Progressive Conservative leadership election, 1998
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| Date |
First ballot: October 24, 1998 Second ballot: November 14, 1998 |
|---|---|
| Convention | Ottawa |
| Resigning leader | Jean Charest |
| Won by | Joe Clark |
| Ballots | 2 |
| Candidates | 5 |
| Entrance Fee | C$30,000 |
| Spending limit | None |
The 1998 Progressive Conservative leadership election was held on October 24 and November 14, 1998 to choose a successor to Jean Charest. This was the first time the Progressive Conservatives used a one member, one vote system to choose a leader rather than a delegated leadership convention, which has been the norm since 1927. 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. If no candidate received a majority of points on the first ballot, the lowest ranking candidate would be automatically eliminated and a second ballot was to be held using a preferential ballot if more than two candidates remained. The 100-point-per-riding system was again used by the Conservative Party of Canada in its 2004 leadership race.
The Progressive Conservatives had formed two back-to-back majority governments under Brian Mulroney from 1984 to 1993 but in the 1993 federal election under leader Kim Campbell, the party had almost been completely wiped out. The rise of the Bloc Québécois in Quebec, led by former Progressive Conservative cabinet minister Lucien Bouchard, and the conservative Reform Party in Western Canada caused the PCs to lose their electoral base. Charest, the runner up to Campbell in the 1993 leadership convention was one of only two PC MPs elected in 1993 and became party leader. Under his leadership, the party won 20 seats in the 1997 federal election but still placed fifth. By 1998, Bouchard had become leader of the provincial Parti Québécois and had promised a further on independence should there be "winning conditions". With the opposition Quebec Liberal Party seeking a new leader, Charest was under considerable public and political pressure, especially among business circles, to leave federal politics and become leader of the Quebec Liberal Party as he was considered the best hope among federalists to defeat the PQ. Charest announced on March 28, 1998 that he was resigning as federal Progressive Conservative leader in order to seek the leadership of the Quebec Liberal Party.
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