In completing the task of quoting from all our country’s Prime Ministers – from Sir John A. to our current PM Justin Trudeau – we now return to our favourite quotable PM: John George Diefenbaker. Here are 10 more musings from one of Canada’s most colourful leaders.
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My abiding interest is your interest; my guiding principle is the welfare of the Average Canadian.
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It is so strange that such a great honour should come to a small man like me.
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He who would be chief among you must first be servant of them all.
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The prime minister has all the responsibilities and does all the joe-jobs.
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I cut down on social functions. No prime minister can carry out his responsibilities when he’s going to dinner every night. Dinners are not a substitute for statesmanship.
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Too much and too many of the moneys extorted and squeezed from the Canadian people are being wasted by the parasites of extravagance.
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The heresy of yesterday is the Liberal orthodoxy of today.
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The Liberal Party has become a hodgepodge of discordance, a cacophony of political nonsense.
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No Canadian can but be proud that through the warp and woof of our constitution are the golden threads of our British heritage.
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Freedom grows in the practice of good citizenship. It withers or decays in the apathy or neglect of the citizens of the country.
Chris George is an Ottawa-based government affairs advisor and wordsmith, president of CG&A COMMUNICATIONS. Contact: ChrisG.George@gmail.com
