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

CBC
Tue, January 7, 2025 


Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to reporters, announcing he intends to step down as Liberal Party leader, but he will stay on in his post until a replacement has been chosen, from his Rideau Cottage residence in Ottawa on Jan. 6. (Patrick Doyle/Reuters - image credit)

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

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

The 53-year-old Trudeau reluctantly bowed to that pressure on Monday, announcing he'll step aside once a new Liberal leader is chosen. He also moved to prorogue Parliament while this process unfolds.

When prime ministers and premiers head for the exit, their parties have to adjust — occasionally on short notice. Canada has seen a few versions of this movie before.

After the walk in the snow

After a fabled walk in the snow, Pierre Trudeau announced on Feb. 29, 1984 that he was leaving politics after 16 years as Liberal leader — also serving, for most of that time, as prime minister.

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

John Turner, a veteran Liberal who had vied for the leadership when Trudeau prevailed in 1968, got his chance to be leader the second time around.

Ottawa - June 16, 1984 - John Turner raises arms in victory after winning the Liberal leadership race.

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

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

Yet the polls looked grim for the Liberals as election day neared and Brian Mulroney's Progressive Conservatives swept to power, three months after Turner ascended to the top of the Liberal Party.

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

A short tenure for Kim Campbell

While Mulroney led the federal Progressive Conservatives to back-to-back majority governments, he would eventually fall from popularity. He became prime minister at age 45, and more than eight years later, revealed he'd be making his exit.

"The time has come for me to step aside," Mulroney announced in February 1993, touting his party's efforts to tackle tough issues under his leadership, but acknowledging the PCs trailed the Liberals in the polls.

"I have done my very best 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, with Kim Campbell — an experienced politician, yet first-term MP who had served as Canada's justice minister and attorney general — emerging as the winner.


Kim Campbell, then the prime minister-designate, standing alongside then-prime minister Brian Mulroney, in Ottawa, on June 14, 1993.

Kim Campbell won the leadership contest to succeed Brian Mulroney in 1993. (Reuters)
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At 46, Campbell was sworn in as the country's first-ever female prime minister in June.

However, like John Turner before her, Campbell's term at the top of the government would be short-lived.

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

She resigned as PC leader that December.

When announcing his retirement, Mulroney had suggested the pending election would be fought between the PCs and the Liberals, but the Tories' dismal performance at the polls actually put them in fifth place when all the votes were counted.

The Bloc Québécois formed the Official Opposition for the first time and both the Reform Party and New Democrats won more seats than the Tories did.
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Chrétien to Martin

Jean Chrétien led the federal Liberals to three straight majorities — in 1993, again in 1997 and a third time in 2000.

Yet he faced pressure to leave as far back as 2000, with some party members saying Paul Martin — Chrétien's veteran finance minister, who was first elected to Parliament in 1988 — deserved a chance to lead.

"A whisper campaign says [Martin] could quit if he isn't given a shot at the top job and soon," CBC's Susan Bonner reported in mid-March of that year, months before the 66-year-old Chrétien called a snap election that would mark his third majority victory.

The issue didn't go away and tensions remained between the two senior Liberals, but Martin hung around, eventually succeeding Chrétien, at age 65, in late 2003.

New Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin gestures as he talks to reporters during a news conference in Ottawa, December 12, 2003. Martin was sworn in as Canada's 21 Prime Minister today.

Paul Martin gestures as he talks to reporters during a news conference in Ottawa in December 2003. (Jim Young/Reuters)

In 2004, the Martin-led Liberals won a minority government, which lasted until it lost a non-confidence vote the following year. That triggered a winter election that saw the Stephen Harper-led Conservatives replace the Liberals in government.

The rise of Kathleen Wynne

Ontario Liberal Party leader Kathleen Wynne speaks at her election party headquarters in Toronto, June 12, 2014. The Liberals won a majority government.

Kathleen Wynne speaks at her election party headquarters in Toronto in June 2014 after her party wins a majority Ontario government. (Mark Blinch/Reuters)

Sudden shake-ups in leadership are not confined to federal politics.

In October 2012, Ontario's then-premier Dalton McGuinty announced he would be stepping down as Liberal leader and that he would stay on until a successor was chosen. He also prorogued the legislature.

Like Justin Trudeau, the 57-year-old McGuinty had been in power for nine years at the time that he stepped down, and he also led a minority government.

Kathleen Wynne, then 59, won the ensuing leadership contest, becoming Ontario's first female premier in early 2013.

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

The provincial Liberals' streak 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 in the Toronto Star on Monday, Wynne shared some perspective on circumstances that cannot be overcome in politics.

"Today is a rough day for Justin Trudeau, for his children and family and for his team," Wynne wrote.

"Those who have been cheering on his demise will have a good day, no doubt, but in my experience, it is wise to be measured in both the jubilance in victory and the despair in loss. Neither lasts forever."