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John Napier Wyndham Turner (June 7, 1929September 19, 2020) was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Canada from June to September 1984. He served as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and leader of the Official Opposition from 1984 to 1990. Turner practised law before being elected as a member of Parliament in the 1962 federal election. He served in the cabinet of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau as minister of justice and attorney general from 1968 to 1972, and minister of finance from 1972 to 1975. As a cabinet minister, Turner came to be known as a leader of the Business Liberal faction of the Liberal Party. Amid a global recession and the prospect of having to implement unpopular wage and price controls, Turner resigned from his position in 1975. From 1976 to 1984, Turner took a hiatus from politics, working as a corporate lawyer on Bay Street. Trudeau's resignation in 1984 triggered a leadership election, in which Turner successfully contested. Turner held the office of prime minister for just 79 days, as he advised the governor general to dissolve Parliament immediately after being sworn in. He went on to lose the 1984 election in a landslide to Brian Mulroney's Progressive Conservatives, leading the Liberals to the second-worst defeat for a governing party at the federal level (in terms of proportion of seats). Turner stayed on as Liberal leader and led the Opposition for the next six years. In the 1988 election, he vigorously campaigned against Mulroney's proposed free trade agreement with the United States, and led the Liberals to a modest recovery. Turner resigned as party leader in 1990 and did not seek re-election in 1993. Turner was Canada's first prime minister born in the United Kingdom since Mackenzie Bowell in 1896, Canada's second shortest-serving prime minister behind Charles Tupper, and Canada's fourth longest-lived prime minister, living to the age of 91.

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Notable quotes

“I'm not just in this race so you will remember my name at some future date. I'm not here now for some next time. I am not bidding now for your consideration for some vague convention in 1984- perhaps when I've mellowed a bit. My time is now and now is no time for mellow men!”
— 1968 Liberal Party Leadership convention speech, April 5, 1968. Turner would, in fact, win the 1984 convention rather than the 1968 one. ()
“In any democracy, there is always a tug-of-war between policies to achieve equality and policies to promote excellence. I am certain that Canada can achieve both equality and excellence.”
— 1968 Liberal Party Leadership convention speech, April 5, 1968. ()
“I'm not going to allow Mr. Mulroney to sell out our birthright, I'm not going to let Mr. Mulroney destroy a great 120 year old dream called Canada.”
— repeated comment during 1988 Federal Election campaign in opposition to the Free Trade Agreement.()
“In opposition, there's not much one can do. One doesn't have the carrot and one doesn't have the stick. One can't promote and one can't fire. And persuasion has its limits.”
— Explaining why he did not punish objectors to his Liberal Party leadership, published in the Toronto Star, June 19, 1990.
“We must never give up on this country! Never, never, never, never!”
— Outgoing speech as Liberal leader, 1990 leadership convention. ()

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.

Notable quotes

“I'm not just in this race so you will remember my name at some future date. I'm not here now for some next time. I am not bidding now for your consideration for some vague convention in 1984- perhaps when I've mellowed a bit. My time is now and now is no time for mellow men!”
— 1968 Liberal Party Leadership convention speech, April 5, 1968. Turner would, in fact, win the 1984 convention rather than the 1968 one. ()
“In any democracy, there is always a tug-of-war between policies to achieve equality and policies to promote excellence. I am certain that Canada can achieve both equality and excellence.”
— 1968 Liberal Party Leadership convention speech, April 5, 1968. ()
“I'm not going to allow Mr. Mulroney to sell out our birthright, I'm not going to let Mr. Mulroney destroy a great 120 year old dream called Canada.”
— repeated comment during 1988 Federal Election campaign in opposition to the Free Trade Agreement.()
“In opposition, there's not much one can do. One doesn't have the carrot and one doesn't have the stick. One can't promote and one can't fire. And persuasion has its limits.”
— Explaining why he did not punish objectors to his Liberal Party leadership, published in the Toronto Star, June 19, 1990.
“We must never give up on this country! Never, never, never, never!”
— Outgoing speech as Liberal leader, 1990 leadership convention. ()

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.

Overview

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

John Turner

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John Turner

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John Turner across IJR

Overview

Notable quotes

Notable quotes

John Turner across IJR

Overview