Editing Charles Tupper (section)

===Years in Opposition, 1874–1878===
Tupper had not been involved in the Pacific Scandal, but he nevertheless continued to support Macdonald and his Conservative colleagues both before and after the [[1874 Canadian federal election|1874 election]].<ref name="ODNB"/> The 1874 election was disastrous for the Conservatives, and in Nova Scotia, Tupper was one of only two Conservative MPs returned to the [[3rd Canadian Parliament]].<ref name="ODNB"/>

Though Macdonald stayed on as Conservative leader, Tupper now assumed a more prominent role in the Conservative Party and was widely seen as Macdonald's heir apparent.<ref name="ODNB"/> He led Conservative attacks on the Mackenzie government throughout the 3rd Parliament.<ref name="ODNB"/> The Mackenzie government attempted to negotiate a new [[free trade agreement]] with the United States to replace the [[Canadian–American Reciprocity Treaty]] which the U.S. had abrogated in 1864.<ref name="ODNB"/> When Mackenzie proved unable to achieve reciprocity, Tupper began shifting toward [[protectionism]] and became a proponent of the [[National Policy]] which became a part of the Conservative [[Party platform|platform]] in 1876.<ref name="ODNB"/> The sincerity of Tupper's conversion to the protectionist cause was doubted at the time, however: according to one apocryphal story, when Tupper came to the 1876 debate on [[Minister of Finance (Canada)|Finance Minister]] [[Richard John Cartwright]]'s budget, he was prepared to advocate [[free trade]] if Cartwright had announced that the Liberals had shifted their position and were now supporting protectionism.<ref name="ODNB"/>

Tupper was also deeply critical of Mackenzie's approach to railways, arguing that completion of the [[Canadian Pacific Railway]], which would link [[British Columbia]] (which entered Confederation in 1871) with the rest of Canada, should be a stronger government priority than it was for Mackenzie.<ref name="ODNB"/> This position also became an integral part of the Conservative platform.

As on previous occasions when he was not in cabinet, Tupper was active in practicing medicine during the 1874–78 stint in Opposition, though he was dedicating less and less of his time to medicine during this period.<ref name="ODNB"/>

Tupper was a councillor of the [[Oxford Military College]] in [[Cowley, Oxfordshire|Cowley]] and [[Oxford]], [[Oxfordshire]] from 1876 to 1896.