Joe Clark - Opposition Leader, 1976-79

Opposition Leader, 1976-79

Joe Clark's rapid rise from a relatively unknown Alberta MP to the Leader of the Opposition took much of Canada by surprise. The Toronto Star announced Clark's victory with a headline that read "Joe Who?", giving Clark a nickname that stuck for years. Much joking was made of Clark's clumsiness and awkward mannerisms. Skinny and tall, he became a frequent target for editorial cartoonists, who delighted in portraying him as a sort of walking candy apple, with an enormous head and floppy dog-like ears; cartoonist Andy Donato typically drew Clark with mittens on strings hanging from his suit sleeves. Initially, it seemed unlikely that a man that was the source of so much mockery could ever hope to compete against the confident and intellectual Pierre Trudeau. It also did not help that the Progressive Conservatives lost a string of by-elections on May 24, 1977.

However, Clark remained belligerent in his attacks on the Trudeau government, angrily clashing with the prime minister in Parliament. He hired experienced staffers such as Lowell Murray, Duncan Edmonds, and William Neville, who shaped his policies and ran his office efficiently. He improved his party's standing in national opinion polls. Clark worked very hard, and gradually earned the respect of most people, including his own caucus, by presenting a series of well thought out speeches and questions in Parliament. He benefited when live television came to the House of Commons in 1977, allowing viewers to see that he was evolving into a real rival for Trudeau.

Clark, despite being perceived by many people as something of a square, showed biting wit at times while in Opposition. One of his most famous quips was: "A recession is when your neighbour loses his job. A depression is when you lose your job. Recovery is when Pierre Trudeau loses his job."