List of Political Catch Phrases - Canada

Canada

• "Let us be English or let us be French . . . and above all let us be Canadians." John A. Macdonald
• "Not necessarily conscription but conscription if necessary." Said by William Lyon Mackenzie King in the House of Commons on 10 June 1942, it reflected the federal government's ambiguous response to conscription in World War II, which eventually led to the Conscription Crisis of 1944.
• "Conscription if necessary but not necessarily conscription." William Lyon Mackenzie King during the Conscription Crisis of 1944
• "We shall be Canadians first, foremost, and always, and our policies will be decided in Canada and not dictated by any other country." John G. Diefenbaker
• "Freedom is the right to be wrong, not the right to do wrong... Freedom includes the right to say what others may object to and resent... The essence of citizenship is to be tolerant of strong and provocative words", said by John Diefenbaker.
• "Maîtres chez nous" (Masters of our own house), a phrase coined by Le Devoir editor André Laurendeau, associated with La Révolution Tranquille (Quiet Revolution).
• "There's no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation", Pierre Trudeau, as justice minister, 1967.
• "Vive le Québec libre !" – said by the president of the French Republic Charles de Gaulle on an official visit in Canada in 1967.
• "Living next to you is in some ways like sleeping with an elephant. No matter how friendly or even-tempered is the beast, if I can call it that, one is affected by every twitch and grunt." Pierre Trudeau on the relationship between Canada and the United States
• "Just watch me", said by Pierre Trudeau in reference to the War Measures Act.
• "I've been called worse things by better people" Pierre Trudeau, responding to remarks made about him by U.S. President Richard Nixon
• "Fuddle duddle", said by Pierre Trudeau when attempting to explain away his use of profanity in the Canadian House of Commons.
• "Our hopes are high. Our faith in the people is great. Our courage is strong. And our dreams for this beautiful country will never die", said by Pierre Trudeau.
• "Self-respect permeates every aspect of your life" – said by Joe Clark
• "You had an option, sir", said by Brian Mulroney to John Turner, in response to Turner rubber-stamping last minute patronage appointments made by his predecessor, Pierre Trudeau – this comment during the English-language debate between Mulroney, Turner and Ed Broadbent became the turning point of the 1984 Canadian federal election.
• "Gentlemen, we must all realize that neither side has any monopoly on sons of bitches", said by C.D. Howe while in Washington, D.C. to resolve a shipping dispute.
• "Charisma without substance can be a dangerous thing."—said by future Prime Minister Kim Campbell in reference to British Columbia Premier Bill Vander Zalm. (Often misquoted as "Style without substance is a dangerous thing.")
• "If there's one thing I can be accused of, it's stupidity."—said by Bill Vander Zalm in reference to the conflict of interest he had in the Fantasy Gardens amusement park (now defunct) while serving as Premier of British Columbia.
• "Canada is a country whose main exports are hockey players and cold fronts. Our main imports are baseball players and acid rain", said by Pierre Trudeau.
• "Billion dollar boondoggle!" – said by Preston Manning
• "Evil reptilian kitten-eater from another planet!" attributed to the campaign of Ernie Eves in reference to Dalton McGuinty.
• "I don't know... A proof is a proof. What kind of a proof? It's a proof. A proof is a proof, and when you have a good proof, it's because it's proven," said by Jean Chrétien, demanding that then United States President George W. Bush provide irrefutable proof that Iraq under then leader Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction in its military arsenal (weapons which later proved not to exist after all), as a condition for Canada joining the Iraq War (a war which Canada ultimately opted out of).
• "For me, pepper, I put it on my plate", said by Jean Chrétien in response to a question by Nardwuar the Human Serviette regarding Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officers pepper-spraying protesters at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
• "You know, most Canadians, if they don't show up for work, they don't get a promotion!" – said by Jack Layton to Michael Ignatieff during the English leaders' debate in the 2011 federal election.