View source for John Turner

{{Short description|Prime Minister of Canada in 1984}}
{{Other people}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=October 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix    = [[The Right Honourable]]
| name                = John Turner
| honorific_suffix    = {{post-nominals|country=CAN|PC|CC|QC|size=100%}}
| image               = Finance Minister John Turner speaks to reporters 1975 (cropped).jpg
| caption             = Turner in 1975
| alt                 = 
| order               = 17th
| office              = Prime Minister of Canada
| term                = <!--Refer to MOS:DATERANGE before changing this template-->{{Start and end dates|1984|06|30|1984|09|17}}
| monarch             = [[Elizabeth II]]
| governor_general    = [[Jeanne Sauvé]]
| deputy              = [[Jean Chrétien]]
| predecessor         = [[Pierre Trudeau]]
| successor           = [[Brian Mulroney]]
{{Collapsed infobox section begin|Senior political offices|titlestyle=border: 1px dashed lightgrey;}}
{{Infobox officeholder |embed=yes
| office2             = [[Leader of the Official Opposition (Canada)|Leader of the Opposition]]
| term_start2         = September 17, 1984
| term_end2           = February 7, 1990
| predecessor2        = Brian Mulroney
| successor2          = [[Herb Gray]]
| office3             = [[Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada|Leader of the Liberal Party]]
| term_start3         = June 16, 1984
| term_end3           = June 23, 1990
| predecessor3        = Pierre Trudeau
| successor3          = Jean Chrétien
}}
{{Collapsed infobox section end}}
{{Collapsed infobox section begin|Ministerial positions|titlestyle=border: 1px dashed lightgrey;}}
{{Infobox officeholder |embed=yes
| office4             = [[Minister of Finance (Canada)|Minister of Finance]]
| term_start4         = January 28, 1972
| term_end4           = September 10, 1975
| primeminister4      = Pierre Trudeau
| predecessor4        = [[Edgar Benson]]
| successor4          = [[Donald Stovel Macdonald]]
| office5             = [[Minister of Justice (Canada)|Minister of Justice<br />Attorney General of Canada]]
| term_start5         = July 6, 1968
| term_end5           = January 28, 1972
| primeminister5      = Pierre Trudeau
| predecessor5        = Pierre Trudeau
| successor5          = [[Otto Lang]]
| office6             = [[Solicitor General of Canada]]
| term6               = {{Start and end date|1968|04|20|1968|07|05}}
| primeminister6      = Pierre Trudeau
| predecessor6        = [[Lawrence Pennell]]
| successor6          = [[George McIlraith]]
| office7             = {{ubl|[[Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs]]|[[Registrar General of Canada]]}}
| term_start7         = December 21, 1967
| term_end7           = July 5, 1968
| primeminister7      = {{ubl|[[Lester B. Pearson]]|Pierre Trudeau}}
| predecessor7        = [[Guy Favreau]]
| successor7          = George McIlraith
}}
{{Collapsed infobox section end}}
| office8             = [[Member of Parliament (Canada)|Member of Parliament]]
| term_start8         = September 4, 1984
| term_end8           = October 25, 1993
| predecessor8        = [[Bill Clarke (politician)|Bill Clarke]]
| successor8          = [[Ted McWhinney]]
| constituency8       = [[Vancouver Quadra]]
| constituency9       = [[St. Lawrence—St. George]] (1962–1968)<br>[[Ottawa—Carleton (federal electoral district)|Ottawa—Carleton]] (1968–1976)
| term_start9         = June 18, 1962
| term_end9           = February 12, 1976
| predecessor9        = [[Egan Chambers]]
| successor9          = [[Jean Pigott]]
| birth_name          = {{nowrap|John Napier Wyndham Turner}}
| birth_date          = {{Birth date|mf=yes|1929|06|07}}
| birth_place         = [[Richmond, Surrey]], England
| death_date          = {{nowrap|{{Death date and age|mf=yes|2020|09|19|1929|06|07}}}}
| death_place         = [[Toronto]], [[Ontario]], Canada
| resting_place       = [[Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto]]
| party               = [[Liberal Party of Canada|Liberal]]
| spouse              = {{marriage|[[Geills Turner|Geills Kilgour]]|1963}}
| alma_mater          = {{ubl|[[University of British Columbia]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])|[[Magdalen College, Oxford]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]], [[Bachelor of Civil Law|BCL]], [[Master of Arts|MA]])|[[University of Paris]] (no degree)}}
| citizenship         = {{ubl|[[Canadian nationality law|Canada]] (by descent)|[[British nationality law|United Kingdom]] (by birth)}}
| children            = 4
| mother              = [[Phyllis Ross]]
| occupation          = {{hlist|Politician|lawyer}}
| profession          = 
| signature           = John Turner Signature.svg
}}

'''John Napier Wyndham Turner''' (June 7, 1929{{Spaced en dash}}September 19, 2020) was the 17th [[prime minister of Canada]], serving from June to September 1984. He served as [[Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada|leader of the Liberal Party]] and [[Leader of the Official Opposition (Canada)|leader of the Opposition]] from 1984 to 1990.

Turner practised law before being elected as a [[Member of Parliament (Canada)|member of Parliament]] (MP) in the [[1962 Canadian federal election|1962 federal election]]. He served in the cabinet of Prime Minister [[Pierre Trudeau]] as [[Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada|minister of justice and attorney general]] from 1968 to 1972 and then as [[Minister of Finance (Canada)|minister of finance]] from 1972 to 1975. As a cabinet minister, Turner came to be known as a leader of the [[Blue Grit|Business Liberal]] faction of the Liberal Party. Amid a global recession and the prospect of having to implement unpopular [[wage and price controls]], Turner resigned from his position in 1975.

From 1976 to 1984, Turner took a hiatus from politics, working as a corporate lawyer on [[Bay Street]]. Trudeau's resignation in 1984 triggered [[1984 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election|a leadership election]], which Turner successfully contested. When he was sworn in as prime minister after winning the leadership election, Turner was not an MP or senator — the last time this would occur until  [[Mark Carney]] in [[2025 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election|2025]]. Turner held the office of prime minister for just 79 days,<ref>{{cite web |title=Prime Ministers of Canada |url=https://lop.parl.ca/sites/ParlInfo/default/en_CA/People/primeMinisters |website=Parliament of Canada |access-date=January 17, 2023 |quote=23rd Ministry (1984/06/30 - 1984/09/16) 79 days}}</ref> as he advised the [[Governor General of Canada|governor general]] to [[Dissolution of parliament|dissolve Parliament]] soon after being sworn in. He went on to lose the [[1984 Canadian federal election|1984 election]] in a landslide to [[Brian Mulroney]]'s [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Progressive Conservatives]], leading the Liberals to the second-worst defeat for a governing party at the federal level (in terms of proportion of seats). Turner stayed on as Liberal leader and led the Opposition for the next six years. In the [[1988 Canadian federal election|1988 election]], he vigorously campaigned against Mulroney's [[Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement|proposed free trade agreement with the United States]], and led the Liberals to a modest recovery. Turner resigned as party leader in [[1990 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election|1990]] and did not seek re-election as an MP in [[1993 Canadian federal election|1993]].

Turner was Canada's first prime minister born in the United Kingdom since [[Mackenzie Bowell]] in 1896, Canada's second shortest-serving prime minister behind [[Charles Tupper]],<ref name=Butler/> and Canada's fourth longest-lived prime minister, living to the age of 91.

==Early life==
Turner was born on June 7, 1929,<ref name="Bothwell_CanadianEncyclopedia">{{Cite web|last=Bothwell|first=Robert|date=May 27, 2007|title=John Turner|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/john-turner|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200615150412/https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/john-turner|archive-date=June 15, 2020|access-date=September 21, 2020|website=[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]]}}</ref><ref name="nyt1984">{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/18/world/man-in-the-news-new-leader-for-canada-john-napier-turner.html |title=Man in the news; New leader For Canada: John Napier Turner |last=Martin |first=Douglas |date=June 18, 1984 |work=[[The New York Times]] |page=A1 |access-date=February 5, 2018 |archive-date=February 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180205184940/http://www.nytimes.com/1984/06/18/world/man-in-the-news-new-leader-for-canada-john-napier-turner.html |url-status=live }}</ref> in [[Richmond, London|Richmond]], [[Surrey]], England (now a part of London), to Leonard Hugh Turner, an English journalist with the ''[[Manchester Guardian]]'',<ref name="nyt1984"/> and [[Phyllis Ross|Phyllis Gregory]], a Canadian economist.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kenning|first=Allyson|date=November 9, 2011|title=Tales and Legends of the Mountain Kingdom: The Life and times of Phyllis Gregory|url=https://rosslandtelegraph.com/news/tales-and-legends-mountain-kingdom-life-and-times-phyllis-gregory-14913|url-status=live|access-date=September 21, 2020|website=The Rossland Telegraph|language=en|archive-date=January 26, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126060902/http://rosslandtelegraph.com/news/tales-and-legends-mountain-kingdom-life-and-times-phyllis-gregory-14913}}</ref> He had a brother, Michael, born in 1930 (who died shortly after birth), and a sister, Brenda, born in 1931.<ref name="cbcarchives">{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/politics/prime-ministers/the-long-run-the-political-rise-of-john-turner/destiny-and-determination-to-lead.html|title=Destiny and determination to lead|date=June 16, 1984|publisher=[[CBC Television]]|access-date=May 1, 2008|archive-date=March 25, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130325151035/http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/politics/prime-ministers/the-long-run-the-political-rise-of-john-turner/destiny-and-determination-to-lead.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> When Turner's father died in 1932, he and his sister moved to Canada with their Canadian-born mother. The family settled in her childhood home in [[Rossland, British Columbia]], and later moved to [[Ottawa]].<ref name="nyt1984"/>

Turner's mother was loving but demanding of her two children.<ref name="cbcarchives"/> The family was not wealthy.<ref name="nyt1984"/><ref name="cbcarchives"/> His mother remarried in 1945 to [[Frank Mackenzie Ross]], who later served as [[Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia]], and the family relocated to [[Vancouver]].<ref name="highlights"/>

===Education===
Turner was educated at [[Ashbury College]] and St Patrick's College, Ottawa (senior matriculation). He enrolled at the [[University of British Columbia]] (UBC) in 1945 at age 16 where he was a member of the UBC chapter of the [[Beta Theta Pi]] fraternity, and was among Canada's outstanding track sprinters in the late 1940s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ubcsportshalloffame.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?person_id=78&searchall=1 |title=John Turner |work=UBC Sports Hall of Fame |publisher=University of British Columbia |access-date=October 6, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211174444/http://www.ubcsportshalloffame.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?person_id=78&searchall=1 |archive-date=December 11, 2008 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.universitysport.ca/e/story_detail0401.cfm?id=2448|title=Former Prime Minister John Turner to be inducted into UBC Sports Hall of Fame|date=March 25, 2004|publisher=Canadian Interuniversity Sport|access-date=October 6, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211090500/http://www.universitysport.ca/e/story_detail0401.cfm?id=2448|archive-date=December 11, 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Paikin|first=Steve|author-link=Steve Paikin|year=2008|title=They still gather to honour John Turner|work=The Daily Observer|url=http://www.thedailyobserver.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1101764&auth=OSPREY|url-status=dead|access-date=October 6, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211170432/http://www.thedailyobserver.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1101764&auth=OSPREY|archive-date=December 11, 2008}}</ref> He held the Canadian record for the men's [[100-yard dash]] and qualified for the [[1948 London Olympics]], but a bad knee kept him from competing.<ref name="JAllemang_2009-06-05">{{cite news |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/true-grit/article4284591/?page=all |title=True Grit |first=John |last=Allemang |work=[[The Globe and Mail]] |date=June 5, 2009 |access-date=October 19, 2014 |archive-date=May 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502184532/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/true-grit/article4284591/?page=all |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=June 28, 2012|title=John Turner » Track Star and Prime Minister|url=https://runningmagazine.ca/uncategorized/john-turner/|access-date=September 21, 2020|website=Canadian Running Magazine|language=en-US|archive-date=November 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201103194858/https://runningmagazine.ca/uncategorized/john-turner/|url-status=live}}</ref> He graduated from UBC with a BA (Honours) in 1949.<ref name="highlights">{{Cite news|agency=[[The Canadian Press]]|date=September 19, 2020|title=Some highlights from the life and career of former prime minister John Turner|url=https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/canada-news-pmn/some-highlights-from-the-life-and-career-of-former-prime-minister-john-turner|access-date=September 21, 2020|website=[[National Post]]|language=en-CA}}</ref><ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Famous Betas|url=https://beta.org/about/famous-betas/|access-date=September 21, 2020|website=Beta Theta Pi|language=en-US|archive-date=August 10, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180810042234/https://beta.org/about/famous-betas/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Awarded a [[Rhodes Scholarship]], Turner went on to [[Magdalen College, Oxford|Magdalen College]] at the [[University of Oxford]], where he earned a BA in [[jurisprudence]] in 1951, and a [[Bachelor of Civil Law|BCL]] in 1952; his BA was promoted to an [[Master of Arts (Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin)|MA per tradition]] in 1957. He was on the track and field team at Oxford. One of his teammates was [[Roger Bannister]], who became the first runner to break the four-minute barrier in the mile.<ref name="JAllemang_2009-06-05"/> At Oxford, Turner was a classmate and friend of future Australian Prime Ministers [[Malcolm Fraser]] and [[Bob Hawke]], as well as [[Jeremy Thorpe]], future leader of Britain's [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=John Turner, Canadian prime minister who fought free trade deal with U.S., dies at 91|url=https://www.post-gazette.com/news/obituaries/2020/09/20/John-Turner-Canada-prime-minister-obituary-dies-dead-US-free-trade-deal-Canadian-Liberal-Party-Brian-Mulroney/stories/202009200189|access-date=September 21, 2020|website=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|language=en|archive-date=October 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201028234119/https://www.post-gazette.com/news/obituaries/2020/09/20/John-Turner-Canada-prime-minister-obituary-dies-dead-US-free-trade-deal-Canadian-Liberal-Party-Brian-Mulroney/stories/202009200189|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="darling"/> He also pursued doctoral studies at the [[University of Paris]] from 1952 to 1953.<ref name="highlights"/>

===Relationship with Princess Margaret===
On July 25, 1958, a ball was hosted by Turner's mother and stepfather (in the latter's role of Lieutenant Governor of  British Columbia), in honour of Princess Margaret at [[HMCS Discovery]], the Canadian navy's land station in [[Vancouver]]. Turner danced with [[Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon|Princess Margaret]],<ref>{{Cite news|agency=[[Associated Press]]|date=September 20, 2020|title=John Turner, former Canadian prime minister and friend of Princess Margaret, dies at 91|language=en-GB|work=[[The Guardian]]|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/20/john-turner-former-canadian-prime-minister-and-friend-of-princess-margaret-dies-at-91|url-status=live|access-date=September 21, 2020|issn=0261-3077|archive-date=September 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920191331/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/sep/20/john-turner-former-canadian-prime-minister-and-friend-of-princess-margaret-dies-at-91}}</ref> one year his junior, and they sat out talking, refusing requests to return to supper. This was the first time that Turner received significant press attention in Canada. Further meetings between them during Margaret's three week official visit to Canada led to considerable speculation about whether the two would become a serious couple. Contemporary press reports suggested there was some consternation about the reports among British officials, but their Canadian counterparts were more relaxed.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WDNgAAAAIBAJ&dq=hmcs+discovery+%22princess+margaret%22+frank+ross&pg=PA6&article_id=7139,676336 |title=Margaret's Mysterious Partner |date=August 6, 1958 |location=Montreal |agency=The Canadian Press |work=Saskatoon Star-Phoenix |language=en}}</ref><ref name="cbcarchives"/><ref name=StarDelacourt>{{citation| url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1193874--when-the-queen-is-your-boss| last=Delacourt| first=Susan| title=When the Queen is your boss| date=May 25, 2012| newspaper=Toronto Star| access-date=May 27, 2012| archive-date=March 7, 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130307084753/http://www.thestar.com/news/world/royals/2012/05/25/when_the_queen_is_your_boss.html| url-status=live}}</ref>

A year later, in September 1959, press attention returned when reports circulated that Turner had been a recent guest at Balmoral in August where discussions had taken place concerning marriage between the pair; that he had also paid a secret visit to see her in April and that his parents had commented on their close friendship during their visit to Scotland in August.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tgEdAAAAIBAJ&dq=%22john+turner%22+princess+parents+ignore&pg=PA30&article_id=7204,1633871 |title=New Romance For Princess Meg Rumored |agency=Associated Press |location=London |date=September 21, 1959 |page=3 |work=Sarasota Journal |language=en}}</ref>

According to letters discovered in 2015, written by Margaret to her friend Sharman Douglas and obtained by the ''[[Daily Mail]]'', the relationship was more serious than previously thought with the princess writing in one letter, seven years later: "John Turner is here & we meet on Thursday. It will seem so funny as we haven't met since I nearly married him & he's bringing his wife!". Turner told the ''Daily Mail'': "I have never talked about it, and I am not going to start talking about it now".<ref>{{Cite web |author=Edmonton Journal Editorial Board |title=Monday's Editorials: Ex-PM won't kiss and tell about his old friend Princess Margaret |date=March 2, 2015|url=https://edmontonjournal.com/opinion/editorials/mondays-editorials-ex-pm-wont-kiss-and-tell-about-his-old-friend-princess-margaret |access-date=2023-04-01 |website=[[Edmonton Journal]] |language=en-CA}}</ref> Brenda confirmed a "very definite attraction" between her brother and the princess, but said that Turner was uninterested in royalty and would not have given up Catholicism.{{r|brewster}}

It has been claimed Turner attended Margaret's party at [[Balmoral Castle]] in August 1959 where his roommate was Margaret's future husband [[Antony Armstrong-Jones]];{{r|brewster}} however, according to his authorized biography, Armstrong-Jones visited Balmoral for the first time in early October 1959.<ref>{{Cite book |last=De Courcy |first=Anne |title=Snowdon The Biography |publisher=Phoenix |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-2978-5604-7 |location=London |pages=88 |language=English}}</ref> Turner was the only Canadian unofficial guest at [[Wedding of Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones|their wedding in May 1960]]. Turner remained friends with Margaret, he and his wife often meeting the princess in Britain or during official visits to Canada. They attended Margaret's 2002 private funeral and were Canada's official representatives at the memorial service.<ref name="brewster">{{Cite web |last=Brewster |first=Hugh |title=Princess and the PM |url=http://www.hughbrewster.com/princess-and-the-pm.html |access-date=November 7, 2020 |website=Hugh Brewster |language=en |archive-date=November 29, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129052348/http://www.hughbrewster.com/princess-and-the-pm.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Marriage and family===
Turner was married on May 11, 1963, to [[Geills Turner|Geills McCrae Kilgour]] (b. 1937) who was then a [[Systems engineering|systems engineer]] with [[IBM]],<ref>{{Cite news|title=Former PM John Turner was old Liberalism's darling and its final, flawed champion |date=October 6, 2020 |first=Hugh |last=Winsor |work=[[The Globe and Mail]]|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-obituary-john-turner-pm-for-79-days-was-old-liberalisms-darling/|access-date=September 21, 2020|archive-date=September 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200920143104/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-obituary-john-turner-pm-for-79-days-was-old-liberalisms-darling/|url-status=live}}</ref> and the great niece of Canadian Army doctor [[John McCrae]], the author of what is probably the best-known First World War poem, "[[In Flanders Fields]]", and sister of [[David Kilgour]], a long-time Canadian [[Member of Parliament (Canada)|Member of Parliament]].<ref name="nyt1984"/> The Turners had daughter named Elizabeth and two sons: Michael and Andrew.<ref name="darling"/> Their second son, David, died in 2021. The Turner children attended [[Rockcliffe Park Public School]], in [[Ottawa]].{{sfn|Litt|2011|p=17}} All three sons attended [[Upper Canada College]], in [[Toronto]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Upper Canada College {{!}} Former prime minister John Turner talks to grandson's Form 5 class|url=https://archive.ucc.on.ca/2016/10/12/former-prime-minister-john-turner-talks-to-grandsons-grade-5-class/|access-date=September 21, 2020|website=archive.ucc.on.ca|archive-date=September 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922224917/https://archive.ucc.on.ca/2016/10/12/former-prime-minister-john-turner-talks-to-grandsons-grade-5-class/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Early career==
[[File:Captain Burdock presnted with NORAD award Shield of Freedom.jpg|thumb|right|Turner presents Captain Burdock with the NORAD ''Shield of Freedom'' award, on [[CCGS John Cabot]] while it was docked at the [[Port of Montreal]]]]
Turner practised law, initially with the firm of [[Stikeman Elliott]] in [[Montreal]], Quebec.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Our History|url=https://www.stikeman.com/en-ca/firm/history|access-date=September 20, 2020|website=Stikeman Elliott|language=en-CA|archive-date=September 6, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200906032938/https://stikeman.com/en-ca/firm/history|url-status=live}}</ref> He was elected as Member of [[Parliament of Canada|Parliament]] for [[St. Lawrence—St. George]] in 1962 and was reelected there in every election until the riding's dissolution in 1968. He was the Member of Parliament for [[Ottawa—Carleton (federal electoral district)|Ottawa—Carleton]] from 1968 to 1976.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Parti liberal du Canada (Quebec)|url=https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/eppp-archive/100/205/300/liberal-ef/05-05-24/www.qc.liberal.ca/en/histoire/pml03.aspx|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018133541/https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/eppp-archive/100/205/300/liberal-ef/05-05-24/www.qc.liberal.ca/en/histoire/pml03.aspx|archive-date=October 18, 2017|access-date=September 20, 2020|website=www.collectionscanada.gc.ca}}</ref>

In 1965, while vacationing in [[Barbados]], Turner noticed that former prime minister and [[Leader of the Opposition (Canada)|Leader of the Opposition]] [[John Diefenbaker]], staying at the same hotel, was struggling in the strong [[ocean surface wave|surf]] and [[undertow (wave action)|undertow]]. Turner, a competitive swimmer while in university, jumped in and pulled Diefenbaker to shore.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/primeministers/h4-3432-e.html|title=A future prime minister rescues a former prime minister|date=January 29, 2002|work=First Among Equals|publisher=[[Library and Archives Canada]]|access-date=May 1, 2008|archive-date=December 11, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211182020/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/primeministers/h4-3432-e.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Cabinet minister==
Turner was generally respected for his work as a cabinet minister in the 1960s and 1970s, under prime ministers [[Lester Pearson]] and [[Pierre Trudeau]].

===Premiership of Lester Pearson===
[[File:Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and her Canadian Ministers at Rideau Hall 1 July 1967.jpg|thumb|right|Her Majesty [[Queen Elizabeth II]] and her Canadian Ministers at [[Rideau Hall]] for Canada Day July 1, 1967]]
Turner served in the [[Cabinet of Canada|Cabinet]] of Prime Minister [[Lester B. Pearson|Lester Pearson]] in various capacities, most notably as [[Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs]]. When Pearson retired, Turner ran to succeed him at the [[1968 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election|1968 leadership convention]]. Turner, at age 38 the youngest of the dozen leadership candidates, stated "My time is now",<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/politics/prime-ministers/the-long-run-the-political-rise-of-john-turner/my-time-is-now.html | work=[[CBC News]] | title=The Long Run: The Political Rise of John Turner – CBC Archives | access-date=June 27, 2012 | archive-date=March 25, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130325161704/http://www.cbc.ca/archives/categories/politics/prime-ministers/the-long-run-the-political-rise-of-john-turner/my-time-is-now.html | url-status=dead}}</ref> and remarked during his speech that he was "not here for some vague, future convention in, say, [[1984 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election|1984]]".<ref>{{Cite web|date=April 5, 1968|title=CBC Archives - My time is now.|url=https://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/my-time-is-now|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200524075856/https://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/my-time-is-now|archive-date=May 24, 2020|access-date=September 20, 2020|website=CBC Archives|url-status=dead}}</ref> Turner stayed on until the fourth and final ballot, finishing third behind [[Pierre Trudeau]] and runner-up [[Robert Winters]].{{sfn|Penniman|1988|p=70}}

===Premiership of Pierre Trudeau===
Turner served in Trudeau's cabinet as [[Minister of Justice (Canada)|minister of justice]] for four years. Biographer Paul Litt argues that Turner was a hard-working, well-informed minister whose success was assured by his warm relationship with his peers. His achievements, say Litt, included strengthening the rights of individual defendants on trial, greater efficiency in the justice system, creation of the influential [[Law Commission of Canada|Law Reform Commission]], selecting highly professional judges, and bringing a policy perspective to the Justice Department. He led the government's position in the highly controversial [[Official Languages Act (Canada)|Official Languages Act]], and he took control during the [[October Crisis]] in 1970.{{sfn|Litt|2011|p=5–7}}

A member of the [[Blue Grit|Business Liberal]] faction of the Liberal Party,<ref>{{cite web |last1=Tuns |first1=Paul |title=30 years of Liberal infighting |url=https://ottawacitizen.com/news/politics/paul-tuns-30-years-of-liberal-infighting |website=Ottawa Citizen |accessdate=March 6, 2022 |date=June 16, 2014}}</ref> Turner then served as [[Minister of Finance (Canada)|Minister of Finance]] from 1972 until 1975. His challenges were severe in the face of global financial issues such as the [[1973 oil crisis]], the collapse of the postwar [[Bretton Woods system|Bretton Woods trading system]], slowing economic growth combined with soaring inflation ([[stagflation]]), and growing deficits.<ref name=Butler>{{Cite web|last=Butler|first=Patrick|date=September 19, 2020|title=CBC - John Turner Obituary|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/john-turner-obituary-1.5731229|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919230013/https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/john-turner-obituary-1.5731229|archive-date=September 19, 2020|access-date=September 20, 2020|website=CBC}}</ref>{{sfn|Litt|2011|p=viii}} His positions were more conservative than Trudeau's and they drew apart. In 1975 Turner surprisingly resigned from cabinet.<ref name="Bothwell_CanadianEncyclopedia" /> The Liberals had won the [[1974 Canadian federal election|1974 election]] by attacking [[Robert Stanfield]]'s [[Progressive Conservative Party of Canada|Progressive Conservatives]] over their platform involving wage and price controls. However, Trudeau decided to implement the wage and price controls in late 1975. In a 2013 interview with [[Catherine Clark (broadcaster)|Catherine Clark]] on [[CPAC (TV channel)|CPAC]], Turner confirmed his resignation from cabinet was a direct result of refusing to implement wage and price controls, after campaigning against them in 1974.<ref>{{cite AV media |title=Beyond Politics - John Turner |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6suF6U71yEQ |date=July 2, 2013 |interviewer-first1=Catherine |interviewer-last1=Clark |publisher=[[CPAC (TV channel)|CPAC]] |via=Youtube}}</ref>

In his memoirs, Trudeau wrote that Turner said he resigned as Finance Minister in 1975 because he was tired of politics, after 13 years in Ottawa, and wanted to move on to a better-paying job as a lawyer in Toronto, to better support his family and to be with them more, as his children were growing up. Trudeau also suggested that Turner's years as finance minister were very difficult because of turbulent and unusual conditions in the world economy, characterized as [[stagflation]], largely caused by enormous increases in the price of oil.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Trudeau|first=Pierre Elliott|title=Memoirs|date=1993|publisher=[[McClelland & Stewart]]|isbn=0-7710-8588-5|location=Toronto|oclc=30702551|author-link=Pierre Trudeau}}</ref>
{{Clear left}}

====Federal budgets presented as minister of finance====
*[[1973 Canadian federal budget]]
*[[May 1974 Canadian federal budget]]
*[[November 1974 Canadian federal budget]]
*[[1975 Canadian federal budget]]

==Bay Street==
From 1975 to 1984, Turner worked as a corporate lawyer at the [[Bay Street]] law firm [[McMillan Binch Mendelsohn LLP|McMillan Binch]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Rt. Hon. John N. Turner |url=https://www.sinaihealth.ca/team/rt-hon-john-n-turner/ |website=Sinai Health |access-date=September 19, 2020 |language=en-CA |archive-date=September 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922224943/https://www.sinaihealth.ca/team/rt-hon-john-n-turner/ |url-status=live }}</ref> When Pierre Trudeau resigned as Liberal leader in 1979 following an [[1979 Canadian federal election|election loss]], Turner announced that he would not be a candidate for the Liberal leadership. Trudeau was talked into rescinding his resignation after the government of [[Joe Clark]] was defeated by a [[motion of no confidence]], and returned to contest and win the [[1980 Canadian federal election|1980 federal election]]. Trudeau then served as Prime Minister until 1984.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lentz|first=Harris M.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D6HKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA148|title=Heads of States and Governments Since 1945|date=February 4, 2014|publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=978-1-134-26490-2|pages=148|language=en|access-date=September 25, 2020|archive-date=November 3, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201103191217/https://books.google.com/books?id=D6HKAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA148|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Prime Minister (June–September 1984)==
Trudeau retired after polls showed the Liberals faced certain defeat in the next election if he remained in office. Turner then re-entered politics, and defeated [[Jean Chrétien]], his successor as finance minister, on the second ballot of the [[1984 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election|June 1984 Liberal leadership convention]]. He was formally appointed prime minister on June 30.<ref name="darling">{{Cite news|last=Winsor|first=Hugh|date=September 19, 2020|title=Former PM John Turner was old Liberalism's darling and its final, flawed champion|work=[[The Globe and Mail]]|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-obituary-john-turner-pm-for-79-days-was-old-liberalisms-darling/|url-status=live|access-date=September 20, 2020|archive-date=September 19, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200919233904/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-obituary-john-turner-pm-for-79-days-was-old-liberalisms-darling/}}</ref> When he was sworn in, Turner was not an MP or senator; the next occurrence of a PM not being elected to the Commons or Senate would be [[Mark Carney]] in [[2025 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election|2025]]. He also announced that he would not run in a by-election to get into the Commons, but would instead run in the next general election as the Liberal candidate in the [[British Columbia]] riding of [[Vancouver Quadra]], a seat held by the Tories. This was part of Turner's strategy to rebuild the Liberals' image in [[western Canada]]; at the time, the party held no seats west of [[Winnipeg]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Martin |first1=Douglas |title=Turner Sworn in as Canada Chief; Trudeau Era Ends |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/01/world/turner-sworn-in-as-canada-chief-trudeau-era-ends.html |website=The New York Times |access-date=September 21, 2020 |date=July 1, 1984 |archive-date=May 24, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524145814/http://www.nytimes.com/1984/07/01/world/turner-sworn-in-as-canada-chief-trudeau-era-ends.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In his final days of office, Trudeau recommended that [[Governor General of Canada|Governor General]] [[Jeanne Sauvé]] appoint over 200 Liberals to [[patronage]] positions, including [[Senate of Canada|senators]], judges, and executives on various governmental and [[crown corporation]] boards. Turner then made a further 19 appointments himself, one of Trudeau's conditions for retiring earlier than he had planned.<ref name="Mulroney 1991">{{Cite book|last=Sawatsky|first=John|title=Mulroney: The Politics of Ambition|date=1991|publisher=Macfarlane Walter & Ross|isbn=0-921912-06-4|location=Toronto|oclc=25965485|author-link=John Sawatsky}}</ref>

===1984 federal election===
{{Main|1984 Canadian federal election}}

On July 9, only nine days after being sworn in, Turner asked Sauvé to dissolve parliament and advised her to [[1984 Canadian federal election|call an election]] for early September. Progressive Conservative leader Brian Mulroney and other experts had expected Turner to tour Canada during the summer and early autumn, accompanying [[Queen Elizabeth II]] and [[Pope John Paul II]] on their upcoming visits, and then call the election for later in the autumn.<ref name="Mulroney 1991"/> As the campaign unfolded, the Tories and Mulroney, who was fighting his first general election in any capacity, soon took the lead.<ref name="Mulroney 1991"/>

Early in the campaign, Turner appeared rusty and old-fashioned.{{sfn|Litt|2011|p=237}} His policies contrasted with Trudeau's and seemed to legitimize the Tory calls for lowering the deficit, improving relations with the United States, cutting the bureaucracy, and promoting more federal-provincial harmony. He spoke of creating "make work projects",<ref name="Bothwell_CanadianEncyclopedia" /> a discarded phrase from the 1970s that had been replaced by the less patronizing "[[job creation program]]s". Turner was also caught on television patting the bottoms of Liberal Party President [[Iona Campagnolo]] and Vice-President Lise St. Martin-Tremblay, causing an uproar among [[feminists]], who saw such behaviour as sexist and condescending.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2652870398 | work=[[CBC News]] | title=The Long Run: The Political Rise of John Turner – CBC Archives | access-date=June 27, 2012 | archive-date=December 29, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211229000305/http://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/john-turner-a-very-tactile-politician | url-status=live }}</ref>

During the televised leaders' debate, Turner attacked Mulroney over the patronage machine that the latter had allegedly set up in anticipation of victory, comparing it to the [[Union Nationale (Quebec)|Union Nationale]] governments of [[Quebec]]. Mulroney responded by pointing to the raft of patronage appointments made on the advice of Trudeau and Turner. Turner had the right to advise Sauvé to cancel Trudeau's appointments—advice that she was bound to follow by convention—but failed to do so and added to his own. Mulroney demanded that Turner apologize to the country for what he called "these horrible appointments." Turner claimed that "I had no option" except to let them stand. Mulroney responded, "[[You had an option, sir]]{{spaced ndash}}to say 'no'{{spaced ndash}}and you chose to say 'yes' to the old attitudes and the old stories of the Liberal Party." He highlighted the Liberals' long record in government and resulting patronage appointments.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/archives/|title=CBC Archives|website=www.cbc.ca|access-date=January 10, 2019|archive-date=January 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190111045125/https://www.cbc.ca/archives|url-status=live}}</ref>

Turner discovered late in the campaign that the Liberals' electoral hopes were poor in their traditional stronghold of Quebec.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sawatsky |first1=John |title=The Insiders: Government, Business, and the Lobbyists |date=1987 |publisher=McClelland & Stewart |location=Toronto |isbn=978-0-7710-7949-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/insidersgovernme0000sawa |url-access=registration}}</ref> The party had heretofore relied on Trudeau's appeal, patronage, and traditional dislike of the Progressive Conservatives for victory in recent previous elections. Turner had surrounded himself with Trudeau's factional opponents and Trudeau himself did not endorse Turner.{{sfn|Penniman|1988|pp=106–13}} In a last-minute turnaround, Turner rehired much of Trudeau's staff during the final weeks, but this had little effect. Quebec's disaffection with the federal Liberals regarding [[patriation]] in 1982 further contributed to their defeat. Mulroney, a native [[Demographics of Quebec|Quebecker]], was able to harness that discontent to the Progressive Conservatives' advantage by promising a new constitutional agreement.<ref name="Mulroney 1991"/>

On September 4, the Liberals were swept from power in a Tory landslide.{{sfn|Penniman|1988|p=37}} The Liberals were cut down to 40 seats, the fewest in the party's history until [[Canadian Federal Election 2011|2011]], against 211 for the Progressive Conservatives. The Liberals fell to 17 seats in Quebec, all but four in and around [[Montreal]]. Eleven members of Turner's cabinet were defeated. It was the worst defeat the Liberals experienced in a federal election since [[1958 Canadian federal election|1958]].{{sfn|Penniman|1988|p=37}}

Turner stepped down as prime minister on September 17.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Goar|first=Carol|title=John Turner maps his future|date=September 17, 1984|url=https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1984/9/17/john-turner-maps-his-future|access-date=September 21, 2020|website=Maclean's|language=en-US|archive-date=September 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922224949/https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1984/9/17/john-turner-maps-his-future|url-status=live}}</ref> The election having been called just over a week after his being sworn in, Turner held the office of prime minister for two months and seventeen days, the second-shortest stint in Canadian history, ahead of only [[Charles Tupper|Sir Charles Tupper]], who took office after dissolution of parliament.{{sfn|Litt|2011|p=290}} Turner, along with Tupper and later Mulroney's successor, [[Kim Campbell]], were the only PMs who never faced a parliament or implemented any legislative initiative.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Turner |first1=Bonnie |title=TURNER: Remembering Kim Campbell's time in office |url=https://www.wallaceburgcourierpress.com/opinion/columnists/turner-remembering-kim-campbells-time-in-office |website=Wallaceburg Courier Press |access-date=September 21, 2020 |date=June 26, 2020 |archive-date=September 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918094334/https://www.wallaceburgcourierpress.com/opinion/columnists/turner-remembering-kim-campbells-time-in-office |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Opposition leader (1984–1990)==
[[File:Ronald Reagan and John Turner 1987 crop.jpg|thumb|Turner with President [[Ronald Reagan]] at [[Rideau Hall]], April 1987.]]
In 1984, Turner managed to defeat the Tory incumbent in Vancouver Quadra, Bill Clarke by 3,200 votes, a surprising result given the size of the Tory wave, and became [[Leader of the Opposition (Canada)|leader of the opposition]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Parti liberal du Canada (Quebec)|url=https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/eppp-archive/100/205/300/liberal-ef/05-05-24/www.qc.liberal.ca/en/histoire/pml03.aspx|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171018133541/https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/eppp-archive/100/205/300/liberal-ef/05-05-24/www.qc.liberal.ca/en/histoire/pml03.aspx|archive-date=October 18, 2017|access-date=September 21, 2020|website=www.collectionscanada.gc.ca}}</ref> He was the only Liberal MP from British Columbia, and one of only two from west of Ontario. The Liberals, amid their worst showing in party history and led by an unpopular Turner, were said by some pundits to be following the [[Liberal Party (UK)|British Liberals]] into oblivion. Though the Liberals had not fared much better in the [[1958 Canadian federal election|1958 election]], they had clearly emerged as the main opposition party back then. After the [[1984 Canadian federal election|1984 election]], however, the NDP were not far behind with 30 seats.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Martin|first=Douglas|date=September 5, 1984|title=Tories in Canada Win a Big Victory Over the Liberals|language=en-US|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/09/05/world/tories-in-canada-win-a-big-victory-over-the-liberals.html|url-status=live|access-date=September 21, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=January 30, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130015341/http://www.nytimes.com/1984/09/05/world/tories-in-canada-win-a-big-victory-over-the-liberals.html}}</ref> Their leader [[Ed Broadbent]] consistently outpolled Turner and even Mulroney, except in Quebec.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Johnston|first=Richard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vA7e0ukSKe8C&pg=PA171|title=Letting the People Decide: Dynamics of a Canadian Election|date=1992|publisher=[[Stanford University Press]]|isbn=978-0-8047-2078-6|pages=171|language=en|access-date=September 21, 2020|archive-date=September 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922224954/https://books.google.ca/books?id=vA7e0ukSKe8C&pg=PA171|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Liberals responded by using their large [[Senate of Canada|Senate]] majority, built up over years of Liberal majorities in the Commons, to stall Mulroney's legislation. In addition, a group of young Liberal MPs, known as the "[[Liberal Party of Canada Rat Pack|Rat Pack]]", pestered Mulroney at every turn. The group included [[Sheila Copps]], [[Brian Tobin]], [[Don Boudria]], and [[John Nunziata]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Moscovitz|first=Jason|date=May 6, 1985|title=Liberal Rat Pack invades Parliament in 1985|url=https://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/liberal-rat-pack-invades-parliament-in-1985|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180401171617/http://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/liberal-rat-pack-invades-parliament-in-1985|archive-date=April 1, 2018|access-date=September 20, 2020|website=CBC}}</ref>

Turner's leadership was frequently questioned, and in the lead up to the 1986 Liberal convention, a vote of confidence loomed large. The popular Jean Chrétien resigned his seat, creating a stir in caucus. [[Keith Davey]] publicly voiced his concerns with Turner's leadership,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Delacourt|first=Susan|date=January 17, 2011|title=Keith Davey, Liberal 'rainmaker,' dies|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2011/01/17/keith_davey_liberal_rainmaker_dies.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190720044654/https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2011/01/17/keith_davey_liberal_rainmaker_dies.html|archive-date=July 20, 2019|access-date=September 21, 2020|website=[[Toronto Star]]|language=en}}</ref> which coincided with backroom struggles involving Chrétien's supporters. The public conflict is said to have influenced many Liberals to support Turner, and he ended up getting a little over 75% of the delegate vote.<ref>{{Cite news|date=December 1, 1986|title=AROUND THE WORLD; Liberal Leader Wins Party Vote in Canada|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1986/12/01/world/around-the-world-liberal-leader-wins-party-vote-in-canada.html|access-date=September 21, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=May 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524182609/http://www.nytimes.com/1986/12/01/world/around-the-world-liberal-leader-wins-party-vote-in-canada.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
The Liberals faced more internal conflict in the next few years, but polls frequently had them in front of the Progressive Conservatives (but with Turner last in preferred prime minister categories). The upcoming [[Canada–US Free Trade Agreement]] (FTA) and [[Meech Lake Accord]] threatened to divide the party until Turner took the position of being pro-Meech Lake<ref>{{Cite book|last=Fournier|first=Pierre|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EUQZBqCOQk8C&pg=PA60|title=A Meech Lake Post-Mortem: Is Quebec Sovereignty Inevitable?|date=1991|publisher=[[McGill–Queen's University Press]]|isbn=978-0-7735-0867-5|pages=60|language=en|access-date=September 21, 2020|archive-date=September 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922224954/https://books.google.ca/books?id=EUQZBqCOQk8C&pg=PA60|url-status=live}}</ref> and against the FTA. Turner asked the Liberal Senators to hold off on passing the legislation to implement the agreement until an election was held. It was later revealed that Mulroney planned to have an election called, anyway.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Goar |first1=Carol |title=Down to the day of decision {{!}} Maclean's {{!}} September 3, 1984 |url=https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1984/9/3/down-to-the-day-of-decision |website=Maclean's {{!}} The Complete Archive |access-date=September 21, 2020 |archive-date=November 7, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107054717/https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1984/9/3/down-to-the-day-of-decision |url-status=live }}</ref>

===1988 federal election===
{{Main|1988 Canadian federal election}}

When the [[1988 Canadian federal election|election was called for November 21, 1988]], the Liberals had some early struggles, notably during one day in Montreal where 3 different costs were given for the proposed Liberal daycare program. The campaign was also hampered by a [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] report that stated there was a movement in the backroom to replace Turner with Chrétien.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Paul Tuns: 30 years of Liberal infighting|url=https://ottawacitizen.com/news/politics/paul-tuns-30-years-of-liberal-infighting|access-date=September 21, 2020|website=Ottawa Citizen|language=en-CA|archive-date=August 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190809185110/https://ottawacitizen.com/news/politics/paul-tuns-30-years-of-liberal-infighting|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Azzi|first=Stephen|date=September 2, 2015|title=Election 1988|url=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/election-1988-feature|url-status=live|access-date=September 21, 2020|website=[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]]|archive-date=May 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200524075945/https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/election-1988-feature}}</ref>

Turner campaigned rallying support against the proposed FTA, an agreement that he said would lead to the abandonment of Canada's political sovereignty to the United States.<ref>{{Cite web|title=John Turner|url=https://thecanadaguide.com/history/prime-ministers/john-turner/|access-date=September 21, 2020|website=The Canada Guide|language=en-US|archive-date=September 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918230430/https://thecanadaguide.com/history/prime-ministers/john-turner/|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfn|Litt|2011}} His performance in the debate and his attacks on Mulroney and the FTA, where he accused the Progressive Conservative Prime Minister of selling Canada out with one signature of a pen,<ref name=":1" /> raised his poll numbers, and soon the Liberals were hoping for a majority. This prompted the Progressive Conservatives to stop the relatively calm campaign they had been running, and follow [[Allan Gregg]]'s suggestion of "bombing the bridge" that joined anti-FTA voters and the Liberals, Turner's credibility.<ref>{{Cite news|title=The great free-trade election of 1988|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/the-great-free-trade-election-of-1988/article4576124/|access-date=September 21, 2020|archive-date=February 8, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190208160648/https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/the-great-free-trade-election-of-1988/article4576124/|url-status=live}}</ref> The ads focused on Turner's leadership struggles, and combined with over $6&nbsp;million in pro-FTA ads, stopped Turner's momentum. Also not helping the Liberals was that the NDP had opposed the FTA as well (though not as vocally); this likely resulted in vote-splitting between the opposition parties. Although most Canadians voted for parties opposed to [[free trade]], the Tories were returned with a majority government, and implemented the deal.<ref name="auto">{{Cite news|last1=Burns|first1=John F.|date=November 22, 1988|title=Mulroney Wins a Majority in Canadian Vote, Assuring Passage of U.s. Trade Pact|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/22/world/mulroney-wins-a-majority-in-canadian-vote-assuring-passage-of-us-trade-pact.html|access-date=September 21, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=February 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180224195106/http://www.nytimes.com/1988/11/22/world/mulroney-wins-a-majority-in-canadian-vote-assuring-passage-of-us-trade-pact.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="darling" />

The Liberals more than doubled their representation to 83 seats, and kept their role as the [[Official Opposition (Canada)|Official Opposition]]; the NDP had also made gains but finished a distant third with 43 seats. The Progressive Conservatives won a reduced majority government with 169 seats.<ref name=":1" /><ref name="auto"/>

The election loss seemed to confirm Turner's fate; he announced he was standing down from the party leadership in May 1989,<ref>{{Cite web|first1=Bruce|last1=Wallace|first2=Theresa|last2=Tedesco|title=Stepping Down|date=May 15, 1989|url=https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1989/5/15/stepping-down|access-date=September 21, 2020|website=Maclean's|language=en-US|archive-date=September 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922225003/https://archive.macleans.ca/article/1989/5/15/stepping-down|url-status=live}}</ref> officially resigning in June 1990. Turner resigned as Official Opposition leader, while still holding the Liberal leadership, so [[Herb Gray]] became the [[parliamentary leader|caucus leader]] in the interim.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Party Leaders in the House of Commons Since 1867 - House of Commons Procedure and Practice, Third edition, 2017|url=https://www.ourcommons.ca/about/procedureandpractice3rdedition/App08-e.html|access-date=September 21, 2020|website=www.ourcommons.ca|archive-date=December 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214134518/https://www.ourcommons.ca/About/ProcedureAndPractice3rdEdition/App08-e.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Chrétien won that year's [[1990 Liberal Party of Canada leadership election|leadership convention]] over [[Paul Martin]].<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Harder|first1=Lois|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MSiZO2mBYuQC&q=Chr%C3%A9tien+%22leadership+convention%22+paul+martin&pg=PA332|title=The Chrétien Legacy: Politics and Public Policy in Canada|last2=Patten|first2=Steve|date=July 13, 2006|publisher=McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP|isbn=978-0-7735-6011-6|language=en|access-date=November 28, 2020|archive-date=November 7, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211107054715/https://books.google.com/books?id=MSiZO2mBYuQC&q=Chr%C3%A9tien+%22leadership+convention%22+paul+martin&pg=PA332|url-status=live}}</ref> Although not officially endorsed by Turner himself, Martin was widely the favourite of Turner's supporters.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Martin|first=Lawrence|url=https://archive.org/details/ironmandefiantre0000mart|title=Iron Man: The Defiant Reign of Jean Chrétien|date=2003|publisher=[[Viking Press|Viking Canada]]|isbn=0-670-04310-9|location=Toronto|pages=11|oclc=52877378|url-access=registration}}</ref>

Turner continued to represent Vancouver Quadra in the House of Commons before retiring from politics in the 1993 election.<ref name=":0" />

==After politics==

In 1990, Turner returned to practising law, this time working for Miller Thomson LLP, while he continued serving as an MP for another three years. He eventually became head of the firm's scholarship program. Turner was also a board member for several corporations.<ref name="Bothwell_CanadianEncyclopedia" />

Turner was a member of the Canadian delegation that monitored the runoff vote in the [[2004 Ukrainian presidential election]].<ref name="Bothwell_CanadianEncyclopedia" />

Turner voiced his support for the [[Campaign for the Establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly]], an organization which campaigns for democratic reformation of the United Nations, and the creation of a more accountable international political system.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://en.unpacampaign.org/supporters/overview/?mapcountry=allhea&mapgroup=hea|title=Supporters|work=Campaign for a UN Parliamentary Assembly|access-date=September 21, 2017|language=en-US|archive-date=January 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180124055113/http://en.unpacampaign.org/supporters/overview/?mapcountry=allhea&mapgroup=hea|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2017, he was awarded the Gold Medal of the [[Royal Canadian Geographical Society]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rcgs.org/awards/gold_medal/previous_winners.asp|title=Gold Medal-Award Recipients since its inception in 1972|publisher=RCGS|access-date=July 20, 2018|archive-date=November 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106221951/http://www.rcgs.org/awards/gold_medal/previous_winners.asp|url-status=live}}</ref> Turner lived in the [[Deer Park, Toronto|Deer Park]] neighbourhood of Toronto.

== Death and state funeral ==
[[File:Prime Minister John Turner gravesite photo.jpg|thumb|Turner's grave site in Mount Pleasant Cemetery]]

Turner died on September 19, 2020, at age 91,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/01/world/canada/john-turner-dead.html|title=John Turner, Briefly Its Leader but Long a Force in Canada, Dies at 91|newspaper=The New York Times|date=October 2020|last1=Austen|first1=Ian|access-date=October 5, 2020|archive-date=December 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204044801/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/01/world/canada/john-turner-dead.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/john-turner-state-funeral-october-six-1.5734949|title=Former prime minister John Turner to be honoured with state funeral Oct. 6 |date=September 22, 2020 |work=[[CBC News]]|access-date=September 23, 2020|archive-date=September 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925105838/https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/john-turner-state-funeral-october-six-1.5734949|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="CanadaHeritage_2020-09-22">{{Cite press release|date=September 23, 2020|title=A State Funeral Will Be Held in Memory of the Right Honourable John Napier Wyndham Turner|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/news/2020/09/a-state-funeral-will-be-held-in-memory-of-the-right-honourable-john-napier-wyndham-turner.html|access-date=September 24, 2020|publisher=[[Department of Canadian Heritage]]|archive-date=November 20, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201120222903/https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/news/2020/09/a-state-funeral-will-be-held-in-memory-of-the-right-honourable-john-napier-wyndham-turner.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-54220721|title = John Turner: Former Canadian prime minister dies at 91|work = [[BBC News]]|date = September 19, 2020|access-date = September 19, 2020|archive-date = September 19, 2020|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200919214510/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-54220721|url-status = live}}</ref> from [[congestive heart failure]].{{sfn|Paikin|2022|p=285}} A [[State funerals in Canada|state funeral]] was held for Turner on October 6, 2020, at [[St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica (Toronto)|St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica]] in Toronto. The ceremony was scaled back due to the [[COVID-19 pandemic in Canada|COVID-19 pandemic]] with masking and [[social distancing]] protocols in place, attendance limited to 160 guests, with no [[lying in state]].<ref name="CanadaHeritage_2020-09-22" /><ref>{{cite news |title=John Turner remembered as principled politician, loyal friend, great Canadian |first=Kathleen |last=Harris |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/john-turner-state-funeral-1.5751958 |access-date=March 24, 2024 |work=CBC News |date=October 6, 2020}}</ref> Turner was buried in a private service at [[Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto|Mount Pleasant Cemetery]].{{sfn|Paikin|2022|p=294}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.facebook.com/MountPleasantGroup/videos/335952644300783/ |title=Archived copy |website=[[Facebook]] |access-date=October 9, 2020 |archive-date=December 20, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201220170424/https://www.facebook.com/MountPleasantGroup/videos/335952644300783/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Turner and Mackenzie King are two former Prime Ministers interred at Mount Pleasant.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://parks.canada.ca/culture/designation/sepulture-gravesite|title=National Program for the Grave Sites of Canadian Prime Ministers|date=July 21, 2023|website=[[Parks Canada]]|publisher=Government of Canada|access-date=August 28, 2023}}</ref>

==Honours==
<div class="center">
[[File:Order of Canada (CC) ribbon bar.svg|105px]] [[File:Canada100 ribbon.png|100px]] [[File:UK Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg|100px]]
<br />
[[File:Canada125 ribbon.png|100px]] [[File:UK Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg|100px]] [[File:QEII Diamond Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg|100px]]
<br />
</div>
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="background:silver;" align="center"
|'''Ribbon''' || '''Description''' || '''Notes'''
|-
|[[File:Order of Canada (CC) ribbon bar.svg|100px]] || Companion of the [[Order of Canada]] (C.C.) || 
* Awarded on October 19, 1994
* Invested on May 3, 1995<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gg.ca/en/honours/recipients|title=Recipients|date=June 11, 2018|website=The Governor General of Canada|access-date=January 10, 2019|archive-date=January 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190111112550/http://www.gg.ca/en/honours/recipients|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|[[File:Canada100 ribbon.png|100px]] || [[Canadian Centennial Medal|Centennial Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal]] ||
* 1967
* As a Minister of the Crown and an elected Member of the [[House of Commons of Canada]], the then Honourable John Turner would be awarded the medal as a member of the [[Canadian order of precedence]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=McCreery|first=Christopher|author-link=Christopher McCreery|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AvMe9W1B6_8C&q=canadian+centennial+medal|title=Commemorative Medals of The Queen's Reign in Canada, 1952-2012|date=May 19, 2012|publisher=Dundurn|isbn=978-1-4597-0758-0|pages=63|language=en}}</ref>
|-
|[[File:UK Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg|100px]] || [[Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal]] for Canada ||
* 1977
* As a Minister of the Crown and an elected Member of the [[House of Commons of Canada]], the then Honourable John Turner would be awarded the medal as a member of the [[Canadian order of precedence]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=McCreery|first=Christopher|author-link=Christopher McCreery|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AvMe9W1B6_8C&q=Queen+Elizabeth+II+Silver+Jubilee+Medal|title=Commemorative Medals of The Queen's Reign in Canada, 1952-2012|date=May 19, 2012|publisher=Dundurn|isbn=978-1-4597-0758-0|pages=77|language=en}}</ref>
|-
|[[File:Canada125 ribbon.png|100px]] || [[125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal]] ||
* 1992
* As a former [[Prime Minister of Canada]] and a member of the [[Queen's Privy Council for Canada]], the Right Honourable John Turner would be awarded the medal as a member of the [[Canadian order of precedence]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=McCreery|first=Christopher|author-link=Christopher McCreery|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AvMe9W1B6_8C&q=125+anniversary|title=Commemorative Medals of The Queen's Reign in Canada, 1952-2012|date=May 19, 2012|publisher=Dundurn|isbn=978-1-4597-0758-0|pages=87|language=en}}</ref>
|-
|[[File:UK Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg|100px]] || [[Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal]] for Canada||
*  2002
* As a former [[Prime Minister of Canada]] a Companion of the [[Order of Canada]] and a member of the [[Queen's Privy Council for Canada]] the Right Honourable John Turner would be awarded the medal as a member of the [[Canadian order of precedence]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gg.ca/en/honours/recipients/125-17410|title=Mr. John Turner|website=The Governor General of Canada|access-date=September 19, 2020|archive-date=November 14, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114004445/https://www.gg.ca/en/honours/recipients/125-17410|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|[[File:QEII Diamond Jubilee Medal ribbon.svg|100px]] || [[Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal]] for Canada||
* 2012
* As a former [[Prime Minister of Canada]] a Companion of the [[Order of Canada]] and a member of the [[Queen's Privy Council for Canada]] the Right Honourable John Turner would be awarded the medal as a member of the [[Canadian order of precedence]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gg.ca/en/honours/recipients/126-216256|title=John Turner|website=The Governor General of Canada|access-date=September 19, 2020|archive-date=November 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191112203055/https://www.gg.ca/en/honours/recipients/126-216256|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
|}

According to Canadian protocol, as a former prime minister, he was styled ''[[The Right Honourable]]'' for life.

Turner was ranked 18th out of the first 20 Prime Ministers of Canada (through [[Jean Chrétien]]) by a survey of Canadian historians in 1999. The survey was used in the book ''Prime Ministers: Ranking Canada's Leaders'' by [[J. L. Granatstein]] and [[Norman Hillmer]].<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Granatstein|first1=J. L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LbQRAQAAIAAJ|title=Prime Ministers: Ranking Canada's Leaders|last2=Hillmer|first2=Norman|date=1999|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=978-0-00-638563-9|pages=177|language=en|access-date=September 21, 2020|archive-date=September 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200922225006/https://books.google.com/books?id=LbQRAQAAIAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>

Turner was appointed a Companion of the [[Order of Canada]] on October 19, 1994, and was invested on May 3, 1995. His citation reads: <blockquote>He became Canada's seventeenth Prime Minister, crowning a distinguished parliamentary career during which he held several key Cabinet portfolios. Parallel to his political life, he has been a respected member of the law profession and supporter of many charitable organizations, in particular Mount Sinai Hospital and the Community Foundation of Toronto. His passion for his country is admired by all Canadians.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archive.gg.ca/honours/search-recherche/honours-desc.asp?lang=e&TypeID=orc&id=3402|title=Order of Canada|website=archive.gg.ca|access-date=August 26, 2010|archive-date=October 18, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018022835/http://archive.gg.ca/honours/search-recherche/honours-desc.asp?lang=e&TypeID=orc&id=3402|url-status=live}}</ref></blockquote>

{{Infobox COA wide
|image = Turner Escutcheon.png
|escutcheon = Gules four canoe paddles their handles conjoined in cross between four canoes Or on a canton the mark of the Prime Ministership of Canada (Argent four maple leaves conjoined in cross at the stem Gules);
|crest = Issuant from a coronet érablé Gules the rim bearing a frieze of alternating dogwood lily and trillium flowers all Argent a demi wolf Or charged on each shoulder with a poppy Gules seeded Sable and bearing in the dexter forepaw an ansul Gules;
|supporters = On a grassy mound rising above barry wavy Argent and Azure set between two stems growing thereon roses Gules thistles and shamrocks Or and standing in front of river cedar trees Vert dexter a caribou buck Or gorged with a collar of river cedar branches Vert pendant therefrom the badge of a member of the House of Commons of Canada sinister a caribou doe Or gorged with a like collar pendant therefrom a medallion per bend barry wavy Azure and Argent and Vert;
|motto = Esse Quam Videri (To Be Rather Than To Seem) <ref>{{cite web|url=http://reg.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/project.asp?lang=e&ProjectID=1692&ShowAll=1|title=Turner, John Napier [Individual]|website=reg.gg.ca|access-date=December 30, 2018|archive-date=November 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116002306/http://reg.gg.ca/heraldry/pub-reg/project.asp?lang=e&ProjectID=1692&ShowAll=1|url-status=live}}</ref>}}

==Honorary degrees==
{{Incomplete list|date=June 2018}}
{| class="wikitable" style="width:100%;"
! style="width:20%;"| Location
! style="width:20%;"| Date
! style="width:40%;"| School
! style="width:20%;"| Degree
|-
| {{Flagu|New Brunswick}} || October 1968 || [[University of New Brunswick]] || [[Doctor of Laws]] (LL.D)<ref name="graduations.lib.unb.ca">{{cite web|url=https://graduations.lib.unb.ca/degree/16689|title=POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE - Graduation Ceremonies 1828 - Present|website=graduations.lib.unb.ca|access-date=June 8, 2018|archive-date=June 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612144931/https://graduations.lib.unb.ca/degree/16689|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| {{Flagu|Ontario}} || Spring 1968 || [[York University]] || [[Doctor of Laws]] (LL.D)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://secretariat.info.yorku.ca/senate/sub-committee-on-honorary-degrees-and-ceremonials/honorary-degree-recipients/#T|title=Honorary Degree Recipients - University Secretariat|website=secretariat.info.yorku.ca|access-date=June 8, 2018|archive-date=March 18, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150318112748/http://secretariat.info.yorku.ca/senate/sub-committee-on-honorary-degrees-and-ceremonials/honorary-degree-recipients/#T|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
| {{Flagu|New Brunswick}} || 1980 || [[Mount Allison University]] || [[Doctor of Civil Law]] (DCL)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mta.ca/Community/Governance_and_admin/Governance/Board_of_Regents/Board_committees/Honorary_degrees/Honorary_degree_recipients_20th_century/Honorary_degree_recipients_20th_century/|title=Mount Allison University - Honorary degree recipients 20th century|website=www.mta.ca|access-date=June 8, 2018|archive-date=June 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612162150/https://www.mta.ca/Community/Governance_and_admin/Governance/Board_of_Regents/Board_committees/Honorary_degrees/Honorary_degree_recipients_20th_century/Honorary_degree_recipients_20th_century/|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| {{Flagu|British Columbia}} || November 24, 1994 || [[University of British Columbia]] || [[Doctor of Laws]] (LL.D)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archives.library.ubc.ca/heraldry-congregation-graduation/honorary-degrees-conferred-by-ubc/honorary-degrees-chronological/|title=Honorary Degrees – Chronological - University Archives Blog|website=archives.library.ubc.ca|access-date=June 8, 2018|archive-date=June 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612142838/https://archives.library.ubc.ca/heraldry-congregation-graduation/honorary-degrees-conferred-by-ubc/honorary-degrees-chronological/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/hdcites/hdcites10.html#turner|title=UBC Archives - Honorary Degree Citations - 1992-1995|website=www.library.ubc.ca|access-date=June 8, 2018|archive-date=April 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180405073149/http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/hdcites/hdcites10.html#turner|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| {{Flagu|Ontario}} || June 1996 || [[University of Toronto]] || [[Doctor of Laws]] (LL.D)<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.governingcouncil.utoronto.ca/Assets/Governing+Council+Digital+Assets/Boards+and+Committees/Committee+for+Honorary+Degrees/degreerecipients1850tillnow.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=June 8, 2018 |archive-date=October 1, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001101642/http://www.governingcouncil.utoronto.ca/Assets/Governing+Council+Digital+Assets/Boards+and+Committees/Committee+for+Honorary+Degrees/degreerecipients1850tillnow.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>
|-
| {{Flagu|Ontario}} || 2002 || [[Assumption University (Windsor, Ontario)|Assumption University]] || [[Doctor of Laws]] (LL.D)<ref name="graduations.lib.unb.ca"/>
|-
|}

==See also==
* [[List of prime ministers of Canada]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Kealey |first=Marc |date=October 6, 2020 |title=JOHN N. TURNER: Remembering (Kealey) |url=http://thepearsoncentre.ca/platform/john-n-turner-remembering-kealey/ |website=The Pearson Centre}}</ref>

==Further reading==
===Archives===
* {{cite archive |collection=John Turner fonds |date=1954–2004 |institution=[[Library and Archives Canada]] |location=Ottawa, Ontario |collection-url=http://central.bac-lac.gc.ca/.redirect?app=fonandcol&id=106940&lang=eng}}

===Bibliography===
{{main|List of books about Prime Ministers of Canada}}

* {{Cite book|title=Elusive Destiny: The Political Vocation of John Napier Turner|last=Litt|first=Paul|year=2011|publisher=[[UBC Press]]|location=Vancouver|isbn=978-0-7748-2264-0|page=[https://archive.org/details/elusivedestinypo00litt/page/536 536]|url=https://archive.org/details/elusivedestinypo00litt/page/536}}
* {{Cite book|last=Turner|first=John N.|title=Politics of purpose|date=2009|publisher=School of Policy Studies, Queen's University|others=McIninch, Elizabeth., Milnes, Arthur, 1966-|isbn=978-1-55339-227-9|location=Kingston, Ont.|oclc=277196309}}
* {{cite book|last=Penniman |first=Howard Rae |title=Canada at the Polls, 1984: A Study of the Federal General Elections|url=https://archive.org/details/canadaatpolls1980000unse |year=1988|publisher=Duke University Press|isbn=0822308215 |url-access=registration}}
* {{Cite book|title=Canadian who's who. Volume XXXVIII, 2004|date=2004|publisher=University of Toronto Press|last=Lumley|first=Elizabeth|isbn=9780802088925|location=Toronto [Ont.]|oclc=314201586}}
* {{Cite book|title=John Turner: The Long Run|last=Cahill|first=Jack|year=1984|publisher=[[McClelland & Stewart]]|location=Toronto|isbn=978-0-7710-1872-5|oclc=12051468|url=https://archive.org/details/johnturnerlongru0000cahi}}
* {{Cite book|title=The Changing of the Guard: How the Liberals Fell From Grace|last=Snider|first=Norman|year=1985|publisher=[[Lester & Orpen Dennys]]|location=Toronto|isbn=978-0-88619-090-3|oclc=13077179|url=https://archive.org/details/changingofguard00snid}}
* {{Cite book|title=Reign of Error: the Inside Story of John Turner's Troubled Leadership|last=Weston|first=Greg|year=1988|publisher=[[McGraw-Hill Ryerson]]|location=Toronto|isbn=978-0-07-549693-9|oclc=19110646|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/reignoferrorinsi0000west}}
* {{Cite book|last=Granatstein|first=J. L.|title=Prime ministers : ranking Canada's leaders|date=1999|publisher=HarperCollins|others=Hillmer, Norman|isbn=0-00-200027-X|edition=1st HarperCollins hardcover|location=Toronto|oclc=41432030}}
* {{cite book|last=Paikin|first=Steve|author-link=Steve Paikin|title=John Turner: An Intimate Biography of Canada's 17th Prime Minister|publisher=[[Kenneth Whyte#Sutherland House Books|Sutherland House Books]]|date=2022|location=Toronto, Ontario|isbn=978-1-989555-83-5|oclc=1313801194}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|John Turner}}
{{Wikiquote}}
* {{Canadian Parliament links|ID=2909}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110717125607/http://www.ubcsportshalloffame.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?person_id=78&searchall=1 University of British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame]
* [http://www.cbc.ca/archives/topic/the-long-run-the-political-rise-of-john-turner CBC Digital Archives – The Long Run: The Political Rise of John Turner]
* {{C-SPAN|3836}}

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