1972 Canadian federal election in the context of 29th Canadian Parliament

The 1976 Progressive Conservative leadership election was held at the Ottawa Civic Centre in Ottawa on February 22, 1976, to elect a leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada to replace Robert Stanfield, who had resigned after losing the 1968, 1972, and 1974 elections. It unexpectedly elected Joe Clark, a 36-year-old, little-known PC Member of Parliament from Alberta as the party's new leader. Clark defeated Claude Wagner on the fourth ballot of the convention by a margin of 65 votes.

The convention's delegates were elected by the party's riding associations, along with the party's youth, campus and women's associations. There were also numerous ex officio delegates, including PC Members of Parliament, defeated candidates from the previous election, members of provincial legislatures, members of the party's national executive and the executives of provincial parties affiliated to the federal party. Delegates cast secret ballots, so their votes were not "tied" to any candidate. After each ballot, the candidate winning the fewest votes was removed from the ballot for the next round. Several candidates withdrew voluntarily when it became clear that they would not be able to win.

The premierships of Pierre Trudeau occurred from April 20, 1968, to June 4, 1979, and from March 3, 1980, to June 30, 1984. Pierre Trudeau was sworn in as Prime Minister of Canada two weeks after he succeeded Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson as leader of the Liberal Party in the 1968 leadership election.

Trudeau led his Liberals to win a comfortable majority government in the subsequent 1968 federal election. In the 1972 federal election, Trudeau's Liberals were reduced to a minority government, though won a second majority in 1974. In the 1979 federal election, Trudeau's Liberals lost power to a Progressive Conservative led by Joe Clark, who formed a minority government. The PC government collapsed in a vote of non-confidence, triggering the 1980 federal election in which Trudeau's Liberals won a third majority. Trudeau is the most recent prime minister to win four elections and to serve two non-consecutive terms. His tenure of 15 years and 164 days makes him Canada's third-longest-serving prime minister, behind John A. Macdonald and William Lyon Mackenzie King.

Charles Joseph Clark (born June 5, 1939) is a Canadian businessman, writer, and retired politician who served as the 16th prime minister of Canada from 1979 to 1980. He also served as leader of the Official Opposition from 1976 to 1979 and from 1980 to 1983.

Despite his relative inexperience, Clark rose quickly in federal politics. He was first elected to the House of Commons in 1972 and won the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party in 1976. He led the party to a minority government in the 1979 federal election, defeating the Liberal government of Pierre Trudeau and ending 16 years of continuous Liberal rule. Taking office the day before his 40th birthday, Clark became the youngest prime minister in Canadian history.