A brief history of some of Canada’s most memorable political leadership shake-ups


The federal Liberal Party faces a tumultuous start to 2025 as it struggles to select a successor to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau before Canadians go to the polls later this year.

Trudeau had been under increasing pressure to clear the way for someone new, amid political gridlock, conflicts within the Liberal caucus and persistent polls that have put the party behind the Conservatives for more than a year.

Trudeau, 53, reluctantly bowed to that pressure on Monday and announced he will resign once a new Liberal leader is elected. He also proposed proroguing Parliament while this process takes place.

As prime ministers and premiers head for the exit, their parties have to adapt, sometimes at short notice. Canada has seen some versions of this movie before.

After the walk through the snow

Pierre Trudeau announces his retirement

In 1984, Pierre Trudeau announces that he will step down as Liberal leader.

After a legendary walk through the snow, Pierre Trudeau announced on February 29, 1984 that he was leaving politics after 16 years as Liberal leader, and for most of that time he also served as prime minister.

His decision sparked a leadership contest, allowing a familiar face to succeed him.

John Turner, a veteran Liberal who had run for the leadership when Trudeau prevailed in 1968, was given the opportunity to be leader for the second time.

John Turner celebrating the moment of his victory in the leadership of the Liberal Party in June 1984.
John Turner raises his arms in victory after winning the Liberal leadership race in June 1984. (Ron Poling/Canadian Press)

After winning the leadership in June 1984, Turner, 55, was sworn in and soon called an election.

However, polls looked bleak for the Liberals as election day approached and Brian Mulroney’s Progressive Conservatives swept to power, three months after Turner rose to the top of the Liberal Party.

Turner would lead the Liberals for six years, including the 1988 election, which the PCs also won.

CBC poll suggests conservative victory in 1984

About two weeks before the 1984 election, a CBC poll suggests the Conservatives will form a majority government.

A brief term for Kim Campbell

While Mulroney led the federal Progressive Conservatives to consecutive majority governments, he would eventually lose popularity. He became prime minister aged 45 and, more than eight years later, revealed he was stepping down.

Brian Mulroney wins stunning landslide victory in 1984

The Progressive Conservatives win 211 seats, the largest majority in Canadian history.

“The time has come for me to step aside,” Mulroney announced in February 1993, touting his party’s efforts to address difficult issues under his leadership but acknowledging that the PC was trailing the Liberals in the polls.

“I have done the best I can for my country and my party and I look forward to the enthusiasm and renewal that only new leadership brings.”

A handful of candidates sought the leadership, and Kim Campbell, an experienced politician but a first-term MP who had served as Canada’s justice minister and attorney general, emerged as the winner.

Kim Campbell and Brian Mulroney in Ottawa in June 1993.
Kim Campbell won the leadership contest to succeed Brian Mulroney in 1993. (Reuters)

At 46, Campbell was sworn in as the country’s first female prime minister in June.

However, like John Turner before her, Campbell’s tenure at the head of the government would be short-lived.

In the October 1993 election, the Progressive Conservatives were reduced to just two seats in the House of Commons. Campbell was not among the candidates elected to Parliament.

In December he resigned as leader of the PC.

In announcing his retirement, Mulroney had suggested that the pending election would be contested between the PCs and the Liberals, but the Conservatives’ dismal performance at the polls put them in fifth place when all votes were counted.

The Bloc Québécois formed the Official Opposition for the first time and both the Reform Party and the New Democrats won more seats than the Conservatives.

Chrétien to Martin

Jean Chrétien led the federal Liberals to three consecutive majorities: in 1993, again in 1997 and for the third time in 2000.

Pressure on Chrétien in 2000

In March 2000, some liberals were in favor of a new leader replacing Jean Chrétien.

However, he faced pressure to leave office as early as 2000, with some party members saying that Paul Martin (Chrétien’s veteran finance minister, who was first elected to parliament in 1988) deserved a chance. lead.

“A whisper campaign says [Martin] could resign if he is not given a chance to take the top job and soon,” CBC’s Susan Bonner reported in mid-March of that year, months before Chrétien, 66, called a snap election that would mark his third victory. by majority.

The problem did not go away and tensions persisted between the two senior liberals, but Martin remained and eventually succeeded Chrétien, aged 65, in late 2003.

Prime Minister Paul Martin is seen in Ottawa on the day he was sworn in as Prime Minister.
Paul Martin gestures while speaking to reporters during a news conference in Ottawa in December 2003. (Jim Young/Reuters)

In 2004, the Liberals led by Martin won a minority government, which lasted until they lost a vote of no confidence the following year. That triggered a winter election in which the Conservatives led by Stephen Harper replaced the Liberals in government.

The Rise of Kathleen Wynne

Kathleen Wynne celebrates the Ontario Liberals' victory at the polls in June 2014.
Kathleen Wynne speaks at her electoral party headquarters in Toronto in June 2014, after her party won a majority government in Ontario. (Mark Blinch/Reuters)

Sudden changes in leadership are not limited to federal politics.

In October 2012, then-Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty announced that he would step down as Liberal leader and would remain in the role until a successor was chosen. He also extended the legislature.

Like Justin Trudeau, McGuinty, 57, had been in power for nine years when he resigned and was also leading a minority government.

Kathleen Wynne, then 59, won the leadership contest that followed and became Ontario’s first female premier in early 2013.

The following year, Wynne led his party to a resounding victory, winning a majority of seats in the legislature.

The provincial Liberals’ run ended in 2018, but the party held government for 15 years between McGuinty and Wynne’s combined time at the helm.

In an op-ed published Monday in the Toronto Star, Wynne shared some perspective on circumstances that cannot be overcome in politics.

“Today is a difficult day for Justin Trudeau, his children, his family and his team,” Wynne wrote.

“Those who have been cheering his passing will have a good day, no doubt, but in my experience, it is wise to measure yourself against both the joy of victory and the despair of loss. Neither lasts forever.”



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