Louis St. Laurent

Uncommon card · No. 192167

Louis Stephen St. Laurent (French: [lwi sɛ̃ lɔʁɑ̃]; February 1, 1882 – July 25, 1973) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 12th prime minister of Canada from 1948 to 1957. Born in Compton, Quebec, St. Laurent was a prominent lawyer and supporter of the Liberal Party of Canada. In 1941, he entered politics as minister of justice under Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King, and in 1942 he won a by-election in the riding of Quebec East. In 1946, St. Laurent became secretary of state for external affairs and served in that post until two years later, when he became leader of the Liberal Party and prime minister, succeeding King who had retired. St. Laurent led the party to back-to-back landslide majority governments in the federal elections of 1949 and 1953. The second French Canadian prime minister after Wilfrid Laurier, St. Laurent expanded the Canadian welfare state by introducing equalization payments, the registered retirement savings plan (RRSP), and the Hospital...

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