Bracken over Socialism
Although he achieved one of the greatest comebacks in Canadian political history, much like Arthur Meighen, Prime Minister Nielsen’s second stint as head of the government turned out to be as equally bad as his first. Unable to form a fruitful relationship with Presidents Kennedy, Carter or Prime Minister Callaghan, Nielsen found himself locked out of global policy. The economy meanwhile had grown only worse since the last election, with unemployment rising to roughly 9 per cent with gas prices rising to 52 cents a liter. On top of that numerous scandals had emerged, including one which suggested the Prime Minister knew but failed to disclose the amount of money the government was spending on military contracts. There were also reports that a member of the Prime Ministers cabinet had attempted to bribe a media official in order to gain the government more positive coverage. Although Nielsen was cleared of any wrongdoing by the RCMP, who cited lack of knowledge on the part of the Prime Minister, the fact it occurred under his watch left the Tories plummeting in the polls.
In the interim before the election the Liberals had chosen a new leader whom many party faithful hoped would return the party to the government benches. Defeating both Don Johnson and John Turner in a narrow and bitter leadership campaign, Iona Campagnolo promised voters a return to government transparency, balanced budgets, and a stronger presence on the world stage. However a woman had never led a major political party in Canada before, which placed the newly minted Liberal leader in a fight against the political social structure of the country.
Despite initial polling which suggested the Liberals would form only a minority government, the campaign quickly became a worse nightmare for the Tories than either 1956 or 1979. At one point polling even began to indicate that the NDP was tied with the Tories for second place in voter support. The debates proved to be a disaster for Nielsen, who came across as overly aggressive and patronizing towards Campagnolo, who in turn came across as the more level headed of the party leaders. On Election Day the results weren’t even close. The Liberals formed the largest majority in Canadian history, while the Tories narrowly hung onto the status of Official Opposition.
Prime Ministers of Canada:
Arthur Meighen (Conservative) 1920-1921
William Lyon Mackenzie King (Liberal) 1921-1926
Arthur Meighen (Conservative) 1926
William Lyon Mackenzie King (Liberal) 1926-1930
R.B. Bennett (Conservative) 1930-1935
William Lyon Mackenzie King (Liberal) 1935-1944
John Bracken (Progressive Conservative) 1944-1952
Charles Gavan Power (Liberal) 1952-1962
Paul Martin, Sr. (Liberal) 1962-1967
Davie Fulton (Progressive Conservative) 1967-1978
Erik Nielsen (Progressive Conservative) 1978-1979
Jean Marchand (Liberal) 1979-1980
Erik Nielsen (Progressive Conservative) 1980-1984
Iona Campagnolo (Liberal) 1984-
Bracken over Socialism
Canadian federal election, 1944
Canadian federal election, 1946
Canadian federal election, 1951
Canadian federal election, 1952
Progressive Conservative leadership election, 1953
Canadian federal election, 1956
Canadian federal election, 1960
Progressive Conservative leadership election, 1961
Liberal leadership election, 1962
Canadian federal election, 1965
Progressive Conservative leadership election, 1966
Canadian federal election, 1967
Liberal leadership election, 1970
Canadian federal election, 1971
Canadian federal election, 1975
Progressive Conservative leadership election, 1978
Liberal leadership election, 1978
Canadian federal election, 1979
Canadian federal election, 1980
Liberal leadership election, 1981
Canadian federal election, 1984
Although he achieved one of the greatest comebacks in Canadian political history, much like Arthur Meighen, Prime Minister Nielsen’s second stint as head of the government turned out to be as equally bad as his first. Unable to form a fruitful relationship with Presidents Kennedy, Carter or Prime Minister Callaghan, Nielsen found himself locked out of global policy. The economy meanwhile had grown only worse since the last election, with unemployment rising to roughly 9 per cent with gas prices rising to 52 cents a liter. On top of that numerous scandals had emerged, including one which suggested the Prime Minister knew but failed to disclose the amount of money the government was spending on military contracts. There were also reports that a member of the Prime Ministers cabinet had attempted to bribe a media official in order to gain the government more positive coverage. Although Nielsen was cleared of any wrongdoing by the RCMP, who cited lack of knowledge on the part of the Prime Minister, the fact it occurred under his watch left the Tories plummeting in the polls.
In the interim before the election the Liberals had chosen a new leader whom many party faithful hoped would return the party to the government benches. Defeating both Don Johnson and John Turner in a narrow and bitter leadership campaign, Iona Campagnolo promised voters a return to government transparency, balanced budgets, and a stronger presence on the world stage. However a woman had never led a major political party in Canada before, which placed the newly minted Liberal leader in a fight against the political social structure of the country.
Despite initial polling which suggested the Liberals would form only a minority government, the campaign quickly became a worse nightmare for the Tories than either 1956 or 1979. At one point polling even began to indicate that the NDP was tied with the Tories for second place in voter support. The debates proved to be a disaster for Nielsen, who came across as overly aggressive and patronizing towards Campagnolo, who in turn came across as the more level headed of the party leaders. On Election Day the results weren’t even close. The Liberals formed the largest majority in Canadian history, while the Tories narrowly hung onto the status of Official Opposition.
Prime Ministers of Canada:
Arthur Meighen (Conservative) 1920-1921
William Lyon Mackenzie King (Liberal) 1921-1926
Arthur Meighen (Conservative) 1926
William Lyon Mackenzie King (Liberal) 1926-1930
R.B. Bennett (Conservative) 1930-1935
William Lyon Mackenzie King (Liberal) 1935-1944
John Bracken (Progressive Conservative) 1944-1952
Charles Gavan Power (Liberal) 1952-1962
Paul Martin, Sr. (Liberal) 1962-1967
Davie Fulton (Progressive Conservative) 1967-1978
Erik Nielsen (Progressive Conservative) 1978-1979
Jean Marchand (Liberal) 1979-1980
Erik Nielsen (Progressive Conservative) 1980-1984
Iona Campagnolo (Liberal) 1984-
Bracken over Socialism
Canadian federal election, 1944
Canadian federal election, 1946
Canadian federal election, 1951
Canadian federal election, 1952
Progressive Conservative leadership election, 1953
Canadian federal election, 1956
Canadian federal election, 1960
Progressive Conservative leadership election, 1961
Liberal leadership election, 1962
Canadian federal election, 1965
Progressive Conservative leadership election, 1966
Canadian federal election, 1967
Liberal leadership election, 1970
Canadian federal election, 1971
Canadian federal election, 1975
Progressive Conservative leadership election, 1978
Liberal leadership election, 1978
Canadian federal election, 1979
Canadian federal election, 1980
Liberal leadership election, 1981
Canadian federal election, 1984