 Flis supported John Turner's successful bid for the party leadership in 1984 ("Globe and Mail", 21 June 1986).The Progressive Conservatives won a majority government under Brian Mulroney in the 1984 election, and Flis lost his seat to Witer by 1,460 votes.He served as Coordinator of Special Education for Toronto's Secondary Schools between 1984 and 1988, and defeated Witer by 3,196 votes in the 1988 election to return as a parliamentarian.