John Turner

TURNER IN HIS GRAVE

Former Canadian Prime Minister John Turner has died aged 91, another victim of the increased rate of activity on the 2020 DDP. Born in Richmond (now part of London), he moved to Canada when he was three after the death of his father. In government, he was seen as a loyal minister under Lester Pearson and Pierre Trudeau. Indeed, in a three year tenure (1972-5) as Finance Minister, he took the brunt of the bad press for the economic issues suffered under the charismatic Trudeau’s tenure. He retired from politics to become a lawyer, but when Pierre Trudeau retired from leadership in 1984, Turner became Canadian Prime Minster with 79 days to go to the next general election. Perhaps he hadn’t looked at the same opinion polling. Beware a Trudeau bearing gifts! Turner’s Liberals lost ninety-five seats, and Brian Mulroney’s Conservatives took office. This popular vote was a Canadian record until it was beaten in 2015 by… Justin Trudeau. Did you ever think a family were mocking a DDP pick? Turner stayed on as Liberal leader until 1990, when he was replaced by long time rival Jean Chretien. Turner never really made the impression that some other Canadian PMs have in the past. Which is odd, as his university friends included Bob “drank Australia dry” Hawke and Jeremy “couldn’t even organize a simple assassination without buggering it up” Thorpe, and he was notorious in the 1950s for a short term fling with Princess Margaret!

He was a unique on the DDP for Departures Board.

John Turner
7 June 1929 – 19 September 2020
unique pick