Weak Verse for a Strong Country

Greetings, fellow Canadians, on this our country's day!
Raise a glass to our founding father, the noble Sir John A.,
Who set us on track to be a nation
With a railroad and Confederation.

Alexander Mackenzie was next in line,
And though his five years in office seemed just fine,
It remains a constant mystery
Why his name is lost to history.

And let us give a modest cheer
To those who only served one year
Or less--Abbott, Thompson, Bowell, Tupper--
But though their politics may have been slighted,
All four of these PMs were knighted.

Merci, and a gracious roundelay,
For Sir Wilfred Laurier.
And we remember Robert Borden still,
His face on the hundred-dollar bill.
Then Arthur Meighen, whose Irish oratory could sing,
Followed by the weird Mackenzie King.

R.B. Bennett, Louis St. Laurent--
What did this country really want?
Then to the Tories' great relief,
We elected Dief the Chief,
To be followed by hockey-playing Lester B.,
The only one of all these guys
To receive a Nobel Prize.

Then came Canada's most glamorous glow
With the suave Pierre Trudeau,
His light-hearted but strong-minded lark
Tempered by the very stern Joe Clark,
Whose period on the land's front burner
Gave way to handsome John Napier Turner,
Remembered still by friends and foes
As the man who danced with Princess Margaret Rose.

Up next, lantern-jawed Mulroney
Who proved that he could sing a tuney
And be entirely beguiling
With "When Irish Eyes are Smiling."
Kim Campbell joined the honoured list
As our first Prime Minister feminist.
Alas, her party failed to thrive--
She spent just four months on Sussex Drive.

Jean Chretien, a Pearson team alumnus,
Showed he'd entertain and never numb us.
His fans could only sigh and grieve
When the next PM was Harper, Steve,
Who later must have cried, "Oh, no!"
To be replaced by a Trudeau.

So here we are, aged one-five-one,
A country feeling still it's just begun.
Wave the flag, say "merci, beaucoup,"
For all that we have journeyed through,
And give thanks that life is grand,
In Canada, our native land!