form of economic reform and better relations with
the United States. The key turning point in the
campaign was a leadership debate during which
Mulroney decisively bested Turner over the patron-
age issue. The end result was a landslide victory for
Mulroney: His party won 211 seats in the Canadian
House of Commons, the most ever by a political
party, and 50 percent of the popular vote. The Lib-
erals were reduced to 40 seats, only 10 more than the
third-place New Democratic Party.
The Election of 1988 Once in office, the Mulroney
government made the critical decision to pursue a
free trade agreement with U.S. president Ronald
Reagan, a course of action that Mulroney had previ-
ously decried. A deal was finally reached in 1987,
and, while it generated little reaction in Washing-
ton, in Canada a widespread outcry ensued over the
agreement’s implications for Canadian sovereignty.
Unable to get the legislation through the Canadian
senate, Mulroney opted to call a federal election for
November 21, 1988. For the second time in Cana-
dian history, a federal election was fought over the is-
sue of free trade with the United States.
The Liberals under John Turner quickly posi-
tioned themselves as the key opponents to the free
trade agreement with the United States. A series of
Liberal television commercials about the dangers of
free trade struck a chord with Canadians, and the
Liberals were soon ahead in public opinion polls.
During the leadership debate, Mulroney and Turner
clashed over the free trade issue, with each articulat-
ing his future vision for Canada while simultaneously
invoking his patriotism. In the end, Liberal support
proved short-lived. Enough voters swung back to the
Conservatives to give them 43 percent of the votes
and a majority government on election day, although
the Liberals doubled their representation in Parlia-
ment. Free trade was soon passed.
Impact All three elections of the 1980’s had a ma-
jor impact on Canada. The 1980 election returned
Trudeau and the Liberals to power, and Trudeau
quickly defeated efforts at Québécois independence.
However, the failure of his government’s economic
policies set the stage for the massive election victory
of Mulroney and the Progressive Conservatives in
- In turn, the arrival of Mulroney led to an effort
at improving relations with the United States, princi-
pally through the pursuit of a free trade agreement
with the Reagan administration. Once this agree-
ment was reached, a further election was needed to
return Mulroney to power and to allow his govern-
ment to enact the requisite trade legislation. This
legislation represented a historical shift for Canada,
as it decisively moved toward greater economic inte-
gration with the United States.Further Reading
Bliss, Michael.Right Honourable Men: The Descent of
Canadian Politics from Macdonald to Chrétien.To-
ronto: HarperCollins Canada, 2004. Collection of
short biographies of Canadian prime ministers
including Clark, Trudeau, Turner, and Mulroney,
all of whom were involved in elections in the
1980’s.
Clarkson, Stephen, and Christina McCall.TrudeauThe Eighties in America Elections in Canada 319
From right: Pierre Trudeau, John Turner, and Turner’s wife,
Geills, at the Liberal Leadership Convention in 1984.(Library
and Archives Canada)