1976 Progressive Conservative leadership election

1976 Progressive Conservative Party leadership election

← 1967 February 22, 1976 1983 →

CW Candidate Joe Clark Claude Wagner Brian Mulroney Fourth ballot delegate count 1,187 (51.4%) 1,122 (48.6%) Eliminated Third ballot delegate count 969 (41.4%) 1,003 (42.8%) 369 (15.8%) Second ballot delegate count 532 (22.8%) 667 (28.5%) 419 (17.9%) First ballot delegate count 277 (11.7%) 531 (22.5%) 357 (15.1%)

Leader before election Robert Stanfield Elected Leader Joe Clark

The 1976 Progressive Conservative leadership election was held at the Ottawa Civic Centre in Ottawa on February 22, 1976,^[1] to elect a leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada to replace Robert Stanfield, who had resigned after losing the 1968, 1972, and 1974 elections. It unexpectedly elected a 36-year-old, little-known PC Member of Parliament from Alberta as the party's new leader. Joe Clark defeated Claude Wagner on the fourth ballot of the convention by a margin of 65 votes.^[1]

The convention's delegates were elected by the party's riding associations, along with the party's youth, campus and women's associations. There were also numerous ex officio delegates, including PC Members of Parliament, defeated candidates from the previous election, members of provincial legislatures, members of the party's national executive and the executives of provincial parties affiliated to the federal party. Delegates cast secret ballots, so their votes were not "tied" to any candidate. After each ballot, the candidate winning the fewest votes was removed from the ballot for the next round. Several candidates withdrew voluntarily when it became clear that they would not be able to win.