6 Jean Chrétien: A Vision of Canada Through an Analysis of His Throne Speeches (6/6) -- Canada and Speeches from the Throne

6 Jean Chrétien: A Vision of Canada Through an Analysis of His Throne Speeches A Vision of Canada Through an Analysis of His Throne Speeches Sarah Hoag Introduction For the purpose of this analysis, the Prime Minister Jean Chrétien’s Speech from the Throne of 1994 will be compared to his Throne Speech of 2002. This comparison will be supplemented with his response to the Reply of the Official Opposition on Leaders’ Day. In the Canadian Parliamentary system, several days are set aside to debate the Throne Speech, and on Leaders’ Day, the Leader of the Opposition normally moves an amendment to the motion to accept the Throne followed by the Prime Minister who expands on the items raised in the Throne Speech and defends the policies of his government. The Throne Speech of 1994 was a first for Jean Chrétien as Canada’s Prime Minister, and the 2002 speech was his last as Prime Minister, although the Liberal party remained in power following his retirement. Such a comparison of Chrétien’s first and last Speeches from the Throne provides an excellent lens with which to analyse Jean Chrétien’s vision of Canada over his approximately nine years in office. Though a comparison of all Throne Speeches delivered during Chrétien’s time as Prime Minister might also provide an outline of his vision for Canada, such an undertaking is beyond the scope of this paper and would merit more than a mere book chapter. In fact, such an analysis would likely require, at least, several monographs. This paper will not seek instead to analyze Chrétien’s government on the basis of fulfilling their promises outlined in two separate Throne Speeches. Of course, Political discourse changes over a Prime Minister’s tenure, necessitated by a plethora of factors such as fiscal considerations, national sentiments, global events, and many others. This paper, however, seeks only to understand the vision Jean Chrétien demonstrated for Canada by analysing his book-end Throne Speeches, the one at the beginning of his administration and the one at the end of it. As Jean Chrétien said, “A Speech from the Throne is an opportunity for the government to step back and take stock of where it is and set out the priorities for where it wants to go.”1 History and Speeches The Throne Speeches of the 35th to 37th Parliaments give insight into the Liberal party agenda for Canada in light of the 1991 shift from the Conservative leadership of Canada under Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. In many ways, the Liberal government of Jean Chrétien came into a power vacuum. Brain Mulroney, the charismatic and strong Progressive Conservative leader, had stepped down as prime minister and party leader in 1993, leaving some Canadians feeling orphaned2. Jean Chrétien, a life-long politician and Liberal, rose to power through his persistence and the unique ideas he had developed in the Liberal party under former leaders Pierre Elliot Trudeau and Lester B. Pearson. As a child and young adult, Jean Chrétien had been the su