Rt. Hon. Jean Chrétien to Receive 2023 Award for Excellence
The Churchill Society for the Advancement of Parliamentary Democracy announced today that the 20th Prime Minister of Canada, the Right Honourable Jean Chrétien, will be the 2023 recipient of the Society's Award for Excellence in the Cause of Parliamentary Democracy.
"In his maiden speech 60 years ago Mr. Chrétien dedicated himself to the ideals of parliamentary democracy by pledging that "even though we occupy the government benches we must give the members of this house the assurance that we will give our point of view on every matter raised before the House of Commons" remarked Cameron MacKay, Chair of the Churchill Society for the Advancement of Parliamentary Democracy. He guarded that flame throughout his remarkable parliamentary career and it never dimmed, and for that we honour him" added MacKay.
Jean Chrétien was elected in 1963 as the Member of Parliament for Saint-Maurice-Laflèche and served in the House of Commons for more than 36 years until his retirement in 2003. Mr. Chrétien was a member of the cabinet from 1967 until 1984, serving in Finance, Justice and External Affairs, and was elected Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada in 1990. In October 1993, Jean Chrétien was elected Prime Minister at the head of a Majority Liberal Government and was re-elected in 1997 and 2000 with two more majorities. He retired as Prime Minister in 2003.
As Minister of Justice in the government of Pierre Trudeau, Mr. Chrétien helped negotiate the patriation of the Canadian constitution and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. As Prime Minister, Mr. Chrétien led the federalist forces to a victory in the Quebec separatist referendum and in 1998 produced Canada's first budgetary surplus in nearly thirty years. Under Mr. Chrétien, Canada joined the coalition war in Afghanistan but did not join the United States in the war in Iraq. In 2003 Mr. Chrétien introduced legislation to change the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples.
Mr. Chrétien has been awarded fourteen honourary degrees from Canadian universities and was named a Companion of the Order of Canada in 2007.
Mr. Chrétien will be the 40th recipient of the Churchill Society's Award of Excellence and sixth Canadian Prime Minister to receive the award. This year's Award Dinner will be held at 6:00 pm at the Arcadian Court in downtown Toronto on November 29, 2023. This year's dinner will feature a fireside-style discussion between author and journalist Ron Graham and Mr. Chrétien.
The Churchill Society for the Advancement of Parliamentary Democracy is a non-partisan, charitable organization that honours the life of Sir Winston Churchill by facilitating education, discussion and debate about Canada's parliamentary democracy.