Conservative wipe-out in Canada

Conservative wipe-out in Canada

By BBC World Service

In Canada's 1993 election, the governing Progressive Conservative Party was routed, ending up with just two seats.

In the 1980s, the party won the largest majority in Canadian history. But by 1993, it was in crisis and the new Prime Minister, Kim Campbell, called an election. But she didn’t bank on the emergence of a new populist party called Reform, which stormed Canada’s traditionally two-party system claiming 52 seats. The Progressive Conservatives never recovered.

Ben Henderson speaks to the former Prime Minister, Kim Campbell, and Preston Manning, founder and former leader of Reform.

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(Photo: Preston Manning. Credit: Peter Power/Toronto Star via Getty Images)

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