III.

Ministerial Career

Chrétien’s election to Parliament in 1963 coincided with the Liberals’ return to power, under Lester Pearson, after six years of Conservative government. The new member of Parliament from Saint-Maurice-LaFlèche quickly caught the attention of his colleagues in Parliament with his energy, organizational abilities, and effective political style. In 1965 Pearson chose Chrétien as his parliamentary secretary. In that position, Chrétien had no specific administrative responsibilities, but he had an opportunity to work closely with Pearson.

Following the election, held later in 1965, Pearson appointed Chrétien parliamentary secretary to the minister of finance, Mitchell Sharp. This appointment was a turning point in Chrétien’s career. Sharp, a senior and respected minister, became Chrétien’s counselor and political mentor. Chrétien had come to Ottawa as a “left” Liberal, committed to the concept of an activist government that cares for the economically weaker members of society. Under Sharp’s tutelage, Chrétien acquired the view that proposals for government action should always be assessed against the need both to avoid large deficits and to preserve an economic climate attractive to investors. Chrétien continued to see government action as a positive force for helping the disadvantaged, but began to judge each case on what was practical within economic constraints.

A.

Early Cabinet Appointments

In 1967 Chrétien gained his first cabinet appointment as a minister in the Department of Finance, and the following year he became minister of national revenue. His early appointments were primarily administrative, with little policymaking responsibility. They gave Chrétien an opportunity to develop ministerial experience without serious political risk.

In 1968 Pierre Elliott Trudeau succeeded Pearson as Liberal leader and prime minister, and he promoted Chrétien to the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development—Chrétien’s first tough ministerial assignment. As Chrétien began his tenure at the department, indigenous leaders and groups were becoming more politically active. They were determined to improve the living conditions of their people, to preserve rights guaranteed by Indian treaties, and to achieve self-government. Although Trudeau wanted to improve indigenous people’s living conditions, he opposed granting them special treatment as a particular group because he believed that rights should be granted only to individuals, not to groups.

In 1969, when Chrétien introduced policy proposals based on this principle, indigenous peoples reacted with such hostility that he ultimately had to withdraw the proposals. Despite this and other clashes with indigenous leaders, Chrétien continued to work at improving the government relations with them. By the time he left the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs in 1974, he had earned their respect and appreciation for his efforts.

Following the 1974 election, Trudeau appointed Chrétien president of the Treasury Board, the ministry that controls government spending. At this post, Chrétien became involved in the problem of trying to contain the government’s growing deficit. The minister of finance actually controlled the budget, so Chrétien had little control over the overall problem of the deficit. However, he closely monitored spending and earned a reputation as a competent administrator. Two years later he moved to the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Commerce, where he had an opportunity to take a more active role in economic policymaking. Chrétien encouraged industrial production and international trade, and contemporaries judged his performance in this ministry to be strong.

B.

Minister of Finance

In 1977 Trudeau appointed Chrétien to the critically important role of minister of finance. The political situation in Québec influenced Trudeau’s decision. In 1976 the separatist Parti Québécois won control of Québec’s legislature and announced its intention to hold a referendum on whether Québec should secede from Canada. By moving Chrétien to the Department of Finance, Trudeau hoped to use Chrétien’s management skills and appeal as a Québec native to help convince Québec voters of the economic advantages of remaining within the Canadian confederation.

Unfortunately for Chrétien, he came to the Department of Finance when the country was entering a period of severe economic difficulty. Inflation and unemployment were rising while the growing deficit increasingly limited the government’s possible responses. Chrétien could find no course that offered clear solutions. In 1978 Chrétien clashed with the Québec provincial government after he proposed a temporary cut in provincial sales taxes as a means to stimulate the economy. Québec finance minister Jacques Parizeau requested changes to the tax proposal, but Chrétien said Parizeau had already agreed to the proposal before it was announced, and he refused to make changes. As a result Chrétien came under attack from the Québec press and opposition parties, as well as from the Québec government, which refused to participate in the federal tax plan. A few months later Chrétien’s reputation suffered an even more damaging blow when the prime minister announced major spending cuts without consulting him.

In 1979 the Trudeau government lost to the Conservatives in a general election in which the Liberal government’s management of the economy was a central issue. However, the Liberals spent only nine months in opposition because the Conservative government did not command a majority in Parliament. All of the opposition parties combined to vote against the Conservatives’ budget, forcing Prime Minister Joe Clark to call an election. The Liberals won. When Trudeau formed his Cabinet in March 1980, he gave Chrétien the greatest challenge of his ministerial career, appointing him minister of justice. In this position Chrétien was responsible for directing the federal government’s campaign opposing the referendum on Québec secession.

C.

Minister of Justice

A key element in the government’s campaign against the Québec referendum was a promise by Trudeau to reform Canada’s constitution. In May 1980 Québec voters rejected provincial independence, with nearly 60 percent voting against the measure. After the referendum failed, Trudeau assigned Chrétien to work with him to negotiate constitutional changes with the provinces. The government’s proposed changes included streamlining the process for amending the Constitution so that unanimous approval by the provinces would not be required. The government also wanted to incorporate a bill of rights, which the provinces would not be able to override, into the Constitution. This bill of rights was called the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Nearly all of the provinces initially opposed the proposed changes, primarily because of the way the charter would limit provincial powers. Québec was also dissatisfied because the new constitution would not recognize the province as a “distinct society” and would deny it a veto over constitutional amendments—which it deemed vital to the protection of its interests as the only predominantly French-speaking province. Over the next 18 months, while Trudeau was clearly in charge of negotiations on behalf of the federal government, it was Chrétien who built goodwill with provincial negotiators and kept the lines of communication open to the provinces. When all of the provinces, except Québec, agreed to the terms of constitutional reform, Chrétien shared in the triumph. However, by supporting the constitutional changes, Chrétien had alienated many people in Québec, where both the separatist government and the opposition provincial Liberal Party viewed the changes as illegitimate. Later in 1982 Trudeau moved Chrétien from the Department of Justice to the Department of Energy, Mines, and Resources.

In February 1984 Trudeau announced he would resign as Liberal Party leader, and Chrétien focused on fulfilling his own ambition to become party leader and prime minister. Chrétien was one of the two leading candidates at a party convention in June. The other frontrunner was John Turner, a prominent former Trudeau minister who had resigned from politics in 1976 to practice law.

Chrétien had two major disadvantages. After being out of politics for eight years, Turner was widely viewed as representing change, while Chrétien was considered as part of the tired establishment. Second, the Liberal Party had traditionally alternated French- and English-speaking leaders. For that reason many delegates at the leadership convention in June 1984 felt they should support Turner. Turner won on the second ballot. Three weeks later he became prime minister and appointed Chrétien as deputy prime minister and minister of external affairs. In the September 1984 election, the Conservatives, led by Brian Mulroney, routed the Liberals and swept Turner and his Cabinet out of office.