People in Canada were recently asked to choose their favourite Prime Minister in the last 50 years, and the votes are in: Pierre Elliott Trudeau won the poll by a comfortable margin.

About one-in-four Canadians believe that Pierre Trudeau has been the best head of government of the past five decades, according to a new Research Co. poll.

Trudeau served as Prime Minister from 1968–79 and 1980–84; during his time in office, he spearheaded Canada's independence from the British Parliament, established a new Canadian Constitution, and made Canada officially bilingual.

Conservative leader Stephen Harper claimed second spot (16 per cent) in the poll, followed closely by Justin Trudeau (15 per cent), Jean Chrétien (11 per cent) and Brian Mulroney (8 per cent).

Best Prime Minister Since 1968:

P. Trudeau: 23%
Harper: 16%
J. Trudeau: 15%
Chretien: 11%
Mulroney: 8%
Martin: 2%
Campbell: 2%
Turner: 1%
Clark: 1%

Research Co. / July 8, 2020 / n=1000 / Online

— Polling Canada (@CanadianPolling) July 24, 2020

Unsurprisingly, Justin Trudeau had his best numbers with young Canadians aged 18 to 34, while Stephen Harper was the most popular leader among Alberta voters.

However, Justin Trudeau and Harper were also considered to be the most polarizing leaders, racking up plenty of votes for the worst Prime Ministers since 1968.

Worst Prime Minister Since 1968:

Harper: 23%
J. Trudeau: 18%
P. Trudeau: 7%
Campbell: 6%
Mulroney: 6%
Clark: 4%
Chretien: 4%
Martin: 3%
Turner: 3%

Research Co. / July 8, 2020 / n=1000 / Online

— Polling Canada (@CanadianPolling) July 24, 2020

Similarly, almost half of Canadians surveyed (48 per cent) think that outgoing Conservative leader Andrew Scheer would not have made a good head of government, although one-in-four disagreed.

NDP leader Jack Layton was largely considered to be the best former opposition leader, with over half of Canadians saying he would have made a good Prime Minister.