1967 Progressive Conservative leadership election

1967 Progressive Conservative Party leadership election

September 9, 1967

2,231 delegates in the 1st ballot
1,116 delegate votes needed to win
 
Candidate Robert Stanfield Dufferin Roblin
Final ballot delegate count 1,150
(54.3%)
969
(45.7%)
First ballot delegate count 519
(23.3%)
347
(15.6%)

Leader before election

John Diefenbaker

Elected Leader

Robert Stanfield

1967 Progressive Conservative leadership election
DateSeptember 9, 1967
ConventionMaple Leaf Gardens,
Toronto, Ontario
Resigning leaderJohn Diefenbaker
Won byRobert Stanfield
Ballots5
Candidates11
Entrance feeC$?
Spending limitNone

The 1967 Progressive Conservative leadership election was held to choose a leader for the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, after the party membership voted that incumbent party leader and former Prime Minister John Diefenbaker should be forced to re-run for his position. The convention was held at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 4 and 9, 1967. Premier of Nova Scotia Robert Stanfield was elected the new leader.

Of the eleven entrants to the contest, seven including Diefenbaker himself had at some point been cabinet members in his government between 1957 and 1963. However, in every round of voting the top two candidates were Stanfield and Premier of Manitoba Dufferin Roblin, reflecting the party membership's desire for a clean break from the Diefenbaker era. Two minor candidates, John MacLean and Mary Walker-Sawka entered the contest, with both dropping out following the first round after earning a minimal number of votes, though Walker-Sawka's candidacy marked the first time that a woman had run for the leadership of a major Canadian political party.