| Election Name: | 1993 Progressive Conservative Party leadership election |
| Country: | Canada |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1983 Progressive Conservative leadership election |
| Previous Year: | 1983 |
| Next Election: | Progressive Conservative Party of Canada leadership elections#1995 Progressive Conservative leadership convention |
| Next Year: | 1995 |
| Election Date: | June 13, 1993 |
| Image1: | Prime Minister Kim Campbell of Canada (42-WHPO-P05407-13-1) (cropped).jpg |
| Candidate1: | Kim Campbell |
| 5Data1: | 1,817 (52.7%) |
| 6Data1: | 1,664 (48.0%) |
| Candidate2: | Jean Charest |
| 5Data2: | 1,630 (47.3%) |
| 6Data2: | 1,369 (39.5%) |
| Leader | |
| Before Election: | Brian Mulroney |
| After Election: | Kim Campbell |
| Party: | Progressive Conservative |
| Year: | 1993 |
| Date: | June 13, 1993 |
| Replaces: | Brian Mulroney |
| Numcands: | 5 |
| Ballots: | 2 |
| Entryfee: | C$ |
| Spendcap: | None |
The 1993 Progressive Conservative leadership election was held on June 13, 1993 to choose a leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, with Kim Campbell winning the vote in the second ballot. She became the first female Prime Minister of Canada on June 25, 1993.[2]
Initially, Campbell's popularity caused very few prominent Progressive Conservatives to enter the race, with Michael Wilson, Perrin Beatty, Barbara McDougall, and Joe Clark not making expected runs. Jean Charest had to be convinced to run by Brian Mulroney, but once in the race, he ran an energetic campaign directed by established party organizers loyal to Mulroney, who would later lead the 1993 federal election campaign team. That turned the race from a coronation into a divisive grass roots battle for delegates.
See main article: Endorsements for the 1993 Progressive Conservative Party of Canada leadership convention.
Kim Campbell received the most endorsements from sitting MPs, with 43 backing her. 38 declared their support for Jean Charest, while 15 backed Jim Edwards. Patrick Boyer and Garth Turner were both sitting MPs and neither were supported by any other sitting MP.
| Candidate | BC | AB | SK | MB | ON | QC | NB | NS | PE | NL | NT | YT | Total | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patrick Boyer | Members: | align="right" | - | align="right" | - | align="right" | - | align="right" | - | 1 < | --Ont--> | align="right" | - | align="right" | - | align="right" | - | align="right" | - | align="right" | - | align="right" | - | align="right" | - | 1 < | --Canada/Total--> |
| Kim Campbell | Members: | 6 < | --BC--> | 5 < | --Alta--> | align="right" | - | 1 < | --Man--> | 16 < | --Ont--> | 8 < | --Que--> | 4 < | --NB--> | 2 < | --NS--> | align="right" | - | 1 < | --NF--> | align="right" | - | align="right" | - | 43 < | --Canada/Total--> |
| Jean Charest | Members: | 1 < | --BC--> | 4 < | --Alta--> | 2 < | --Sask--> | 2 < | --Man--> | 10 < | --Ont--> | 15 < | --Que--> | 1 < | --NB--> | 2 < | --NS--> | align="right" | - | 1 < | --NF--> | align="right" | - | align="right" | - | 38 < | --Canada/Total--> |
| Jim Edwards | Members: | align="right" | - | 6 < | --Alta--> | align="right" | - | 1 < | --Man--> | 6 < | --Ont--> | 2 < | --Que--> | align="right" | - | align="right" | - | align="right" | - | align="right" | - | align="right" | - | align="right" | - | 15 < | --Canada/Total--> |
| Garth Turner | Members: | align="right" | - | align="right" | - | align="right" | - | align="right" | - | 1 < | --Ont--> | align="right" | - | align="right" | - | align="right" | - | align="right" | - | align="right" | - | align="right" | - | align="right" | - | 1 < | --Canada/Total--> |
| Unaffiliated | Members: | align="right" | - | 7 < | --Alta--> | align="right" | - | 3 < | --Man--> | align="right" | - | align="right" | - | align="right" | - | align="right" | - | align="right" | - | align="right" | - | align="right" | - | align="right" | - | align="right" | - |
Though it was initially expected that Campbell's election as party leader would be little more than a formality, as the convention drew nearer it became apparent that Charest's candidacy was proving far more popular than Campbell and her team had expected, and that she might struggle to defeat him on the first round. Sure enough, Campbell narrowly failed to win outright, coming 60 delegates short of immediate victory. Charest placed a solid second, with none of the other candidates managing to break ten percent of the overall delegate count.
Edwards, who had placed third, agreed to drop out and endorse Campbell prior to the second round, which gave her the support she needed to claim victory. Despite Edwards' endorsement, however, only about half of his delegates actually did move to support Campbell; the remaining half instead backed Charest, along with virtually all of Turner's and Boyer's delegates. This left Campbell's final total as 52.7% of the delegates, making this second-only to Joe Clark's shock win over Claude Wagner in 1976 as the most closely contested Progressive Conservative leadership contest.
| Candidate | 1st ballot | 2nd ballot | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes cast | % | Votes cast | % | |||
| CAMPBELL, Avril Phædra Douglas (Kim) | 1,664 | 48.0% | 1,817 | 52.7% | ||
| CHAREST, John James (Jean) | 1,369 | 39.5% | 1,630 | 47.3% | ||
| EDWARDS, James Stewart (Jim) | 307 | 8.8% | Endorsed Campbell | |||
| TURNER, John Garth | 76 | 2.2% | Withdrew; Did not endorse | |||
| BOYER, J. Patrick | 53 | 1.5% | Endorsed Charest | |||
| Total | 3,469 | 100.0% | 3,447 | 100.0% | ||