Lester B Pearson Essay

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Canada is known for its rich natural resources, economic stability and evolving technological developments and prosperous nation fabricated with exceptional leaders, one of them being Lester B. Pearson. Canada has come a long way due to the progressive thinking and vision of Lester B. Pearson, a Canadian professor, historian, scholar, statesman, soldier, prime minister, and diplomat, who was the only Canadian to have won the Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1957 for organizing the United Nations Emergency Force to resolve the Suez Canal Crisis. (https://globalnews.ca/news/894534/a-list-of-canadians-who-have-won-the-nobel-prize/) Lester B. Pearson is seldom remembered by the Canadian public, however, he introduced numerous important things including …show more content…

Pearson’s greatest diplomatic achievement came in 1956 when he proposed a UN peacekeeping force in order to carefully maneuver the British and French out of Egypt during the Suez Crisis when the new nationalistic Egyptian government took control of the Suez Canal. Pearson had to be extremely careful when making his decision about the Suez Crisis because if unsuccessful, he could cause the war to spread and Britain, the country he loved second most to Canada, to face animosity. Pearson’s plan of having a UN peacekeeping force proved to be extremely successful making him receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957, the only one for Canada. His suggestion to create a United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) resulted in armed forces being withdrawn and peace being restored. Pearson’s involvement in the conflict resulted in Canada being recognized as a worldwide peacekeeper and mediator. This identity is still attributed to Canada today, therefore it’s obvious how important Pearson was in defining Canada as a nation. In addition, when Pearson was in office in the 1960s, he increased and expanded the areas of Canadian foreign aid. As a result, Canada began to play a major role on the international stage and Pearson gave Canadians the sense of humanitarianism and international responsibility that makes us respected global citizens today. All in all, my group felt that Pearson did a particularly good job in establishing an adequate and appropriate foreign policy for Canada. He …show more content…

Pearson’s agenda as Prime Minister to ensure that groups were satisfied to make sure that he maintained national unity within Canada. In order to ensure that various groups were satisfied within Canada, Pearson wanted to ameliorate French-English tensions in Canada and he was a big advocate of women rights. Pearson purveyed the French-Canadians by establishing a Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism in 1963. This commission investigated Quebec’s needs and made suggestions about how to keep Canada’s two founding races pleased. French being made an official language of Canada was an event that was suggested by the commission and later implemented in 1969 by Pearson. Lester B. Pearson maintained this idea of national unity and believed that making French a national language of Canada was one step ahead of establishing equal rights and opportunities for both English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians. it would allow Quebec to prosper and grow with the rest of Canada. In order to maintain national unity Pearson also believed that Canada had to have its own identity. Unfortunately at this point, Canada was still heavily associated with Britain and didn’t have its own flag for 96 years since Canada existed. The chance of Canada to have its own flag was discussed several times before but the discussion always led a brick wall until Lester. B Pearson became the prime minister of Canada. Prior to Canada having its own flag, Canada’s official flag from 1867

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