Brian Mulroney

Robert Stanfield, leader of the Progressive Conservative party would once again lose to Pierre Trudeau in the 1974 election. Following his third consecutive loss, Stanfield decided to resign the leadership. Mulroney was encouraged to run in the race to replace Stanfield. In the 1976 leadership convention, Mulroney would spend an estimated $500,000 (at the time an incredible sum), but would falter on the fourth ballot to Joe Clark.

Following the Convention, Mulroney took the job of Executive Vice President of the Iron Ore Company of Canada, a joint subsidiary of three major U.S. steel corporations. In 1977, he was appointed company President. Under his leadership, the company was sold off to foreign interests. By mid-1983, Joe Clark's leadership of the Progressive Conservative party was being questioned. Mulroney organized to defeat Clark at the party's leadership review. When Clark received an endorsement by less than 67 percent of delegates at the party convention, Clark resigned from the leadership, resulting in the 1983 leadership convention. Brian Mulroney was again a candidate, and he campaigned more shrewdly than he had done seven years before. He was elected party leader on June 11, 1983, beating Clark on the fourth ballot. He attracted broad support from the many factions of the party, especially from representatives of his native Quebec. Two months later, Mulroney entered Parliament as the MP for Central Nova in Nova Scotia, winning a by-election in what was then considered a safe Tory seat after Elmer MacKay stood down in his favour.

When Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau retired in June 1984, the Liberal Party chose John Turner as its new leader. Turner called a general election for September. Mulroney is remembered for his performance in the debate in which he attacked Turner for not cancelling patronage appointments made by Trudeau shortly before Trudeau left office. Ironically, Turner had planned to attack Mulroney over the patronage machine that the latter had set up in anticipation of victory. However, Mulroney successfully turned the tables by pointing to Turner's recent patronage appointments. When Turner said, "I had no option" except to keep the appointments, Mulroney famously responded, "You had an option, sir; you could have said 'no.'" Many observers considered the debate as the turning point in the campaign.

The election resulted in a massive