Prime ministers in Canada are largely considered the most important political person in the country.
Unfortunately, or fortunately, for Vancouver (being located on the west coast of the country, far from Ottawa), it gets a limited amount of facetime with these leaders. It's become easier over time, as planes are famously faster than trains, but it's still usually notable when the prime minister is in town.
So here are a few (probably) forgotten moments involving prime ministers and the city.
1. The first prime minister visited Victoria, Port Moody, and New Westminster, but not Vancouver
Sir John A. Macdonald was the first prime minister of Canada but didn't leave the eastern part of the country much.
Getting B.C. to join the confederation in 1871 was a big deal, as it gave Canada territory on North America's west coast. However, given the difficulty of travelling at the time (especially since a transcontinental railway in what would become Canada didn't exist), Macdonald didn't visit right away.
It wasn't until his second spell that he'd finally come west, in 1886. The same year Vancouver was officially founded.
However, Vancouver was a tiny town at the time, and Macdonald spent time in other B.C. cities, including Victoria. He'd been elected as an MP for Victoria, despite never having visited.
He also stopped in Port Moody and New Westminster. While he stayed in New Westminster, a newspaper article from the time notes his wife, Agnes Macdonald, did visit Vancouver with others, but not the prime minister.
Macdonald did see the city, though. The trip included taking a ship from Port Moody to Victoria, so they passed Vancouver's harbour but didn't stop.
2. Nardwuar vs. Jean Chretien
Before Nardwuar gained internet fame for blowing the minds of rappers and others, then prime minister Jean Chretien was his target.
In 1997 Vancouver hosted the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, which involved the likes of American president Bill Clinton, Japanese prime minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, and Indonesian president Suharto.
During protests against a variety of issues, including human rights abuses by Suharto's government, things got heated between authorities and activists.
Just after, a closing press conference with Chretien was held, and Nardwuar was able to get in and to the mic to ask a question.
The first one covered protests and referenced punk music. In a follow-up question, Nardwuar asked about protesters being maced. After an awkward back-and-forth, Chretien revealed he didn't really understand mace or pepper spray.
"For me, pepper, I put it on my plate," Chretien eventually responded.
3. One prime minister was escorted through the city by police...and tow trucks
On one trip to Vancouver in 1967, Lester B. Pearson had a busy trip.
Police had heard word antiwar demonstrations were planned for his arrival at the end of March, according to an article from the Vancouver Province at the time, and made plans to make sure things went smoothly.
So, in addition to a police escort, three tow trucks tagged along in case they needed to tow a vehicle out of the way of the motorcade.
In the end there were cars to tow.
4. Hit by a banana peel
When prime minister Pierre Trudeau came to town in 1969, he too was greeted by antiwar protesters.
This time a large group set up outside the Seaforth Armoury in Kitsilano while a fundraising dinner took place inside.
Before Trudeau went in, he decided to address the crowd out front and was not greeted warmly.
While in front of the crowd, several items were thrown at him, and one banana peel did get him right in the back.
5. One prime minister's speech nearly ended in a riot
Near the end of his time as prime minister, John Diefenbaker came to Vancouver as part of the 1962 federal election campaign.
He may have regretted that.
During a speech at his largest rally during the campaign up to that point (at the PNE Forum with 8,000 spectators), things got wild.
As one reporter for the Victoria Times put it, "fists flew and near-bedlam reigned" as an unidentified group of demonstrators (the reporter "believed" they were "Communist inspired") caused chaos. At least six separate fights broke out, there was "constant howling," and a human chain was used to push back demonstrators.
All the while, Diefenbaker continued to give his speech.
