John Turner was a Prime Minister in waiting for too long. By the time John Turner had waited out the Trudeau era and was elected Leader of the Liberal Party to become Prime Minister in 1984, the country was fed up with Liberal government. Turner seemed out of touch, made a number of political gaffes, including calling an early election, and the Conservatives won a massive majority.
For six years as Leader of the Opposition, John Turner fought, unsuccessfully, against free trade with the United States.
