The 1993 Progressive Conservative leadership election was held on June 13, 1993 to choose a leader of the

Progressive Conservative Party of Canada The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC; french: Parti progressiste-conservateur du Canada) was a centre-right federal political party in Canada that existed from 1942 to 2003. From Canadian Confederation in 1867 until 1942, the ...

, with

Kim Campbell Avril Phaedra Douglas "Kim" Campbell (born March 10, 1947) is a Canadian politician, diplomat, lawyer, and writer who served as the 19th prime minister of Canada from June 25 to November 4, 1993. Campbell is the first and so far only female ...

winning the vote in the second ballot. She became the first female

Prime Minister of Canada The prime minister of Canada (french: premier ministre du Canada, link=no) is the head of government of Canada. Under the Westminster system, the prime minister governs with the confidence of a majority the elected House of Commons; as su ...

on June 25, 1993. Initially, Campbell's popularity caused very few prominent Progressive Conservatives to enter the race, with Michael Wilson,

Perrin Beatty Henry Perrin Beatty (born June 1, 1950) is a Canadian corporate executive and former politician, who served as a Progressive Conservative of the House of Commons from 1972 to 1993, and as a cabinet minister from 1979 to 1980 and again from 1984 ...

Barbara McDougall Barbara Jean McDougall (born November 12, 1937) is a former Canadian politician. She served as a Member of Parliament from 1984 to 1993, and as Secretary of State for External Affairs from 1991 to 1993. She did not run again in the 1993 Canadian ...

, and

Joe Clark Charles Joseph Clark (born June 5, 1939) is a Canadian statesman, businessman, writer, and politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Canada from 1979 to 1980. Despite his relative inexperience, Clark rose quickly in federal polit ...

not making expected runs.

Jean Charest John James "Jean" Charest (; born June 24, 1958) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 29th premier of Quebec from 2003 to 2012 and the fifth deputy prime minister of Canada in 1993. Charest was elected to the House o ...

had to be convinced to run by Brian Mulroney, but once in the race, he ran an energetic campaign directed by established party organizers loyal to Mulroney, who would later lead the 1993 federal election campaign team. That turned the race from a coronation into a divisive grass roots battle for delegates.

Candidates

Patrick Boyer

;Background MP for

Etobicoke—Lakeshore Etobicoke—Lakeshore (formerly known as Lakeshore and Toronto—Lakeshore) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1968. It covers the southern part of the Eto ...

, Ontario (1984–1993)
Parliamentary Secretary to the

Secretary of State for External Affairs The Minister of Foreign Affairs (french: Ministre des Affaires étrangères) is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the Government of Canada's international relations and is the lead minister respo ...

(1989-1991)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence (1991-1993)
Parliamentary Secretary to the

Minister of Industry, Science and Technology The minister of innovation, science, and industry (french: ministre de l'Innovation, des Sciences et de l'Industrie) is the minister of the Crown in the Canadian Cabinet who is responsible for overseeing the economic development and corporat ...

(1993)

Kim Campbell Avril Phaedra Douglas "Kim" Campbell (born March 10, 1947) is a Canadian politician, diplomat, lawyer, and writer who served as the 19th prime minister of Canada from June 25 to November 4, 1993. Campbell is the first and so far only female ...

;Background MP for

Vancouver Centre Vancouver Centre (french: Vancouver-Centre) is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1917. It is the riding with the biggest Japanese community in Canada. As ...

, British Columbia (1988–1993)
BC Social Credit MLA for

Vancouver-Point Grey Vancouver-Point Grey is a provincial electoral district (Canada), electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. It was first contested in the 1933 British Columbia general election, general election of 1933. It was ...

(1986-1988).

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

(1990-1993)
Minister responsible for Federal-Provincial Relations (1993)
Minister of Veterans Affairs (1993)
Minister of National Defence (1993) ;Supporters *MPs: (42)

Edna Anderson Edna Viola Anderson (née Falkner; 9 November 1922 – 7 July 2019) was a Canadian politician who served as a Member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 1993. The career businesswoman was elected in the 1988 federal election at the ...

Simcoe Centre Simcoe Centre was a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 1997. This riding was created in 1987 from parts of Grey—Simcoe, Simcoe South and Wellington—Dufferi ...

; Ken Atkinson, St. Catharines;

Bill Attewell William Charles Attewell (January 21, 1932 – December 24, 2021) is a former Canadian politician. A corporate executive, Attewell was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada as the Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament for ...

Markham Markham may refer to: It may also refer to brand of of clothing which originates from South Africa which saw it's establishment in 1873. Biology * Markham's storm-petrel (''Oceanodroma markhami''), a seabird species found in Chile and Colombia * ...

;

Wellington—Grey—Dufferin—Simcoe Wellington—Grey—Dufferin—Simcoe was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 1997. It was located in the province of Ontario. This riding was created in 1987 from parts of Bruce—Grey, Grey� ...

; Ross Belsher,

Fraser Valley East Fraser Valley East was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1968 to 1997. This riding was created in 1966 from parts of Fraser Valley, Kamloops and Okanagan Bo ...

;

Jean-Pierre Blackburn Jean-Pierre Blackburn, (born July 6, 1948) is a Canadian politician and diplomat. He was the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for the riding of Jonquière—Alma from 2006 to 2011; earlier, he was the Progressive Conservative MP for Jonq ...

Jonquière Jonquière (; ; 2021 population: 60,250) is a borough (arrondissement) of the city of Saguenay in the Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec, Canada. It is located on the Saguenay River, near the borough of Chicoutimi. History Jonquièr ...

;

Pierre Blais Pierre Blais (born December 30, 1948) is a Canadian jurist and former politician and Cabinet minister. He also served as the Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Appeal until his retirement in June 2014. On May 1, 2015, Blais was appointed as ...

, Bellechasse; Don Blenkarn, Mississauga South; John Bosley,

Don Valley West Don Valley West (french: Don Valley-Ouest) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1979. Its population in 2001 was 115,539. 13.6% of the population is Muslim, the ...

; Mary Collins,

Capilano—Howe Sound Capilano—Howe Sound was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 1997. This riding was created in 1987 from parts of Capilano and Cariboo—Chilcotin ridin ...

;

Robert Corbett Robert Alfred Corbett (born 14 December 1938) was a member of the House of Commons of Canada from 1978 to 1993. His background was in business. Corbett was born in Saint John, New Brunswick, was the son of James Ross Corbett and Helen Elma Yea ...

, Fundy—Royal;

Charles Deblois Charles Deblois (27 May 1939 – 18 February 2019) was Canadian politician who was a member of the House of Commons from 1988 to 1993. Early life Deblois attended school at the Seminaire du Québec, then at Université Laval. He became a jo ...

, Montmorency—Orléans; Suzanne Duplessis,

Louis-Hébert Louis-Hébert could refer to: * Louis-Hébert (provincial electoral district) *Louis-Hébert (federal electoral district) Louis-Hébert () is a federal electoral district in the Canadian province of Quebec. Represented in the House of Commo ...

;

Benno Friesen Benno Friesen (27 June 1929 – 29 September 2021) was a Canadian administrator, professor and politician. Friesen served as a Progressive Conservative party member of the House of Commons of Canada. Born in Nelson, British Columbia, Canada, F ...

, Surrey—White Rock; Barbara Greene, Don Valley North; Tom Hockin,

London West London West (french: London-Ouest) is a federal electoral district in London, Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1968. Geography The district includes the northwest part of the City of London. I ...

;

Bob Horner James Robert Horner (born August 6, 1957) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball and the Nippon Professional Baseball league as a third baseman and a first baseman from to , most prominently as a ...

Mississauga West Mississauga West was a federal electoral district represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 2003. It was located in the city of Mississauga in the province of Ontario. This riding was created in 1987 from Mississauga North rid ...

; Jean-Guy Hudon,

Beauharnois—Salaberry Beauharnois—Salaberry is a former federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1949 to 2015. Geography In 2003, the riding was re-defined to consist of the regional county municip ...

;

Ken Hughes Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. * ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film. * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine. * Ken Masters, a main character in ...

Macleod MacLeod, McLeod and Macleod ( ) which cited: are surnames in the English language. Generally, the names are considered to be Anglicised forms of the Scottish Gaelic ', meaning "son of '". One of the earliest occurrences of the surname is of Gi ...

; Monique Landry,

Blainville—Deux-Montagnes Blainville—Deux-Montagnes (formerly known as Deux-Montagnes) was a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1979 to 1997. The riding was created as "Deux-Montagnes" in 1976 fr ...

; Doug Lewis,

Simcoe North Simcoe North (french: Simcoe-Nord) is a federal electoral district in central Ontario, Canada. It was established as a federal riding in 1867. Demographics :''According to the Canada 2011 Census''; 2013 representation'' Ethnic groups: 87.8% ...

;

Gilles Loiselle Gilles Loiselle, (20 May 1929 – 29 September 2022) was a Canadian politician. Loiselle was born in Ville-Marie, Quebec on 20 May 1929. He worked as the correspondent for CBC News in Paris for a decade before being appointed the government of ...

, Langelier; Shirley Martin,

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

;

Marcel Masse Marcel Masse, (May 27, 1936 – August 25, 2014) was a Canadian politician. He served as a Quebec MLA, federal MP and federal cabinet minister. Biography Background Masse was educated at the Université de Montréal and pursued graduate wo ...

, Frontenac; Charles Mayer, Lisgar—Marquette; Peter McCreath, South Shore;

Walter McLean Walter Franklin McLean, (born April 26, 1936) is a former Canadian politician. Born in Leamington, Ontario, he grew up in Victoria British Columbia, the son of James Walter Lewis McLean (1905–1998), a Presbyterian minister, and Frances D. Bla ...

, Waterloo;

Gerald Merrithew Gerald Stairs "Gerry" Merrithew (September 23, 1931 – September 5, 2004), born in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada, was an educator, provincial and federal politician, and statesman. Merrithew graduated from the New Brunswick Teachers' Col ...

, Saint John;

Rob Nicholson Robert Douglas "Rob" Nicholson (born April 29, 1952) is a Canadian politician who represented the riding of Niagara Falls in the House of Commons of Canada from 2004 to 2019 as a member of the Conservative Party. Under Prime Minister Stephen Ha ...

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Fall ...

; Ross Reid, St. John’s East;

John Reimer John Henry Reimer (born July 16, 1936) is a Canadian politician. He served in the House of Commons of Canada from 1979 to 1980, and again from 1984 to 1993, as a member of the Progressive Conservative Party. Reimer was born to a Mennonite f ...

, Kitchener; Lee Richardson,

Calgary Southeast Calgary Southeast was a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 2015. The district was in the southeast part of the City of Calgary. It was bounded by the city limits to ...

; Larry Schneider,

Regina—Wascana Regina—Wascana (formerly Wascana) is a federal electoral district in Saskatchewan, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1988. Geography Most of the riding is within the provincial capital city of Regin ...

;

Tom Siddon Thomas Edward Siddon, (born November 9, 1941) is a Canadians, Canadian politician. Early life and education Born in Drumheller, Alberta, Siddon pursued engineering, graduating with distinction from the University of Alberta in 1963, winning the G ...

, Richmond;

Bobbie Sparrow Barbara Jane Sparrow (born July 11, 1935) is a retired Canadian politician. Political career Sparrow, a Registered Nurse and businessperson, was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada in the 1984 federal election as Member of Parliame ...

Calgary Southwest Calgary Southwest was a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1988 to 2015. The district was in the southwest part of the City of Calgary, south of Glenmore Trail and west of t ...

; Ross Stevenson,

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham *County Durham, an English county * Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States *Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...

; Blaine Thacker, Lethbridge; Greg Thompson,

Carleton—Charlotte Carleton—Charlotte was a federal electoral district in New Brunswick, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1968 to 1997. The riding was created in the redistribution of electoral districts in 1966. It consisted of ...

; Scott Thorkelson,

Edmonton—Strathcona Edmonton Strathcona (formerly known as Edmonton—Strathcona) is a federal electoral district in Alberta, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1953. It spans the south central part of the city of Edmonton ...

; Bernard Valcourt, Madawaska—Victoria; Stan Wilbee,

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also ...

; Michael Wilson, Etobicoke Centre *Senators: (3) Norm Atkins; Mario Beaulieu;

Lowell Murray Lowell Murray, (born 26 September 1936) is a former Canadian senator and long-time activist with the federal Progressive Conservative Party. Education Murray graduated from St. Francis Xavier University in 1955. He met 16-year-old Brian Mu ...

Jean Charest John James "Jean" Charest (; born June 24, 1958) is a Canadian lawyer and former politician who served as the 29th premier of Quebec from 2003 to 2012 and the fifth deputy prime minister of Canada in 1993. Charest was elected to the House o ...

;Background MP for

Sherbrooke Sherbrooke ( ; ) is a city in southern Quebec, Canada. It is at the confluence of the Saint-François and Magog rivers in the heart of the Estrie administrative region. Sherbrooke is also the name of a territory equivalent to a regional cou ...

, Quebec (1984–1993)

Minister of State Minister of State is a title borne by politicians in certain countries governed under a parliamentary system. In some countries a Minister of State is a Junior Minister of government, who is assigned to assist a specific Cabinet Minister. In ...

(Youth) (1986-1990)

Minister of the Environment An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of the environment) is a cabinet position charged with protecting the natural environment and promoting wildlife conservation. The areas associated with the duties of an ...

(1991-1993) ;Supporters *MPs: (37) Gilles Bernier,

Beauce Beauce may refer to: * Beauce, France, a natural region in northern France * Beaucé, a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department, Brittany, France * Beauce, Quebec, an historical and cultural region of Canada ** Beauce (electoral district), a fed ...

; Gabrielle Bertrand,

Brome—Missisquoi Brome—Missisquoi (formerly known as Missisquoi) is a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1925. The original electoral district of Missiquoi existed from 1867 to 19 ...

;

Bud Bird John Williston "Bud" Bird, (born March 22, 1932 in Fredericton, New Brunswick) is a Canadian businessman who is a former mayor of the city of Fredericton, a Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick member of the Legislative Assembly of Ne ...

, Fredericton; Pauline Browes, Scarborough Centre;

Pierre Cadieux Pierre H. Cadieux (born April 6, 1948) is a lawyer and former Canadian politician. Born in Hudson, Quebec, Cadieux was first elected to the House of Commons of Canada as the Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament for Vaudreuil, Queb ...

, Vaudreuil;

Bill Casey William D. Casey (born February 19, 1945) is a Canadian politician from Nova Scotia who served as a Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of Canada. First elected as a Progressive Conservative in 1988, he later sat as Conservative ...

Cumberland—Colchester Cumberland—Colchester (formerly Cumberland—Colchester—Musquodoboit Valley and North Nova) is a federal electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 2004. Cumberland—Colches ...

;

, Yellowhead (electoral district), Yellowhead; Lee Clark (Canadian politician), Lee Clark, Brandon—Souris; Terry Clifford, London—Middlesex; Jean Corbeil, Honoré-Mercier (electoral district), Anjou—Rivière-des-Prairies; Robert de Cotret, Berthier—Montcalm; John Crosbie, St. John's West; Stan Darling, Parry Sound—Muskoka; Vincent Della Noce, Duvernay (electoral district), Duvernay; Gabriel Desjardins, Drummond (electoral district), Drummond; Dorothy Dobbie, Winnipeg South; Darryl Gray, Bonaventure (electoral district), Bonaventure—Îles-de-la-Madeleine; Jean-Guy Guilbault, Abitibi—Témiscamingue, Témiscamingue; Leonard Gustafson, Souris—Moose Mountain; André Harvey (MP), André Harvey, Chicoutimi—Le Fjord, Chicoutimi; Jim Hawkes, Calgary West; Otto Jelinek, Oakville—Milton; Al Johnson (politician), Al Johnson, Calgary North; Fernand Jourdenais, La Prairie (electoral district), La Prairie; Robert Layton (politician), Robert Layton, Lachine—Lac-Saint-Louis; Elmer MacKay, Central Nova; Arnold Malone, Crowfoot (electoral district), Crowfoot; John McDermid, Brampton (electoral district), Brampton;

, St. Paul's (electoral district), St. Paul's; Bill McKnight, Kindersley—Lloydminster; Gus Mitges, Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound, Bruce—Grey; Ken Monteith, Elgin (electoral district), Elgin; Guy St-Julien, Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou, Abitibi; Geoffrey Scott (Canadian politician), Geoffrey Scott, Hamilton—Wentworth; Pat Sobeski, Cambridge (electoral district), Cambridge; Monique Vézina, Rimouski—Témiscouata; Robert Wenman, Fraser Valley West *Senators: (2) Jim Kelleher; Heath MacQuarrie

Jim Edwards (Canadian politician), Jim Edwards

;Background MP for Edmonton Southwest, Alberta (1984–1993)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Communications (Canada), Minister of Communications (1985-1986 and 1989-1991)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (1988-1989)
Parliamentary Secretary to the

(Agriculture) (1991-1992)
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs (1991-1992) ;Supporters *MPs: (14) Harry Brightwell, Perth—Wellington—Waterloo; Albert Cooper (Canadian politician), Albert Cooper, Peace River (electoral district), Peace River; Bill Domm, Peterborough (electoral district), Peterborough; Doug Fee, Red Deer (electoral district), Red Deer; Girve Fretz, Erie (electoral district), Erie; Marie Gibeau, Bourassa (electoral district), Bourassa; Bruce Halliday (politician), Bruce Halliday, Oxford (electoral district), Oxford; Jean-Pierre Hogue, Outremont (electoral district), Outremont; Felix Holtmann, Portage—Interlake; Bill Kempling, Burlington (electoral district), Burlington; Brian O'Kurley, Elk Island (electoral district), Elk Island; Robert Harold Porter, Medicine Hat (federal electoral district), Medicine Hat; Walter Van De Walle, St. Albert (federal electoral district), St. Albert; William Winegard, Guelph—Wellington *Senators: (3) John Buchanan (Canadian politician), John Buchanan; Mike Forrestall; Finlay MacDonald (senator), Finlay MacDonald

Garth Turner

;Background MP for Halton—Peel, Ontario (1988–1993)

Endorsements

Kim Campbell received the most endorsements from sitting MPs, with 43 backing her. 38 declared their support for Jean Charest, while 15 backed Jim Edwards. Patrick Boyer and Garth Turner were both sitting MPs and neither were supported by any other sitting MP.

Results

Though it was initially expected that Campbell's election as party leader would be little more than a formality, as the convention drew nearer it became apparent that Charest's candidacy was proving far more popular than Campbell and her team had expected, and that she might struggle to defeat him on the first round. Sure enough, Campbell narrowly failed to win outright, coming 60 delegates short of immediate victory. Charest placed a solid second, with none of the other candidates managing to break ten percent of the overall delegate count. Edwards, who had placed third, agreed to drop out and endorse Campbell prior to the second round, which gave her the support she needed to claim victory. Despite Edwards' endorsement, however, only about half of his delegates actually did move to support Campbell; the remaining half instead backed Charest, along with virtually all of Turner's and Boyer's delegates. This left Campbell's final total as 52.7% of the delegates, making this second-only to

's shock win over Claude Wagner in 1976 as the most closely contested Progressive Conservative leadership contest.

References

{{Reflist Progressive Conservative Party of Canada leadership elections, 1993 1993 in Canada 1993 political party leadership elections, Progressive Conservative leadership election