Editing Pierre Trudeau (section)

=== Re-elections ===
==== 1972 election ====
On September 1, 1972, over four years into the Liberals' five-year mandate, Trudeau called [[1972 Canadian federal election|an election for October 30]]. At the start of the campaign, polls showed the Liberals 10 points ahead of the [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Progressive Conservatives]] led by [[Robert Stanfield]], who previously lost to Trudeau in the [[1968 Canadian federal election|1968 election]]. However, the results produced a Liberal [[minority government]], with the Liberals winning 109 seats compared to the PCs' 107; this was one of the closest elections in Canadian history. [[Trudeaumania]] from the 1968 election had worn off, not least because of a slumping economy and rising unemployment. The NDP, led by [[David Lewis (Canadian politician)|David Lewis]], held the [[Balance of power (parliament)|balance of power]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bradburn |first1=Jamie |title=How the NDP saved Pierre Trudeau's government |url=https://www.tvo.org/article/how-the-ndp-saved-pierre-trudeaus-government |website=TVO |access-date=April 23, 2022 |date=October 15, 2019 |archive-date=May 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220521052509/https://www.tvo.org/article/how-the-ndp-saved-pierre-trudeaus-government |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== 1974 election ====
In May 1974, the House of Commons passed a [[motion of no confidence]] in the Trudeau government, defeating its budget bill after Trudeau intentionally antagonized Stanfield and Lewis.{{sfn|English (2009)|p=233}} The [[1974 Canadian federal election|ensuing election]] focused mainly on the [[1973–75 recession|then-ongoing recession]]. Stanfield proposed the immediate introduction of [[wage and price controls]] to help end the increasing [[inflation]] Canada was facing. Trudeau mocked the proposal, telling a newspaper reporter that it was the equivalent of a magician saying "Zap! You're frozen", and instead promoted a variety of small tax cuts to curb inflation.{{sfn|English (2009)|p=237}} According to Trudeau's biographer John English, NDP supporters scared of wage controls moved toward the Liberals during the campaign.{{sfn|English (2009)|p=238}}

The Liberals were re-elected with a majority government, winning 141 out of 264 seats, prompting Stanfield's retirement. However, the Liberals did not win any seats in Alberta, where Premier [[Peter Lougheed]] was a vociferous opponent of Trudeau's 1974 budget.{{sfn|English (2009)|p=240}}