List of prime ministers of Canada by longevity
This is a list of prime ministers of Canada by longevity. Where the Prime Minister in question is still living, the longevity is calculated up to February 1, 2021.
Two measures of the longevity are given; this is to allow for the differing number of leap days occurring within the life of each Prime Minister. The first column is the number of days between date of birth and date of death, allowing for leap days; the second column breaks this number down into years and days, with the years being the number of whole years the Prime Minister lived, and the days being the remaining number of days after his/her last birthday.
Overview
If a Prime Minister served more than one non-consecutive term, the dates listed below are for the beginning of their first term, and the end of their final term.
The median age at which a Prime Minister first takes office is roughly 54 years and 10 months, which falls between Wilfrid Laurier and John Turner. The youngest person to become Prime Minister was Joe Clark, who took office one day before his 40th birthday. The oldest person to become Prime Minister was Charles Tupper at the age of 74 years, 304 days. The oldest person ever to serve as Prime Minister was John A. Macdonald, who was still in office when he died at the age of 76 years, 146 days.
Born on January 11, 1934, Jean Chretien is older than 3 of his predecessors: Brian Mulroney (5 years, 68 days); Joe Clark (5 years, 145 days); and Kim Campbell (13 years, 58 days).
The oldest living Prime Minister is Jean Chretien, born January 11, 1934 (aged 87 years, 21 days). The second-oldest living Prime Minister is Paul Martin, born August 28, 1938 (aged 82 years, 157 days). The youngest living Prime Minister is the incumbent, Justin Trudeau, born December 25, 1971 (aged 49 years, 38 days).
The longest lived Prime Minister was Charles Tupper, who died at the age of 94 years, 120 days. Mackenzie Bowell was the second-longest lived Prime Minister. Bowell died at the age of 93 years, 348 days, only 136 days short of matching Tupper. Jean Chretien, the oldest living Prime Minister, will tie Tupper if he lives to May 9, 2028. The shortest lived Prime Minister was John S. Thompson, who died (in office) at the age of 49 years, 32 days. Macdonald and Thompson were the only two prime ministers to die in office.
In 2015, Justin Trudeau became the second-youngest person to become Prime Minister. He started his first term at the age of 43 years and 314 days. The only person to become prime minister younger than Justin Trudeau was Joe Clark.
Joe Clark has the distinction of having the longest retirement of any former prime minister, currently at 40 years, 335 days since leaving office on March 3, 1980. He surpassed the previous record, held by Arthur Meighen (33 years, 315 days) on January 12, 2014. The prime minister with the shortest retirement is John Abbott, who died on October 30, 1893, 340 days after he left office on November 24, 1892.
Four prime ministers have lived into their 90s. They are Sir Charles Tupper (1821–1915), Sir Mackenzie Bowell (1823–1917), Louis St. Laurent (1882–1973) and John Turner (1929–2020).
Prime ministers of Canada
| # |
Prime Minister |
Date of birth |
Start date of (first) term |
Age at beginning of (first) term |
End date of (final) term |
Total time in office |
Length of retirement |
Date of death |
Lifespan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | John A. Macdonald | January 11, 1815 | July 1, 1867[1] | 52 years, 171 days | June 6, 1891[2] | 6,934 days | N/A | June 6, 1891 | 27,905 days (76 years, 146 days) |
| 2 | Alexander Mackenzie | January 28, 1822 | November 7, 1873 | 51 years, 283 days | October 9, 1878 | 1,797 days | 13 years, 191 days | April 17, 1892 | 25,647 days (70 years, 80 days) |
| 3 | John Abbott | March 12, 1821 | June 16, 1891 | 70 years, 96 days | November 24, 1892 | 527 days | 340 days | October 30, 1893 | 26,530 days (72 years, 232 days) |
| 4 | John Thompson | November 10, 1845 | December 5, 1892 | 47 years, 25 days | December 12, 1894[2] | 737 days | N/A | December 12, 1894 | 17,929 days (49 years, 32 days) |
| 5 | Mackenzie Bowell | December 27, 1823 | December 21, 1894 | 70 years, 359 days | April 27, 1896 | 493 days | 21 years, 227 days | December 10, 1917 | 34,316 days (93 years, 348 days) |
| 6 | Charles Tupper | July 2, 1821 | May 1, 1896 | 74 years, 304 days | July 8, 1896 | 68 days | 19 years, 114 days | October 30, 1915 | 34,452 days (94 years, 120 days) |
| 7 | Wilfrid Laurier | November 20, 1841 | July 11, 1896 | 54 years, 234 days | October 5, 1911 | 5,563 days | 7 years, 135 days | February 17, 1919 | 28,212 days (77 years, 89 days) |
| 8 | Robert Borden | June 26, 1854 | October 10, 1911 | 57 years, 106 days | July 10, 1920 | 3,196 days | 16 years, 335 days | June 10, 1937 | 30,299 days (82 years, 349 days) |
| 9 | Arthur Meighen | June 16, 1874 | July 10, 1920 | 46 years, 24 days | September 25, 1926 | 625 days | 33 years, 315 days | August 5, 1960 | 31,461 days (86 years, 50 days) |
| 10 | W.L. Mackenzie King | December 17, 1874 | December 29, 1921 | 47 years, 12 days | November 15, 1948 | 7,826 days | 1 year, 249 days | July 22, 1950 | 27,610 days (75 years, 217 days) |
| 11 | R.B. Bennett | July 3, 1870 | August 7, 1930 | 60 years, 35 days | October 23, 1935 | 1,903 days | 11 years, 246 days | June 26, 1947 | 28,116 days (76 years, 358 days) |
| 12 | Louis St. Laurent | February 1, 1882 | November 15, 1948 | 66 years, 288 days | June 21, 1957 | 3,140 days | 16 years, 34 days | July 25, 1973 | 33,411 days (91 years, 174 days) |
| 13 | John Diefenbaker | September 18, 1895 | June 21, 1957 | 61 years, 276 days | April 22, 1963 | 2,131 days | 16 years, 116 days | August 16, 1979 | 30,647 days (83 years, 332 days) |
| 14 | Lester B. Pearson | April 23, 1897 | April 22, 1963 | 65 years, 364 days | April 20, 1968 | 1,825 days | 4 years, 251 days | December 27, 1972 | 27,641 days (75 years, 248 days) |
| 15 | Pierre Trudeau | October 18, 1919 | April 20, 1968 | 48 years, 185 days | June 30, 1984 | 5,642 days | 16 years, 90 days | September 28, 2000 | 29,566 days (80 years, 346 days) |
| 16 | Joe Clark | June 5, 1939 | June 4, 1979 | 39 years, 364 days | March 3, 1980 | 273 days | 40 years, 335 days | 29,827 days (81 years, 241 days) | |
| 17 | John Turner | June 7, 1929 | June 30, 1984 | 55 years, 23 days | September 17, 1984 | 79 days | 36 years, 2 days | September 19, 2020 | 33,342 days (91 years, 104 days) |
| 18 | Brian Mulroney | March 20, 1939 | September 17, 1984 | 45 years, 181 days | June 25, 1993 | 3,203 days | 27 years, 221 days | 29,904 days (81 years, 318 days) | |
| 19 | Kim Campbell | March 10, 1947 | June 25, 1993 | 46 years, 107 days | November 4, 1993 | 132 days | 27 years, 89 days | 26,992 days (73 years, 328 days) | |
| 20 | Jean Chrétien | January 11, 1934 | November 4, 1993 | 59 years, 297 days | December 12, 2003 | 3,690 days | 17 years, 51 days | 31,798 days (87 years, 21 days) | |
| 21 | Paul Martin | August 28, 1938 | December 12, 2003 | 65 years, 106 days | February 6, 2006 | 787 days | 14 years, 361 days | 30,108 days (82 years, 157 days) | |
| 22 | Stephen Harper | April 30, 1959 | February 6, 2006 | 46 years, 282 days | November 4, 2015 | 3,558 days | 5 years, 89 days | 22,558 days (61 years, 277 days) | |
| 23 | Justin Trudeau | December 25, 1971 | November 4, 2015 | 43 years, 314 days | Incumbent | 1,916 days | Incumbent | 17,936 days (49 years, 38 days) | |
Oldest living prime ministers of Canada
Not all prime ministers live to become the oldest of their time. Of the 16 deceased prime ministers, 13 eventually became the oldest of their time, while 2 did not (William Lyon Mackenzie King and Lester B. Pearson being the only exceptions). John A. Macdonald became the oldest living prime minister when he was appointed in 1867 and remained so until his death in 1891, for a record of almost 24 years. John Thompson became the oldest living prime minister after the death of John Abbott, but he survived Abbott by only 1 year and 43 days.
On two occasions the oldest living prime minister lost this distinction not by his death, but due to the appointment of a prime minister who was older. Alexander Mackenzie, who became the oldest living during a vacancy in the office of Prime Minister following the death of John A. Macdonald, lost this distinction when John Abbott was appointed to succeed Macdonald. Mackenzie Bowell lost this distinction when Charles Tupper was appointed, but when Tupper died in 1915, Bowell regained it again until his own death in 1917 for a total period of 3 years and 182 days. Jean Chrétien was the oldest to acquire this distinction at the age of 86 years and 252 days. Lester B. Pearson, who was 75 years and 248 days old when he died, on December 27, 1972 was the oldest and most recent prime minister to die without ever acquiring this distinction.
| Prime Minister | Became oldest living prime minister | Ceased to be oldest living prime minister | Age at start date | Age at end date | Duration (years, days) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John A. Macdonald | July 1, 1867 | June 6, 1891 | 52 years, 171 days | 76 years, 146 days | 23 years, 340 days |
| Alexander Mackenzie | June 6, 1891 | June 16, 1891 | 69 years, 129 days | 69 years, 139 days | 10 days |
| John Abbott | June 6, 1891 | October 30, 1893 | 70 years, 86 days | 72 years, 232 days | 2 years, 136 days |
| John Thompson | October 30, 1893 | December 12, 1894 | 47 years, 354 days | 49 years, 32 days | 1 year, 43 days |
| Mackenzie Bowell | December 21, 1894 | May 1, 1896 | 70 years, 350 days | 72 years, 126 days | 1 year, 132 days |
| Charles Tupper | May 1, 1896 | October 30, 1915 | 74 years, 304 days | 94 years, 120 days | 19 years, 182 days |
| Mackenzie Bowell | October 30, 1915 | December 10, 1917 | 91 years, 307 days | 93 years, 348 days | 2 years, 41 days |
| Wilfrid Laurier | December 10, 1917 | February 17, 1919 | 76 years, 20 days | 77 years, 89 days | 1 year, 69 days |
| Robert Borden | February 17, 1919 | June 10, 1937 | 64 years, 236 days | 82 years, 349 days | 18 years, 113 days |
| R.B. Bennett | June 10, 1937 | June 26, 1947 | 66 years, 342 days | 76 years, 358 days | 10 years, 16 days |
| Arthur Meighen | June 26, 1947 | August 5, 1960 | 73 years, 10 days | 86 years, 50 days | 13 years, 40 days |
| Louis St. Laurent | August 5, 1960 | July 25, 1973 | 78 years, 186 days | 91 years, 174 days | 12 years, 354 days |
| John Diefenbaker | July 25, 1973 | August 16, 1979 | 77 years, 310 days | 83 years, 332 days | 6 years, 22 days |
| Pierre Trudeau | August 16, 1979 | September 28, 2000 | 59 years, 302 days | 80 years, 346 days | 21 years, 43 days |
| John Turner | September 28, 2000 | September 19, 2020 | 71 years, 113 days | 91 years, 104 days | 19 years, 357 days |
| Jean Chrétien | September 19, 2020 | Current oldest living prime minister | 86 years, 252 days | Current oldest living prime minister | 135 days |
| Prime Minister | Became oldest living prime minister | Ceased to be oldest living prime minister | Age at start date | Age at end date | Duration (years, days) |
Notes
- Date of Canadian Confederation.
- Died in office on this date.
Sources
- Government of Canada. Library of Parliament. "Prime Ministers of Canada". Retrieved September 3, 2016.
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