The 1958 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election was called to replace Liberal leader Louis St. Laurent, who had resigned as Prime Minister after the party's sudden defeat in the 1957 election. On the first ballot, former External Affairs minister Lester Pearson defeated former cabinet minister

Paul Martin Paul Edgar Philippe Martin (born August 28, 1938), also known as Paul Martin Jr., is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 21st prime minister of Canada and the leader of the Liberal Party of Canada from 2003 to 2006. The son o ...

and Mayor of

Portage la Prairie Portage la Prairie () is a small city in the Central Plains Region of Manitoba, Canada. As of 2016, the population was 13,304 and the land area of the city was . Portage la Prairie is approximately west of Winnipeg, along the Trans-Canada Hi ...

, Harold Lloyd Henderson.

Background

The Liberals had held power for 22 years until their defeat in the 1957 federal election on June 10, 1957, which returned a Progressive Conservative minority government. Louis St. Laurent, who had led the Liberals since 1948, announced on September 6, 1957 that he would not be leading the Liberals into another election.

Candidates

* Harold Lloyd Henderson, 51, Mayor of

Portage la Prairie, Manitoba Portage la Prairie () is a small city in the Central Plains Region of Manitoba, Canada. As of 2016, the population was 13,304 and the land area of the city was . Portage la Prairie is approximately west of Winnipeg, along the Trans-Canada Hi ...

. *

Paul Martin Sr. Joseph James Guillaume Paul Martin (June 23, 1903 – September 14, 1992), often referred to as Paul Martin Sr., was a noted Canadian politician and diplomat. He was the father of Paul Martin, who served as 26th prime minister of Canada fro ...

, 54, former Minister of National Health and Welfare (1946-1957), MP for Essex East, Ontario since 1935. * Lester Pearson, 60, former Secretary of State for External Affairs (1948-1957), MP for Algoma East, Ontario since 1948.

Donald Hugh Mackay Donald Hugh Mackay (March 22, 1914 – January 26, 1979) was the 26th Mayor of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Early life He spent his youth in Calgary and Drumheller, receiving most of his public school education in Drumheller. In the early 1930s, Ma ...

, Mayor of Calgary, withdrew his candidacy a week before the convention. Former Finance Minister Walter Edward Harris, who had lost his seat in the election, had initially been expected to be Pearson's main competitor but did not run. Newfoundland MP and former Minister for Citizenship and Immigration

Jack Pickersgill John Whitney Pickersgill, (June 23, 1905 – November 14, 1997) was a Canadian civil servant and politician. He was born in Ontario, but was raised in Manitoba. He was the Clerk for the Canadian Government's Privy Council in the early 19 ...

was also expected to run but did not stand. Other names mentioned as possible candidates were former Fisheries Minister and British Columbia MP James Sinclair ( Coast—Capilano), former Transport Minister and Montreal MP George Carlyle Marler ( Saint-Antoine—Westmount), and former Public Works Minister Robert Winters who had lost his Queens—Lunenburg, Nova Scotia seat in the election. Pearson was the choice of the party establishment, had strong support from MPs in Quebec and Toronto, and won overwhelmingly on the first ballot and was also helped by being awarded the 1957

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...

weeks before the convention. Martin, who had been on the left of the St. Laurent cabinet, attempted to appeal to the rank-and-file,

Results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liberal Party Of Canada Leadership Election, 1958

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

1958 elections in Canada Liberal Party of Canada leadership election