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Jean Chrétien Facts & Worksheets

Joseph-Jacques-Jean Chrétien is a Canadian lawyer and Liberal Party politician who served as prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003.

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Joseph-Jacques-Jean Chrétien is a Canadian lawyer and Liberal Party politician who served as prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003.

See the fact file below for more information on the Jean Chrétien or alternatively, you can download our 21-page Jean Chrétien worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION

  • Chrétien was the 18th of 19 children and was born on January 11, 1934, in Shawinigan, Quebec.
  • The working-class Chrétien family was poor, so his parents tried to emphasize the importance of education to all their children.
  • After earning a rough reputation throughout elementary and high school, as well as suffering the effect of Bell’s Palsy, Chrétien eventually attended Séminaire Saint-Joseph de Trois-Rivières and studied law at Université Laval.

EARLY POLITICAL CAREER

  • Chrétien won election to the House of Commons as a Liberal in 1963, representing the riding of St-Maurice –Laflèche. He then served in Prime Minister Lester Pearson’s Cabinet as the minister of national revenue.
  • Under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, Chrétien occupied different governmental jobs in several fields, including the treasury board; industry, trade, and commerce; finance; justice; energy, mines, and resources; and Indigenous affairs. He then served as the minister of Indian affairs and northern development.
  • As minister of justice for two years, beginning in 1980, he led the federalist forces in the Quebec referendum of May 1980. He then supported the framing and implementation of the Constitution’s patriation and the enactment of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
  • In 1984, he ran second to John Turner in the Liberal leadership campaign. In the subsequent election, Chrétien retained his seat in the House of Commons as the Liberals lost power.
  • In 1986, he resigned and returned to private law practice. Around this time, he published his autobiography, Straight from the Heart (1985).
  • Chrétien succeeded in winning the Liberal leadership and returned to the House of Commons in 1990.
  • In the October 1993 election, Chrétien focused on the issue of job creation and released a detailed platform that effectively answered criticisms of him possibly returning to the high spending levels of previous Liberal governments.
  • The Liberals won with 177 seats, and Chrétien was eventually sworn in as Canada’s 20th prime minister.

First Term as Prime Minister (1993–97)

  • The previous government left behind high taxes, a high national debt, and a huge annual deficit. In response, Chrétien prioritized limiting federal programs, including subsidies to the provinces, as well as eliminating the deficit.
  • In the following years, economic conditions showed improvement, and Canadian revenues rose. In 1998, Canada registered its first surplus in nearly 30 years.
  • However, Chrétien faced the perennial issue of Quebec separatism, and during the October 1995 Quebec referendum, he saw the public’s displeasure.
  • Not long after, an armed intruder broke into the prime minister’s residence. The intruder was charged with attempted murder but was not held criminally responsible since he was diagnosed to have been suffering from paranoid schizophrenia.
  • In foreign policy, Chrétien focused on economic diplomacy and led “Team Canada” missions to various countries and regions to strengthen long-term economic benefits.
  • He also supported Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy’s campaign against anti-personnel landmines and efforts to create an International Criminal Court.
  • In Canada-US relations, Chrétien established a low-profile but cordial relationship with then US president Bill Clinton.
  • In 1997, Chrétien called for a federal election and won with a majority of 155 seats.

Second Term as Prime Minister (1997–2000)

  • In his second term, Chrétien’s government presented a balanced budget in February 1998.
  • His government then introduced the National Child Benefit program for the children of low-income parents.
  • Militarily, Canada supported the NATO bombing campaign of Yugoslavia over the issue of Kosovo in 1999. This was NATO’s first aggressive campaign taken against a sovereign state.
  • During this term, he was criticized for accommodating China’s and Indonesia’s leaders, who were known to violate human rights in their countries, during the G8 Summit in July 2000. His close relations to other controversial leaders were also frowned upon, especially by the opposition.
  • Furthermore, his decision to deny compensation to people diagnosed with Hepatitis C also drew ire from the people.
  • Taking advantage of the opposition’s unorganized system, Chrétien called another early election in the fall of 2000 and secured a third straight majority vote with 172 seats and nearly 41% of the vote.

Third Term as Prime Minister (2000–03)

  • Chrétien’s priority in the first half of 2001 was increasing the pay of the members of the parliament (MPs) by 20 percent.
  • On foreign affairs, the main issue Chrétien faced was Canada’s strained relations with the United States when President George W. Bush was elected in 2000 and the fact that Canada was still heavily dependent on the American market for its exports.
  • Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, in the United States, Canada moved swiftly to introduce an anti-terrorism bill and increased spending on domestic security.
  • Canada sent what troops it could to the war in Afghanistan beginning in early 2002.
  • However, when U.S. President George Bush began preparations to attack Iraq, believing that the Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein, had weapons of mass destruction that threatened the western world, Chrétien refused to participate directly. He declared that Canada would only take part when the UN Security Council authorized it.
  • Chrétien strengthened Canada’s foreign policy in his remaining months of leadership, focusing on aid and development. He increased foreign aid with a $50 million donation for vaccine and research to fight AIDS in Africa.
  • In December 2002, Canada adhered to the Kyoto Protocol to the U.N. Convention on Climate Change and at the G8 meeting, and he made Africa a central part of the agenda.
  • After retiring from political life, Chrétien became counsel to two law firms. He has also been involved in various international organizations, such as the World Leadership Alliance–Club de Madrid, a group of former world leaders that consults on challenges facing democratic governments.
  • He is also on the Honour Committee of the Fondation Chirac and became co-chair of the InterAction Council.

Jean Chrétien Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about Jean Chrétien across 21 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Jean Chrétien worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about Joseph-Jacques-Jean Chrétien who is a Canadian lawyer and Liberal Party politician who served as prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Jean Chrétien Facts
  • Chrétien’s Timeline
  • The Career Man
  • Road to the Top
  • Prime Minister’s Duty
  • “The Middle Power”
  • “Multilateralism”
  • Canada and the Commonwealth
  • Chrétien’s Words
  • The Future of Canada
  • Promoting Canada

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