query: office_contested canadian federal election
supports: The Meech Lake Accord is the term for a series of proposed amendments to the Constitution of Canada negotiated in 1987 by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and the 10 provincial premiers. It was intended to persuade the government of Quebec to symbolically endorse the 1982 constitutional amendments by providing for some decentralization of the Canadian federation. The Bloc Québécois (BQ) is a federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was formed by Members of Parliament who defected from the federal Progressive Conservative Party and Liberal Party during the collapse of the Meech Lake Accord. Founder Lucien Bouchard was a cabinet minister in the federal Progressive Conservative government of Brian Mulroney.  Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (born January 11, 1934), known commonly as Jean Chrétien, is a Canadian politician and statesman who served as the 20th Prime Minister of Canada from November 4, 1993 to December 12, 2003. Martin Brian Mulroney PC, CC, GOQ (born March 20, 1939) is a Canadian politician who served as the 18th Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993. His tenure as prime minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement and the Goods and Services Tax, and the rejection of constitutional reforms such as the Meech Lake Accord and the Charlottetown Accord. Prior to his political career, he was a prominent lawyer and businessman in Montreal. The New Democratic Party (NDP NPD) is a social-democratic political party in Canada. The leader of the federal wing of the NDP is Thomas Mulcair, who was elected in the 2012 leadership election, led the party through the 2015 federal election and then lost a party leadership review on April 10, 2016. Mulcair will remain as leader, until his replacement is chosen at a leadership election to be held in 2017. The Conservative Party of Canada, colloquially known as the Tories, is a political party in Canada. It is positioned on the right of the Canadian political spectrum. The party's leader from 2004 to 2015 was Stephen Harper, who served as Prime Minister from 2006 to 2015. Lucien Bouchard, (born December 22, 1938) is a French Canadian lawyer, diplomat, politician and former Minister of the Environment of the Canadian Federal Government. He was the founder of the Bloc Québécois, Leader of the Opposition in the Canadian House of Commons from 1993 to 1996, and the 27th Premier of Quebec from January 29, 1996, to March 8, 2001. He became a central figure for the "Yes" side in the 1995 Quebec referendum. The Liberal Party of Canada, colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism, and generally sits at the centre of the Canadian political spectrum. The Liberal Party is traditionally positioned to the left of the Conservative Party of Canada and to the right of the New Democratic Party (NDP). The Canadian federal election of 1997 was held on June 2 , 1997 , to elect members of the Canadian House of Commons of the 36th Parliament of Canada . Prime Minister Jean Chrétien 's Liberal Party of Canada won a second majority government . The Reform Party of Canada replaced the Bloc Québécois as the Official Opposition . The election results closely reflected the pattern that had been set out in the 1993 election . The Liberals swept Ontario while a divided Bloc managed to win a reduced majority in Quebec . Reform made sufficient gains in the West to allow Preston Manning to become Leader of the Official Opposition , but lost its only seat east of Manitoba . The most significant change was major gains in Atlantic Canada by the New Democratic Party ( NDP ) and the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada . The Liberals faced major losses , including two cabinet ministers ; David Dingwall , Minister of Public Works from Nova Scotia , and Doug Young , Minister of National Defence from New Brunswick , both of whom lost to NDP candidates . The Liberals ' performance was not in doubt , though some commentators on election night were predicting that the Liberals would be cut down to a minority government , and / or that Chrétien would lose his seat . Chrétien did narrowly win his riding and the Liberals would manage a four - seat majority thanks to gains in Quebec at the expense of the Bloc . Jean Charest 's Tories and Alexa McDonough 's NDP both regained official party status in the House of Commons . A change of 718 votes in just five ridings ( Bonavista -- Trinity -- Conception , Simcoe -- Grey , Humber -- St. Barbe -- Baie Verte , Cardigan , and Bellechasse -- Etchemins -- Montmagny -- L'Islet ) from the Liberals to the second place candidate would have resulted in a minority government . This marked the first time in Canadian history that five political parties held official party status in a single session of Parliament . Voter turnout was 67.0 % , generally low at the time for Canadian elections .
candidates: leadership premier prime minister prime minister of canada
answer: prime minister of canada