Editing Joe Clark (section)

==Progressive Conservative leadership convention, 1976==
Following the resignation of PC party leader [[Robert Stanfield]], Clark sought and won the leadership of the PC Party at the [[1976 Progressive Conservative leadership election|1976 leadership convention]]. Initially, the favourite among [[Red Tory|Red Tories]] was [[Flora MacDonald (politician)|Flora MacDonald]]; however, she did worse than expected, while Clark placed a surprising third in a field of eleven on the first ballot of convention delegates, behind only [[Claude Wagner]] and [[Brian Mulroney]]. MacDonald dropped off after the second ballot, encouraging her supporters to support Clark, who quickly became the compromise Red Tory candidate. The party's right-wing rallied behind Wagner. Mulroney, a [[Quebec]] businessman with no elected political experience, was unable to expand his base of support significantly. As other Red Tory candidates were eliminated during the first four ballots, Clark gradually overtook Mulroney and then Wagner to emerge as the victor on the fourth ballot, by 1,187 votes to 1,122.<ref>''Mulroney: The Politics of Ambition'', by [[John Sawatsky]], 1991, pp. 312–313.</ref>

Clark, who won the Tory leadership at age 36, remains the youngest leader of a major federal party in the history of Canadian politics. With many veteran Tories having been defeated in the 1968 election, the party effectively skipped a generation by selecting Clark as its new leader.<ref>''Joe Clark: The Emerging Leader'', by Michael Nolan, 1978, p. 11.</ref>