Prime Ministers: Ranking Canada's Leaders

Trevor S. Raymond is a teacher and librarian with the Peel Board of Education and editor of Canadian Holmes.

Prime Ministers began as a 1997 study for Maclean’s: 26 historians and
political scientists were asked “to rate [our] twenty prime ministers
on a 10-point scale ranging from greatness ... to abject failure” and
to briefly justify the rating. The results were ranked for the magazine
and evolved into this engaging book by two distinguished historians. The
20 PMs are graded within six categories: Great (3), Near Great (1), High
Average (3), Average (8), Low Average (2), failure (3). The short essays
justifying the ratings are illustrated with photos and contemporary
cartoons and are delightful to read: incisive, informative, and witty

Although the authors write that “[Trudeau] has been out of office now
for fifteen years, but it is still too early to judge his ultimate
significance,” they nonetheless boldly go on to rank him and his
successors, including Chrétien, whose term of office is not over.
Should the incumbent be included? What about those unfortunate few who
served only weeks or months in office? There is much subjectivity here,
as the authors concede in an afterword: “The conclusions reached in
this book may be surprising to some readers, outright puzzling to
others.” Certainly, their grades will not meet with universal
agreement, but they will provoke stimulating discussion. One can
disagree with some of this enjoyable book, but still find it a very
agreeable read.