The right honourable lester b. pearson’s Buick limousine

A national treasure at the canadian automotive museum

The Owner

Lester B. “Mike” Pearson (1897-1972) was possibly the greatest Canadian statesman of the 20th century. He served as a stretcher-bearer and pilot in the First World War, and would begin work for Canada’s Department of External Affairs in the late 1920s. He would go on to be Ambassador of Canada to the United States and a Member of Parliament. In 1956, as Secretary of State for External Affairs, Pearson was instrumental in resolving the Suez Canal Crisis and organizing the first UN peacekeeping force, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1957.
 
Pearson served as Canada’s 14th Prime Minister between 1963 and 1968, undertaking reforms that are a fundamental part of Canadian life to this day. Among other programs, Pearson’s government was responsible for the introduction of universal health care, the Canada Pension Plan and the maple leaf flag. Royal commissions he proposed would go on to establish official bilingualism and equal rights for women in Canada. In the automotive world, he is known for signing the 1965 Canada-US Auto Pact, ensuring the survival of the Canadian auto-manufacturing industry.

The Vehicle

In 1963, Pearson personally ordered a new state limousine from General Motors of Canada; it was delivered to the Prime Minister in May of 1963. Pearson’s Buick is an unusual hybrid, combining the frame of a Buick LeSabre sedan with the engine of a Buick Wildcat, exterior components from the Buick Electra and interior elements from that years’ Cadillacs. The car has many ornate features befitting a head of state, most notably the Coat of Arms of Canada emblems on the rear doors. This vehicle is a historical treasure of tremendous Canadian cultural provenance and value.

Acquisition and Restoration

Pearson’s Buick was donated to the Canadian Automotive Museum in 2022. On November 20, 2023, General Motors Canada announced a $100,000 donation to support the restoration of the vehicle, which has suffered from several decades of outdoor storage. This generous donation will allow for the repair of the vehicle’s rusted bodywork, weather-damaged interior and exterior, and cracked glasswork, restoring it to road-worthy condition, and allowing it to be safely driven. The donation also allows the newly-restored vehicle, which will be completed in the spring of 2024, to be accompanied by new display panels telling its story and the story of Prime Minister Pearson.

Photography by Elle Alder.