The 1984 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election was called for June 16, 1984, to replace retiring

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

leader and sitting Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. The convention elected former Finance Minister

John Turner John Napier Wyndham Turner (June 7, 1929September 19, 2020) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Canada from June to September 1984. He served as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and leader of t ...

, who at the time was not sitting in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

, as its leader on the second ballot, defeating another former finance minister, Jean Chrétien.

Candidates

Jean Chrétien

Chrétien, 50, MP for Saint-Maurice since 1963, was Minister of Energy and had been Minister Responsible for constitutional negotiations, playing a significant role in the patriation of the

Constitution of Canada The Constitution of Canada (french: Constitution du Canada) is the supreme law in Canada. It outlines Canada's system of government and the civil and human rights of those who are citizens of Canada and non-citizens in Canada. Its contents a ...

. First appointed to Cabinet by Lester Pearson in 1967, he had served in several senior portfolios under Trudeau, including Minister of Finance and Justice Minister. *Supporters in caucus (4 MPs):

Bud Cullen Jack Sydney George "Bud" Cullen, (April 20, 1927 – July 5, 2005) was a Canadian Federal Court judge and politician. Early years Born in Creighton Mine, Ontario, Cullen was given the nickname of Bud by his mother when he was a young boy. ...

, Roland de Corneille, Charles Caccia,

Jean-Robert Gauthier Jean-Robert Gauthier, (October 22, 1929 – December 10, 2009) was a Canadian politician. A chiropractor by training, he entered politics as trustee on a local school board. He was elected to the House of Commons of Canada to represent t ...

Don Johnston Donald James Johnston, (June 26, 1936 – February 4, 2022) was a Canadian lawyer, writer and politician who was Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) from 1996 to 2006. He was the first non-Euro ...

Johnston, 47, MP for

Saint-Henri—Westmount Saint-Henri—Westmount (formerly known as Westmount) was a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1968 to 1997. "Saint-Henri" was created in 1966 from parts of Mount Royal, N ...

in Montreal since 1978, was President of the Treasury Board, and had served in several other economic portfolios. *Supporters in caucus (4 MPs, 1 Senator): Jack Burghardt, James Fleming, Bryce Mackasey, Raymond Savard and Sen. Gildas Molgat.

Mark MacGuigan Mark Rudolph MacGuigan, (February 17, 1931 – January 12, 1998) was a Canadian academic and politician. Born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, the son of Mark Rudolph MacGuigan and Agnes Violet Trainor, he was educated at Saint D ...

MacGuigan, 53, MP from Windsor-Walkerville since 1968 and a former dean of law, was the Minister of Justice and a former Minister of External Affairs.

John Munro

Munro, 53, an MP for Hamilton East since 1962, was Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.

John Roberts John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American lawyer and jurist who has served as the 17th chief justice of the United States since 2005. Roberts has authored the majority opinion in several landmark cases, including '' Nat ...

Roberts, 48, MP for St. Paul's, was Minister of Employment and Immigration.

John Turner John Napier Wyndham Turner (June 7, 1929September 19, 2020) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Canada from June to September 1984. He served as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and leader of t ...

Turner, 55, former MP for Ottawa-Orleans (1968–1976) and previously for St. Lawrence—St. George, Quebec (1962–1968), had served in Cabinet under Lester Pearson and Trudeau and had been Minister of Justice and Minister of Finance until resigning from cabinet in 1975 over a policy dispute over wage and price freezes. Since then, he had been a corporate lawyer on

Bay Street Bay Street is a major thoroughfare in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the centre of Toronto's Financial District and is often used by metonymy to refer to Canada's financial services industry since succeeding Montreal's St. James Stre ...

until his return to politics in 1984. Turner had run for the leadership previously in 1968, placing third on the final ballot. *Supporters in caucus (6 MPs): Transport Minister

Lloyd Axworthy Lloyd Norman Axworthy (born December 21, 1939) is a Canadian politician, elder statesman and academic. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. Following his retirement from parliament ...

, Solicitor-General Bob Kaplan, International Trade Minister

Gerald Regan Gerald Augustine Paul Regan (February 13, 1928 – November 26, 2019) was a Canadian politician (as Member of Parliament (Canada), federal MP and later as Nova Scotia House of Assembly, Nova Scotia MLA), who served as the 19th premier of Nova Sc ...

, Minister of Regional Economic Expansion

Ed Lumley Edward C. Lumley, (born October 27, 1939) is a Canadian corporate executive and former politician. Born in Windsor, Ontario, he received a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1961 from Assumption University (predecessor of the University of Windsor ...

, Minister for External Relations

Jean-Luc Pépin Jean-Luc Pepin, (November 1, 1924 – September 5, 1995) was a Canadian academic, politician and Cabinet minister. Political biography Pepin was a political science professor at the University of Ottawa when he was first elected to the House o ...

, Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs

Judy Erola Judith Erola, née Jacobson, (born January 16, 1934) is a former Canadians, Canadian politician who represented the electoral district (Canada), riding of Nickel Belt in the House of Commons of Canada from 1980 to 1984. She was a member of the ...

Eugene Whelan Eugene Francis "Gene" Whelan, ( ) was a Canadian politician, sitting in the House of Commons from 1962 to 1984, and in the Senate from 1996 to 1999. He was also Minister of Agriculture under Pierre Trudeau from 1972 to 1984, and became one ...

Whelan, 59, MP for

Essex-Windsor Essex (formerly known as Essex—Windsor) is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1867 to 1882 and since 1968. Geography The riding includes the Municipalities of LaSalle, Amhers ...

since 1962, has been Minister of Agriculture from 1972 to 1979, when the Liberals lost power, and again since 1980.

Results

First ballot
TURNER, John Napier 1,593 (46%)
CHRÉTIEN, Joseph Jacques Jean 1,067 (31%)
JOHNSTON, Donald James 278 (8%)
ROBERTS, John (Moody) 185
MACGUIGAN, Mark R. 135
MUNRO, John Carr 93
WHELAN, Eugene Francis 84
Spoiled ballots 2
''Total votes cast 3,437'' Whelan eliminated, supports Chrétien. MacGuigan withdraws and supports Turner. Munro and Roberts withdraw and support Chrétien. Second ballot
TURNER, John Napier 1,862 (54%)
CHRÉTIEN, Joseph Jacques Jean 1,398 (40%)
JOHNSTON, Donald James 192 (6%)
Spoiled ballots 1
''Total votes cast 3,453''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liberal Party Of Canada Leadership Election, 1984

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

1984 elections in Canada Liberal Party of Canada leadership election June 1984 events in Canada