. Thomson, Louis St. Laurent, Canadian (1967), is uncritical. William Kilbourn, Pipeline: Transcanada and the Great Debate (1970), sheds interesting light on the pipeline debate of 1956. □

St Laurent, Louis Stephen (b. 1 Feb. 1882, d. 25 July 1973). Prime Minister of Canada 1948–57 Born at Compton (Quebec), he studied law at Laval University and was appointed law professor there in 1914. A successful lawyer, he was president of the Canadian Bar Association (1930–2), and in 1937 became an adviser to a Royal Commission on national-provincial relations. Despite his complete lack of political experience, Mackenzie King made him Minister of Justice in December 1941, whereupon he was elected to Parliament in 1942. The only minister from Quebec, he supported Mackenzie King's introduction of conscription for service overseas despite the fierce opposition of most of his home province. He became responsible for external affairs in 1946, and in 1948 succeeded Mackenzie King as leader of the Liberal Party and Prime Minister. A grandfatherly figure with a sharp mind, he extended Mackenzie King's careful beginning of a welfare state through broadening old-age pensions and introducing hospital insurance. He backed Pearson's support for NATO and the UN, while he oversaw the integration of Newfoundland into Canada. Despite overwhelming election victories in 1949 and 1953, he appeared increasingly inactive, and was caught out by Diefenbaker's well-organized Progressive Conservative Party during the 1957 elections. He resigned as party leader in 1958 and withdrew from politics.

St Laurent, Louis Stephen (1882–1973) French-Canadian lawyer and statesman. As Minister of Justice (1941–46) he upheld limited military conscription during World War II in the face of widespread French-Canadian opposition. In 1946 he became Secretary of State for External Affairs. Having succeeded Mackenzie KING as Prime Minister of Canada (1948–57), he played a significant part in setting up the NATO alliance, and did much to raise the international reputation of Canada. Significant constitutional changes were also made during his administration, with the word “Dominion” being dropped from Canada's official name and Newfoundland becoming the tenth Province in 1949. After overwhelming victories in 1949 and 1953, he was defeated in the election of 1957. As only the second French-Canadian to become Prime Minister, St Laurent gave notable service in the promotion of good relations between English- and French-speaking Canadians.

Louis Stephen St. Laurent , 1882–1973, Canadian political leader. A well-known lawyer, he entered (1941) political life as minister of justice and attorney general in the Mackenzie King government; he was later minister of external affairs (1946–48). He was elected to the House of Commons in 1942 and succeeded King as Liberal party leader, taking office (Nov., 1948) as prime minister after King's retirement. His party failed to obtain a majority of votes in 1957, and John G. Diefenbaker, a Conservative, succeeded him as prime minister. On his retirement in 1958 Lester B. Pearson became Liberal party leader.

Bibliography: See biography by D. C. Thomson (1968).