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Introduction
Alone at the Top
The Path to Power
Leading Canada
Private Life
Afterwards
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Profiles
Speeches
Comments
Graphical element		 Banner: First Among Equals: The Prime Minister in Canadian Life and Politics
Banner: Leading Canada

A Leading Middle Power

Prime Minister Mackenzie King at the opening of the All-German Sports Competitions, Berlin, June 30, 1937.
Prime Minister Mackenzie King
at the opening of the All-German
Sports Competitions, Berlin,
June 30, 1937.
Copyright/Source
President John Kennedy, Soviet Premier Kruschev and Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, September 13, 1961.
Caricature of President John Kennedy, Soviet
Premier Kruschev and Prime
Minister John Diefenbaker,
September 13, 1961.
Copyright/Source
From 1909 to 1946, the prime minister also served as our Secretary of State for External Affairs. Following the Second World War, Canada emerged as a leading "middle power," assuming the role of peacekeeper and negotiator in international disputes. Prime ministers remained prominent in international affairs, taking part in visits from foreign heads of state, world tours, treaty negotiations, and other activities.
Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro and Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau join in a singalong during Trudeau's Latin American Tour, January 1976.
Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro
and Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau
join in a singalong during Trudeau's
Latin American Tour, January 1976.
Copyright/Source
Jean Chrétien at G8 Summit, June 1999.
Jean Chrétien at G8 Summit,
June 1999.
Copyright/Source
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Created: 2001-04-23
Updated: 2002-01-29
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