Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' ...

leadership convention was to have been held in early 1980 as a result of Pierre Trudeau's November 21, 1979 announcement that he would resign as Liberal leader as soon as his successor was chosen. The announcement came several months after Trudeau's government was defeated by the Progressive Conservatives and Joe Clark. The party executive called a convention to be held in Winnipeg in late March 1980 as per Trudeau's requested timeline. Former

Minister of Supply and Services Minister of Supply and Services was an office in the Cabinet of Canada from 1969 to 1996. On July 12, 1996, office of the Minister of Supply and Services and the office of the Minister of Public Works were abolished and replaced with the office of ...

and Matapédia—Matane MP

Pierre de Bané Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

High River High River is a town within the Calgary Metropolitan Region of Alberta, Canada. It is approximately south of Calgary, at the junction of Alberta Highways 2 and 23. High River had a population of 14,324 in 2021. History The community take ...

, Alberta shop owner Madeline Hombert, and London, Ontario housewife Denise Seguin were the only declared candidates. Other rumoured candidates included: *

Bob Andras Robert Knight (Bob) Andras, (February 21, 1921 – November 17, 1982) was a Canadians, Canadian politician. He represented the electoral district (Canada), electoral districts of Port Arthur (electoral district), Port Arthur from 1965 to 1979, a ...

, MP for Thunder Bay—Nipigon, former

Minister of Manpower and Immigration The minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship (french: Ministre de l'immigration, des réfugiés et de la citoyenneté) is a minister of the Crown in the Cabinet of Canada, Canadian Cabinet. The minister is Responsible government, resp ...

(1972-1976) and President of the Treasury Board (1976-1978). * Lloyd Axworthy, MP for

Winnipeg—Fort Garry Winnipeg—Fort Garry was a federal electoral district in Manitoba, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1979 to 1988. It consisted of the Fort Rouge and Fort Garry areas of Winnipeg. This riding was created in ...

. *

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. Born and raised in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, Chrétien is a law graduate from Uni ...

, MP for Saint-Maurice, former Minister of National Revenue (1968), Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development (1968-1974), President of the Treasury Board (1974-1976), Minister of Industry, Trade and Commerce (1976-1977), and Minister of Finance (1977-1979). * Herb Gray, MP for

Windsor West Windsor West (french: Windsor-Ouest) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1968. Geography The district consists of the part of the city of Windsor lying west an ...

, former Minister of National Revenue (1970-1972) and Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs (1972-1976). * Donald Stovel Macdonald, former MP for Rosedale (1962-1978), former Minister of National Defence (1970-1972), Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources (1972-1975), and Minister of Finance (1975-1977). Macdonald was considered by many to be the front runner. Former Minister of Finance John Turner, who had run in the 1968 leadership election that elected Trudeau, was seen as a likely candidate until his surprise December 10, 1979 announcement that he would not be a candidate. The leadership election was cancelled, however, after Clark's

minority government A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and Cabinet (government), cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or Coalition government, coalition of parties do ...

was defeated in the House of Commons on December 13, 1979, by a non-confidence vote, triggering a federal election. The party executive and caucus cancelled the leadership election after persuading Trudeau to rescind his resignation and lead the party into the February 18, 1980 federal election, which saw the Liberals return to office with a majority government.

References

{{Liberal Party of Canada

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

Liberal Party of Canada leadership election