Editing Joe Clark (section)

===1979 federal election===
[[File:Joe Clark May 18 1979.jpg|thumb|Clark in 1979]]
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Large budget deficits, high inflation, and high unemployment made the Liberal government unpopular. Trudeau had put off asking the Canadian [[Governor General]] to [[1979 Canadian federal election|call an election]] as long as possible, in the hope that his party could recover popular support but it backfired, as there was growing public antipathy towards his perceived arrogance. Clark campaigned on the slogans, "Let's get Canada working again", and "It's time for a change—give the future a chance!"

In the latter half of the campaign, the Liberals focused their attacks on Clark's perceived inexperience. Their advertisements declared "This is no time for on-the-job training", and "We need tough leadership to keep Canada growing. A leader must be a leader." Clark played into their hands by appearing bumbling and unsure in public.

When Clark undertook a tour of the Middle East in order to show his ability to handle foreign affairs issues, his luggage was lost, and Clark appeared to be uncomfortable with the issues being discussed. That incident was widely lampooned by [[Toronto Sun]] cartoonist [[Andy Donato]]. During the same tour, while inspecting a military [[honour guard]], Clark turned too soon and nearly bumped into a soldier's [[bayonet]]; one of the first major media reports on the incident claimed, with some exaggeration, that he had nearly been beheaded.

Despite Clark being bilingual, the Tories were unable to make much headway in Quebec, which continued to be federally dominated by the Liberals. While Clark's 1976 leadership rivals were prominent in that province, [[Claude Wagner]] had left politics (he died shortly after the election), while [[Brian Mulroney]] was still bitter about his loss and turned down an offer to serve under Clark.

Nonetheless, Clark's Progressive Conservatives won 136 seats to end sixteen continuous years of Liberal rule in the election for the [[31st Canadian Parliament]]. Despite receiving fewer votes than the Liberals nationally, the Progressive Conservatives won the popular vote in seven provinces.  They also made  gains in Ontario, particularly in the Toronto suburbs, winning many seats by narrow margins, offsetting a large Liberal win in Quebec.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Troyer |first=Warner |title=200 days : Joe Clark in power : the anatomy of the rise and fall of the 21st government |publisher=Personal Library Publisher |year=1980 |isbn=0920510051 |location=Toronto |pages=83 |language=en}}</ref> The Tories were only able to win two seats in Quebec, leaving them six seats short of a majority.  The Liberals lost 27 seats, including several high-profile cabinet ministers, and Trudeau announced his intention to step down as party leader.