P.E.I. Senator Percy Downe says Lester B. Pearson will go down in history as one of Canada's most beloved prime ministers. Monday marked the 50th anniversary of Pearson being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Downe says the former PM had an outstanding career in foreign affairs prior to winning the Nobel Prize and is remembered with great affection by Canadians for his work in creating peacekeeping units to protect unstable areas in the world.

Pearson was the former president of the United Nations General Assembly and former secretary of state for External Affairs of Canada.

His Nobel Prize was awarded for his outstanding work resolving the Suez Canal crisis in 1956. To reduce the increasing violence between Israel, France and the United Kingdom against Egypt, Pearson proposed that a UN emergency force be founded to act as a buffer between the two sides.

"The Right Honourable Lester B. Pearson is remembered today by Canadians not only for his Nobel Prize, but also as one of the best prime ministers in the history of Canada," said Downe, speaking in the Senate.

"His name lives on at our largest airport, at the national headquarters of the Department of Foreign Affairs, and at various schools, in permanent recognition of his service to Canada and to the world. Well done, Mr. Pearson. Well done."