Jean Chrétien Quotes

For other people with the name Chrétien, see Chrétien

Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien is a Canadian politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from November 4, 1993, to December 12, 2003.

Born and raised in Shawinigan, Quebec, Chrétien is a law graduate from Université Laval. He was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in 1963. He served in various cabinet posts under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, most prominently as Minister of Justice, Minister of Finance, and Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development. He also served as Deputy Prime Minister in John Turner's short-lived government. He became leader of the Liberal Party of Canada in 1990, and led the party to a majority government in the 1993 federal election. He was reelected with further majorities in 1997 and 2000.

Chrétien was strongly opposed to the Quebec sovereignty movement and supported official bilingualism and multiculturalism. He won a narrow victory as leader of the federalist camp in the 1995 Quebec referendum, and then pioneered the Clarity Act to avoid ambiguity in future referendum questions. He also advanced the Youth Criminal Justice Act in Parliament. Although his popularity and that of the Liberal Party were seemingly unchallenged for three consecutive federal elections, he became subject to various political controversies in the later years of his prime-ministership. He was accused of inappropriate behaviour in the Sponsorship scandal, although he has consistently denied any wrongdoing. He also became embroiled in a protracted struggle within the Liberal Party against long-time political rival Paul Martin. He resigned as prime minister in December 2003, and left public life altogether in order to spend more time with his grandchildren. In retrospective polling, Chrétien ranks highly among scholars and the public. Wikipedia

✵ 11. January 1934

Jean Chrétien photo

Michael Ignatieff, https://www.flickr.com/ / CC BY 2.0

Jean Chrétien: 34 quotes0 likes

Famous Jean Chrétien Quotes

“For me, pepper, I put it on my plate.”

November 25, 1997, at a press conference, in response to a question from Nardwuar the Human Serviette about whether Chrétien supported police use of pepper spray on protestors. Video on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yWf2LLaHkM0 <br class="br">Live

“Economics has been called the dismal science. Once you get to understand it, you may not find it so dismal, but you don't find it much of a science either.”

Source: Straight From The Heart (1985), Chapter Five, A Balancing Act, p. 108

“Canadian federalism is more than a form of government. It's also a system of values that allows different people in diverse communities to live and work together in harmony for the good of all.”

Source: My Years As Prime Minister (2007), Chapter Five, The Phony War, p. 115

“To my mind losing is always better than never trying, because you can never tell what may happen.”

Source: Straight From The Heart (1985), Chapter Nine, Main Street...Bay Street, p. 195

“Politicians of all stripes are always in danger at looking at every problem from an abstract point of view or being briefed by officials, academics, or economists who know every science but the science of human nature.”

Source: My Years As Prime Minister (2007), Chapter Ten, Power behind the Throne, p. 238

“Everybody has the right to speak up in a democracy. We would be in trouble as a society if there wasn't a constant pressure to make reforms and to be just. Sometimes as prime minister, when i was caught up in a really loud demonstration, I used to say to myself that I deserved it because of all the demonstrations I myself had organized as a student against Duplessis.”

Source: My Years As Prime Minister (2007), Chapter Seven, Security Details, p. 183

Jean Chrétien Quotes about home

“Aline and I have travelled a very long, very hard road together, from our working class homes in rural Quebec to the palaces of London, Paris, Moscow, and Beijing. Politics was the route, public service the reward.”

Source: My Years As Prime Minister (2007), Chapter Fourteen, Vive le Canada, p. 406

“For all its prestige, its fabulous views, its indoor pool, and its lovely garden, 24 Sussex is more like an old hotel than a modern home.”

Source: My Years As Prime Minister (2007), Chapter One, At Laurier's Desk, p. 29

“The two of us had come a long way together from our humble beginnings and the basement apartment that had been our first home as newlyweds in 1957, when I was still a law student at Laval University in Quebec City.”

Source: My Years As Prime Minister (2007), Chapter One, At Laurier's Desk, p. 28 ( See also: Aline Chretien)

Jean Chrétien Quotes

“Most Canadians don't understand the House of Commons.”

Source: Straight From The Heart (1985), Chapter Two, Learning The Ropes, p. 36
Context: Most Canadians don't understand the House of Commons. They turn on their televisions, see us yelling at one another, and dismiss us as a bunch of fools.

“Taken to its logical extreme, the Laffer curve makes no sense because, if you lower your taxes to zero, how are you going to get higher revenues?”

Source: My Years As Prime Minister (2007), Chapter Two, The Virtuous Circle, p. 75
Context: I never bought into the Laffer curve, a theory, named after an American supply-side economist who had been an adviser to the Reagan administration, that essentially argues that a government will increase its revenue by reducing its taxes. If it were that easy, everybody would do it. What politician doesn't want to reduce taxes in order to win votes? Taken to its logical extreme, the Laffer curve makes no sense because, if you lower your taxes to zero, how are you going to get higher revenues? In practice, every government that toyed with this theory ended up with larger deficits, higher interest rates and greater social inequality.

“The art of politics is learning to walk with your back to the wall,”

Source: Straight From The Heart (1985), Chapter Five, A Balancing Act, p. 118
Context: The art of politics is learning to walk with your back to the wall, your elbows high, and a smile on your face. It's a survival game played under the glare of lights.

“The public is moved by mood more than logic, by instinct more than reason,”

Source: Straight From The Heart (1985), Chapter Three, The Business Of politics, p. 67
Context: A successful politician must not only be able to read the mood of the public, he must have the skill to get the public on his side. The public is moved by mood more than logic, by instinct more than reason, and that is something that every politician must make use of or guard against

“God gave me a physical defect, and I've accepted that since I'm a kid.”

1993, at a campaign stop, in response to the infamous attack ad that appeared to mock him and suggest he was unfit for the job of Prime Minister due to his Bell's Palsy condition. Source video on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PikszBkfTHM <br class="br">Live <br class="br">Context: But last night, the Conservative Party reached a new low; they tried to make fun of the way I look. God gave me a physical defect, and I've accepted that since I'm a kid. It's true, that I speak on one side of my mouth. I'm not a Tory, I don't speak on both sides of my mouth.

“They may think that they are very smart about everything because they made millions of dollars by digging a hole in the ground and finding oil, but the talent and luck needed to become rich are not the same talent and luck needed to succeed on Parliament Hill.”

Source: Straight From The Heart (1985), Chapter Four, The Politics Of Business, p. 91
Context: I learned early that business is business and politics is politics. The proof is how few important businessmen have made good politicians. They may think that they are very smart about everything because they made millions of dollars by digging a hole in the ground and finding oil, but the talent and luck needed to become rich are not the same talent and luck needed to succeed on Parliament Hill.

“A man can't ask for much more than the chance to make a difference in his chosen field of work. Politics is my vocation. I'm forever grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this great country of ours. I know I am a better person for it.”

Preface, p. 10
Straight From The Heart (1985)

“Three months later, on September 5, 2001, at a pro-am event preceding the Canadian Open at the Royal Montreal Golf Club, I was invited to play a round with Tiger Woods. Nothing in the game of politics had ever been as nerve-racking as that game of golf.”

Source: My Years As Prime Minister (2007), Chapter Eight, Tales from the Nineteenth Hole, p. 198

“Politics is a game of friends.”

Source: Straight From The Heart (1985), Chapter One, A Passion For Politics, p. 23

“A leader has to know how the system functions - not just the system of government but the whole social and economic system, including business, the unions, and the universities.”

Source: Straight From The Heart (1985), Chapter Three, The Business Of politics, p. 76

“Mr President," I said, " I have to tell you something. I don't want to get too close to you." He looked startled. I imagine it was a rare thing for a U. S. Commander-in-chief to hear. "Canada is your best friend, largest trading partner, and closest ally, but we are also an independent country. Keeping some distance will be good for both of us. If we look as though we're the fifty-first state of the United States, there is nothing we can do for you internationally, just as the governor of a state can't do anything for you internationally. But if we look independent enough, we can do things for you that even the CIA cannot do.”

Source: My Years As Prime Minister (2007), Chapter Three, Yankee Traders, p. 87

“Vision is not political rhetoric.”

Source: My Years As Prime Minister (2007), Chapter Eleven, No the Retiring Type, p. 264

“It's one thing for a courier service transport letters and documents from one city to another at a cost that only big business can afford; but it's another thing to take a letter from an Indian boy studying at the University of Ottawa to his mother in Old Crow.”

Source: Straight From The Heart (1985), Chapter Four, The Politics Of Business, p. 92

“I was proud to have been the anti-establishment candidate after more than twenty years in politics, a small town guy fighting for the ordinary Canadian.”

Source: Straight From The Heart (1985), Chapter Nine, Main Street...Bay Street, p. 211

“There is nothing more nervous than a million dollars - it moves very fast, and it doesn't speak any language.”

Source: My Years As Prime Minister (2007), Chapter Thirteen, Friends and Allies, p. 364

“Our old-fashioned system is better than any new-fangled voting machine. Not only is it guaranteed to work, but there is something I find appealing in putting a mark on a piece of paper for the candidate of your choice, as opposed to pulling a lever as if you were gambling on a slot machine in Las Vegas.”

Source: My Years As Prime Minister (2007), Chapter Twelve, No To War, p. 287

“At one point Trudeau mentioned to me that the National Gallery wanted to buy a masterpiece by the great Italian painter Lotto, and it needed a million dollars from the Treasury Board. "Is that Lotto-Quebec or Lotto-Canada?" I joked, but I got the message, and the National Gallery got the painting.”

Source: Straight From The Heart (1985), Chapter Three, The Business Of politics, p. 87

“The problem was, I enjoyed Question Period too much and loved the challenge it provided. Far from being a dreaded burden, it had become an exciting part of my life; opposition members attacked me, I fought back, I won or lost or held them to draw, and the next day we did it all over again.”

Source: My Years As Prime Minister (2007), Chapter Four, One Day at a Time, p. 106-107

“There's no such thing as a genius in politics, or at least I have never met one. There are only human beings, some better than others, who rise or fall on the challenges they meet.”

Source: My Years As Prime Minister (2007), Chapter Nine, But Who Watches The Dog?, p. 211

“I've never believed in seeking perfection at the risk of losing everything.”

Source: Straight From The Heart (1985), Chapter Eight, A New Constitution, p. 189

“Trudeau valued performance above image. He Knew he could give me a shovel if there was a mess to clean up, and he kept moving me from one mess to another.”

Source: My Years As Prime Minister (2007), Chapter One, At Laurier's Desk, p. 16

“To be frank, politics is about wanting power, getting it, exercising it, and keeping it.”

Entre Nous, p. 2
My Years As Prime Minister (2007)

“Over the years, I have seen too many politicians ruin their careers because they could not accept defeat graciously.”

Source: My Years As Prime Minister (2007), Chapter Six, "I Want Clarity!", 150

“I didn't feel the need to have a lot of yes-men standing around me. As Mitchell Sharp once put it, the bigger the staff, the smaller the minister.”

Source: My Years As Prime Minister (2007), Chapter One, At Laurier's Desk, p. 38

“It is not the government's purpose to make a profit the way a company does, because a company doesn't have to give a damn about the unemployed poor or provide services that are non-commercial by definition.”

Source: Straight From The Heart (1985), Chapter Five, A Balancing Act, p. 111-112

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