2004 Liberal Party of Canada infighting

The period between Paul Martin's assumption of the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada (November 14, 2003) and the announcement of the 2004 federal election (May 23, 2004) which saw a considerable amount of infighting within the party. The divisions in the Liberal Party, the party's embroilment in the Sponsorship Scandal, and a united Conservative opposition, all combined to end 13 continuous years of Liberal rule.

While the Liberal Party has had internal conflicts during its history, it has had a tumultuous period during the later leadership of Pierre Trudeau. In 1975, John Turner unexpectedly resigned as Minister of Finance.

Internal unrest began after John Turner was elected leader, defeating Trudeau-loyalist Jean Chrétien. Trudeau had resigned due to slipping approval ratings, which showed his party headed for certain defeat against newly elected Progressive Conservative leader Brian Mulroney.

Turner then immediately led the Liberals into a disastrous election, finishing with 40 seats, only ten more than the New Democratic Party. For his part, Turner initially did not give any Trudeau loyalists important campaign positions until near the end of the campaign when it was too late. Some suggested that the Liberals would follow their British namesake into oblivion, as NDP leader Ed Broadbent consistently out-polled Turner in personal approval ratings.

Consequently, Turner's leadership was frequently questioned, and in the lead up to the 1986 Liberal convention, a vote of confidence loomed large. Chrétien, supposedly still bitter over his loss at the 1984 convention, resigned his seat. The ongoing and often open lack of popularity of Turner within his own party led to many editorial cartoonists to draw him with a back stabbed full of knives. Keith Davey and other Liberals began a public campaign against Turner, coinciding with backroom struggles involving Chrétien's supporters. However, the public conflict influenced many Liberals to support Turner, and he ended up getting 75% of the delegate vote.

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