Are there any Canadian Prime Ministers with a military background?
Lester B Pearson was a medical orderly in the army during the First World War. He eventually earned a commission to Lt and was posted in various locations throughout the Middle East. He went on to be PM from 63 to 68. Before him there was …, well…no one that I could find in my quick check. He seems to be about it, at least with any real military experience. As for why that is the case, I really don’t think that Canadians, as a people, are all that militaristic. We will (and do) fight when threatened but shy of that there is no need for us to beat our chests and have a President that has military experience. (There is no “need” for it in the States either but they seem to think it is important). Also, the President is the “Commander in Chief” of the US military whereas the Canadian PM is not for the CF. Our Commander in Chief is the Governor General who is acting in place of the reigning Sovereign, in this case Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada. ETA: They may feel that
