The first Progressive Conservative Party of Canada leadership election was held in 1927, when the party was called the Conservative Party. Prior to then the party's leader was chosen by the caucus or in several cases by the Governor General of Canada designating a Conservative MP or Senator to form a government after the retirement or death of an incumbent Conservative Prime Minister.
There have been two permanent leaders since 1927 who were not chosen by a leadership convention. Arthur Meighen agreed to serve a second term as leader in 1941 on condition that he would not have to contest the position. The party agreed since the party was desperate for a leader of Meighen's stature. Jean Charest was one of only two Progressive Conservative Members of Parliament returned in the 1993 election and was appointed leader by the party's executive with the decision later being affirmed at a regular party convention two years later. The Conservative Party became the Progressive Conservative Party in 1942.
All leadership conventions were delegated conventions, except in 1998 when a one member, one vote process was used in which each riding was allocated 100 points which were distributed among candidates by proportionally. For the 2003 leadership election, the party reverted to use of a delegated convention, ostensibly because of the cost of using a one member, one vote process (though it has been argued that the party feared that use of one member, one vote would make an outside takeover of the party easier due to a decline in membership). In 2003, the party merged with the Canadian Alliance to form a new Conservative Party of Canada. This party adopted the one member, one vote process the Tories had used in 1998.
Note on tables: Green box indicates winner. Pink box indicates candidate eliminated from ballot for receiving the fewest votes. Blue box indicates candidate withdrew from balloting.
1927 Conservative leadership convention
Held in Winnipeg, Manitoba on October 11, 1927.
| Candidate | 1st ballot | 2nd ballot | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes cast | % | Votes cast | % | ||
| R. B. Bennett | 594 | 38.0% | 780 | 50.2% | |
| Hugh Guthrie | 345 | 22.0% | 320 | 20.6% | |
| Charles Cahan | 310 | 19.8% | 266 | 17.1% | |
| Robert James Manion | 170 | 10.9% | 148 | 9.5% | |
| Robert Rogers | 114 | 7.3% | 37 | 2.4% | |
| Henry Lumley Drayton | 31 | 2.0% | 3 | 0.2% | |
| Total | 1,564 | 100.0% | 1,554 | 100.0% | |
George Halsey Perley, H. H. Stevens, John Allister Currie, John Baxter, Howard Ferguson, Edgar Nelson Rhodes, and outgoing leader Arthur Meighen were all nominated but declined to run.
1938 Conservative leadership convention
Held in Ottawa, Ontario on July 7, 1938.
| Candidate | 1st ballot | 2nd ballot | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes cast | % | Votes cast | % | ||
| Robert James Manion | 726 | 46.4% | 830 | 53.0% | |
| M. A. MacPherson | 475 | 30.3% | 648 | 41.4% | |
| Joseph Henry Harris | 131 | 8.4% | 49 | 3.1% | |
| Denton Massey | 128 | 8.2% | 39 | 2.5% | |
| Earl Lawson | 105 | 6.7% | Eliminated | ||
| Total | 1,565 | 100.0% | 1,566 | 100.0% | |
Manion lost his seat in the 1940 federal election and R.B. Hanson became interim leader. In November 1941 a national conference of the party voted against having a leadership convention and instead appointed Arthur Meighen as the party's wartime leader. Meighen was defeated in a 1942 by-election and resigned.
1942 Progressive Conservative leadership convention
Held in Winnipeg, Manitoba on December 11, 1942.
| Candidate | 1st ballot | 2nd ballot | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes cast | % | Votes cast | % | ||
| John Bracken | 420 | 48.3% | 538 | 61.7% | |
| M. A. MacPherson | 222 | 25.5% | 255 | 29.2% | |
| John Diefenbaker | 120 | 13.8% | 79 | 9.1% | |
| Howard Charles Green | 88 | 10.1% | Withdrew | ||
| Henry Hubert Stevens | 20 | 2.3% | Eliminated | ||
| Total | 870 | 100.0% | 872 | 100.0% | |
1948 Progressive Conservative leadership convention
Held in Ottawa, Ontario on October 2, 1948.
| Candidate | Delegate Count | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| George A. Drew | 827 | 66.6% | |
| John Diefenbaker | 311 | 25.0% | |
| Donald Fleming | 104 | 8.4% | |
| Total | 1,242 | 100% | |
Wilfrid Garfield Case announced his candidacy but withdrew before the convention to support Drew.
1956 Progressive Conservative leadership convention
Held in Ottawa, Ontario on December 14, 1956.
| Candidate | Delegate Count | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Diefenbaker | 774 | 60.3% | |
| Donald Fleming | 393 | 30.6% | |
| Davie Fulton | 117 | 9.1% | |
| Total | 1,284 | 100% | |
1967 Progressive Conservative leadership convention
The 1967 leadership convention was held in Toronto, Ontario on September 9, 1967.
| Candidate | 1st ballot | 2nd ballot | 3rd ballot | 4th ballot | 5th ballot | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes cast | % | Votes cast | % | Votes cast | % | Votes cast | % | Votes cast | % | ||
| Robert Stanfield | 519 | 23.3% | 613 | 27.7% | 717 | 32.7% | 865 | 40.1% | 1,150 | 54.3% | |
| Dufferin Roblin | 347 | 15.6% | 430 | 19.4% | 541 | 24.7% | 771 | 35.7% | 969 | 45.7% | |
| Davie Fulton | 343 | 15.4% | 346 | 15.7% | 361 | 16.5% | 357 | 16.5% | Endorsed Stanfield | ||
| George Hees | 295 | 13.2% | 299 | 13.5% | 277 | 12.6% | Endorsed Stanfield | ||||
| John Diefenbaker | 271 | 12.2% | 172 | 7.8% | 114 | 5.2% | Endorsed Roblin | ||||
| Wallace McCutcheon | 137 | 6.1% | 76 | 3.4% | Endorsed Stanfield | ||||||
| Alvin Hamilton | 136 | 6.1% | 127 | 5.8% | 106 | 4.8% | 167 | 7.7% | Did not endorse | ||
| Donald Fleming | 126 | 5.7% | 115 | 5.2% | 76 | 3.5% | Endorsed Stanfield | ||||
| Michael Starr | 45 | 2.0% | 34 | 1.5% | Did not endorse | ||||||
| John MacLean | 10 | 0.4% | Withdrew because he did not want the convention “to go too late” | ||||||||
| Mary Walker-Sawka | 2 | - | Did not endorse | ||||||||
| Total | 2,231 | 100.0% | 2,212 | 100.0% | 2,192 | 100.0% | 2,160 | 100.0% | 2,119 | 100.0% | |
1976 Progressive Conservative leadership convention
The 1976 leadership convention was held in Ottawa, Ontario on February 22, 1976.
| Candidate | 1st ballot | 2nd ballot | 3rd ballot | 4th ballot | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes cast | % | Votes cast | % | Votes cast | % | Votes cast | % | ||
| Claude Wagner | 531 | 22.5% | 667 | 28.5% | 1,003 | 42.8% | 1,122 | 48.6% | |
| Brian Mulroney | 357 | 15.1% | 419 | 17.9% | 369 | 15.8% | Did not endorse | ||
| Joe Clark | 277 | 11.7% | 532 | 22.8% | 969 | 41.4% | 1,187 | 51.4% | |
| Jack Horner | 235 | 10.0% | 286 | 12.2% | Endorsed Wagner | ||||
| Flora MacDonald | 214 | 9.1% | 239 | 10.2% | Endorsed Clark | ||||
| Paul Hellyer | 231 | 9.8% | 118 | 5.1% | Endorsed Wagner | ||||
| Sinclair Stevens | 182 | 7.7% | Endorsed Clark | ||||||
| John Allen Fraser | 127 | 5.4% | 34 | 1.5% | Endorsed Clark | ||||
| James Gillies | 87 | 3.7% | Endorsed Clark | ||||||
| Pat Nowlan | 86 | 3.6% | 42 | 1.8% | Endorsed Wagner | ||||
| Heward Grafftey | 33 | 1.4% | Endorsed Clark | ||||||
| Total | 2,360 | 100.0% | 2,337 | 100.0% | 2,341 | 100.0% | 2,309 | 100.0% | |
Richard Quittenton withdrew from the race before the convention began.
1983 Progressive Conservative leadership convention
The 1983 leadership convention was held in Ottawa, Ontario on June 11, 1983.
| Candidate | 1st ballot | 2nd ballot | 3rd ballot | 4th ballot | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes cast | % | Votes cast | % | Votes cast | % | Votes cast | % | ||
| Joe Clark | 1,091 | 36.5% | 1,085 | 36.7% | 1,058 | 35.8% | 1,325 | 45.6% | |
| Brian Mulroney | 874 | 29.2% | 1,021 | 34.6% | 1,036 | 35.1% | 1,584 | 54.5% | |
| John Crosbie | 639 | 21.4% | 781 | 26.4% | 858 | 29.1% | Did not endorse | ||
| David Crombie | 116 | 3.9% | 67 | 2.3% | Endorsed Crosbie | ||||
| Michael Wilson | 144 | 4.8% | Endorsed Mulroney | ||||||
| Peter Pocklington | 102 | 3.4% | Endorsed Mulroney | ||||||
| John A. Gamble | 17 | 0.6% | Endorsed Mulroney | ||||||
| Neil Fraser | 5 | 0.2% | Endorsed Mulroney | ||||||
| Total | 2,988 | 100.0% | 2,954 | 100.0% | 2,952 | 100.0% | 2,909 | 100.0% | |
1993 leadership convention results
The 1993 leadership convention was held in Ottawa, Ontario on June 13, 1993.
| Candidate | 1st ballot | 2nd ballot | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes cast | % | Votes cast | % | ||
| Kim Campbell | 1,664 | 48.0% | 1,817 | 52.7% | |
| Jean Charest | 1,369 | 39.4% | 1,630 | 47.3% | |
| Jim Edwards | 307 | 8.9% | Endorsed Campbell | ||
| Garth Turner | 76 | 2.2% | Did not endorse | ||
| Patrick Boyer | 53 | 1.5% | Endorsed Charest | ||
| Total | 3,469 | 100.0% | 3,447 | 100.0% | |
1995 Progressive Conservative leadership convention
The 1995 leadership convention was held at the Palais des congrès de Gatineau in Hull, Quebec on April 29, 1995, to ratify Jean Charest as leader. Charest had been named interim leader following the 1993 federal election (and Kim Campbell's resignation as party leader), which reduced the Progressive Conservatives to only two seats, with Charest being the only cabinet minister to win re-election.
| Candidate | Yes | No | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delegate Count | % | Delegate Count | % | ||
| Jean Charest | 1,187 | 96.04% | 49 | 3.96% | |
| Total | 1,236 | ||||
1998 Progressive Conservative leadership election
First ballot was conducted October 24, 1998; second ballot was conducted November 14, 1998.
The 1998 election used a point system that allocated 100 points to each riding, regardless of the number of votes cast in the riding. The candidate who won a majority of points (not necessarily a majority of voters) would win the leadership. All party members were eligible to cast a vote. The 100-point-per-riding system was again used by the Conservative Party of Canada in its 2004 leadership race.
| Candidate | First Ballot October 24 | Second Ballot November 14 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Points | % | Points | % | ||
| Joe Clark | 14,592 | 48.5% | 23,321 | 77.5% | |
| Hugh Segal | 5,689 | 18.9% | Endorsed Clark | ||
| David Orchard | 4,916 | 16.3% | 6,779 | 22.5% | |
| Brian Pallister | 3,676 | 12.2% | Endorsed Clark | ||
| Michael Fortier | 1,227 | 4.1% | Endorsed Clark | ||
| Total | 30,100 | 100.0% | 30,100 | 100.0% | |
2003 Progressive Conservative leadership convention
The 2003 leadership convention was held in Toronto, Ontario on May 31, 2003.
| Candidate | 1st ballot | 2nd ballot | 3rd ballot | 4th ballot | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes cast | % | Votes cast | % | Votes cast | % | Votes cast | % | ||
| Peter MacKay | 1,080 | 41.1% | 1,018 | 39.7% | 1,128 | 45.0% | 1,538 | 64.8% | |
| David Orchard | 640 | 24.3% | 619 | 24.1% | 617 | 24.6% | Endorsed MacKay | ||
| Jim Prentice | 478 | 18.2% | 466 | 18.2% | 761 | 30.4% | 836 | 35.2% | |
| Scott Brison | 431 | 16.4% | 463 | 18.0% | Endorsed Prentice | ||||
| Craig Chandler | 0 | — | Withdrew before 1st ballot began; Endorsed Prentice | ||||||
| Total | 2,629 | 100.0% | 2,566 | 100.0% | 2,506 | 100.0% | 2,374 | 100.0% | |
Two other candidates had participated in the race. Quebec MP André Bachand withdrew his candidacy from the race due to financial concerns and backed Peter MacKay. Former Cabinet Minister and Quebec MP Heward Grafftey also withdrew his candidacy from the race due to health concerns.
See also
- Conservative Party of Canada leadership elections
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