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Historical rankings of prime ministers of Canada

Surveys have been conducted to construct historical rankings of individuals who have served as prime minister of Canada. These ranking systems are usually based on surveys of academic historians, economists and political scientists. The rankings focus on the achievements, leadership qualities, failures and faults in office.

Scholar survey results

Canadian custom is to count by the individuals who were prime minister, not by terms. Since Confederation, 24 prime ministers have been "called upon" by the governor general to form 30 Canadian ministries.

Legend
<span style="color:blue">Blue</span> backgrounds indicate first quartile.
<span style="color:green">Green</span> backgrounds indicate second quartile.
<span style="color:orange">Orange</span> backgrounds indicate third quartile.
<span style="color:red">Red</span> backgrounds indicate fourth quartile.

Note: Click the "sort" icon at the head of each column to view the rankings for each survey in numerical order.

Sequence listed by first term as prime minister.

By approval rating

The following is a list of prime ministers of Canada by their highest and lowest approval rating during their term. The approval rating system came into effect when John Diefenbaker was prime minister (1957–1963).

Highest approval rating

1. Mark Carney — 68% (June 2025)
2. Jean Chrétien — 66% (September 1994)
3. Justin Trudeau — 65% (September 2016)
4. John Diefenbaker — 64% (June 1958)
5. Stephen Harper — 64% (March 2006)
6. Brian Mulroney — 61% (June 1985)
7. Paul Martin — 56% (September 2004)
8. Lester B. Pearson — 56% (January 1966)
9. Pierre Trudeau — 55% (September 1972)
10. Kim Campbell — 53% (July 1993)

Lowest approval rating

1. Brian Mulroney — 12% (November 1992)
2. Justin Trudeau — 21% (January 2025)
3. Stephen Harper — 23% (May 2013)
4. Joe Clark — 24% (January 1980)
5. Pierre Trudeau — 25% (September 1982)
6. John Diefenbaker — 34% (March 1963)
7. Jean Chrétien — 36% (June 2000)
8. Paul Martin — 41% (June 2005)
9. Lester B. Pearson — 41% (September 1965)
10. Mark Carney — 41% (March 2025)

Other surveys

The Institute for Research on Public Policy undertook a survey to rank the prime ministers who had served in the 50 years preceding 2003. They ranked those nine prime ministers as follows:

  1. Pearson
  2. Mulroney
  3. Pierre Trudeau
  4. St. Laurent
  5. Chrétien
  6. Diefenbaker
  7. Clark ^
  8. Turner ^
  9. Campbell ^

<nowiki>^</nowiki> Served less than 10 months as prime minister, while all others served for more than 4 years, 11 months.

In October 2016, Maclean's again ranked the prime ministers, this time splitting them into two lists. The long-serving prime ministers were ranked as follows:

  1. King
  2. Laurier
  3. Macdonald
  4. Pierre Trudeau
  5. Pearson
  6. St. Laurent
  7. Chrétien
  8. Mulroney
  9. Borden
  10. Harper
  11. Diefenbaker
  12. Mackenzie
  13. Bennett

The short-term prime ministers were ranked as follows:

  1. Martin
  2. Thompson
  3. Meighen
  4. Clark
  5. Tupper
  6. Abbott
  7. Bowell
  8. Turner
  9. Campbell

See also

Other countries

References

Further reading

  • Azzi, Stephen, and Norman Hillmer. "Evaluating prime-ministerial performance: The Canadian experience." in Understanding Prime-Ministerial Performance: Comparative Perspectives (2013): 242-263. online
  • Azzi, Stephen, and Norman Hillmer. "Ranking Prime Ministers: Canada in a Commonwealth Context." Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History 49.1 (2021): 22-43. online
  • Schwanen, Daniel. "Ranking prime ministers of the last 50 years: The numbers speak." POLICY OPTIONS-MONTREAL 24.6 (2003): 18-23. online