On June 4th, 1979, the Progressive Conservative Party formed government for the first time in sixteen years. Joe Clark had been elected leader of the party three years earlier, and the media seemed to think that both his election as leader and his election as Prime Minister had been almost accidental. Here was a man who didn't belong in politics, who had somehow become a compromise candidate in 1976 and bumbled his way into 24 Sussex in 1979.

There was speculation that outgoing Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau, would resign as leader of the Liberal Party, though he chose to remain in that office during the summer months as he travelled and reflected on whether to remain in politics.

On June 21st, after spending three days in Yellowknife, Trudeau boarded a small DHC-3 Otter, bound for an undisclosed location in the District of Franklin; the exact destination is not known due to a misfiled flight plan. After being reported missing, a search and rescue operation was mounted, and on June 24th, the remains of the aircraft were spotted 120 kilometres south of Bathurst Inlet. When a recovery team was able to reach the crash site on June 26th, they determined that all five people who had been aboard the flight, including Pierre Trudeau, had been killed on impact.

Messages of public support poured in for Trudeau's family, including from his bitterest political rivals. Prime Minister Joe Clark delivered a memorial speech in the House of Commons, which was televised nationally and well-received by Canadians across the country.

Nevertheless, Clark's minority government struggled to pass legislation in the next months. Former Deputy Prime Minister Allan MacEachen stepped in as interim leader of the Liberal Party, and frequently called on support from the NDP to put pressure on the Tories. When it came time to finally vote on the Progressive Conservatives' first budget in December, the Tories were defeated in a motion of no confidence. An election date was set for February 18th, 1980.
 
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With the Liberal Party officially leaderless, there were reported fears within the party's administration that MacEachen could not win against Clark. An emergency convention was quickly called for January 10th in Winnipeg.

John Napier Turner was the immediate frontrunner, but was challenged by Paul Hellyer, Marc Lalonde, Donald Stovel Macdonald, and Jean Chretien, all of whom declared their candidacy toward the end of December. With the federal election just two months away, media coverage focused on the fact that all five candidates were working to appear civil and trying to present a united front against the Progressive Conservatives.

The PCs launched a series of advertisements suggesting that the Liberals were too fragmented to govern effectively, while taking great care to preserve the reputation Clark had gained after his popular speech memorialising Pierre Trudeau. In response, candidates began to withdraw during the first week of January, endorsing either Turner or Hellyer. On January 10th, Turner won the Liberal Party leadership and became Leader of the Opposition with 54% of the vote to Hellyer's 46%.
 
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