Canadian Quotes

There is no greater honour than to serve Canadians.

The world has changed profoundly since our programs were first established.

Some of you may have been hoping that today I would speak about Lucien Bouchard's latest economic theories. But I have decided to spare him for the time being: after all, he is a man.

Since the end of the Second World War, our population has more than doubled to 27 million people.

Our first Prime Minister saw a country that would be known for its generosity of spirit. And so it is.

On the same day I was sworn in as Prime Minister of Canada, I announced the most sweeping reform ever undertaken in the structure of our federal government.

It would be naive to imagine we have solved all our income security problems simply because the roles of the federal and provincial governments in the area of skills training have been clarified.

In all modesty, we must admit that governments are not always the best doctors when it comes to diagnosing economic ailments and prescribing the right treatment.

I'd be prouder still to say I was Canada's 10th woman prime minister.

I know Quebecers don't want to relive old battles; they prefer to build for the future.

I have always believed governments must adapt to the needs of the people, not the other way around.

I believe that Canadians have the common sense to see that a better future cannot be built on fragmentation.

I believe it is time for new leadership that is able to leave the '70s behind.

Governments allocate enormous resources for social programs. And it is true that for many years we have had one of the best social service systems in the world. Yet we are still incapable of meeting the needs of tens of thousands of Canadian families.

Government cannot and must not replace private initiative.

For too many, to work means having less income.

For people on social assistance, the loss of free dental care, prescription drugs and subsidized housing can greatly outweigh additional income from working. We've all heard the stories.

For over 20 years, the federal and provincial governments have made enormous efforts employing a variety of approaches in an attempt to stimulate Montreal's economy.

Canadians want to see real hope restored, not false hopes raised.

An increasing number of Canadians must juggle the demands of work with the need to care for children, or for family members who are ill or too frail to care for themselves. Our programs have simply not kept pace with these societal changes.

Despite our high rate of unemployment, 300,000 jobs go unfilled largely because many of the unemployed lack the skills needed today as a result of technological progress.

For me, unemployment and poverty in the Greater Montreal area is not mainly a problem of structure, or design, or statistics. It is a profoundly human situation.

Canada is the homeland of equality, justice and tolerance.

That's the dirty little secret of Mormon growth. Lots of baptisms don't necessarily translate into long-term membership.

It has a really timeless feel.

Discipline is remembering what you want.

We, in our Province, are beginning to realize and appreciate that our slowness in keeping up with our North American neighbours may well have been a blessing in disguise.

We must carefully examine change so that we are able to discard those aspects of change which would be detrimental to our way of life, and, at the same time, take advantage of those aspects of change which will enhance and improve our quality of life.

To conquer nature is, in effect, to remove all natural barriers and human norms and to substitute artificial, fabricated equivalents for natural processes.

The reason why I take my life is because I want to go to my wife and boy. My usefulness in this world is at an end. I can not be satisfied in any business and can not be without their companionship.