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The Political Campaign

The campaign of 1988 was characterized by intense emotional debates. All three leaders were concerned about how much to emphasize the free trade issue. While its importance could not be denied, the leaders were reluctant to focus too much on such a controversial issue.

Each party adopted a unique strategy in their election campaign:

Progressive Conservative Strategy

Mulroney initially thought that free trade could redeem the PC Party after all the scandals they suffered through. However, the question was how much he could play up free trade without risking too much on one very controversial issue. Mulroney tried to make free trade just one aspect of a larger picture. He emphasized a number of economic issues such as job creation and tax cuts, with the Free Trade Agreement being just one aspect of his effective economic management. That allowed Mulroney to portray himself as an “agent of change” and a leader who “makes tough decisions.” He wanted economic prosperity in general to be his main message, with free trade one illustration of that theme.

As free trade took over the campaign, however, and the Liberals gained momentum from it, the Conservatives had no choice but to respond. Their research found that voters had doubts about the sincerity of John Turner’s opposition to the agreement. In the later stages of the campaign, the Conservatives began the famous “bomb the bridges” campaign, attacking Turner’s crecibility.

Liberal Strategy

The Liberals faced a two-front war in this campaign. Although they were ostensibly taking on the Mulroney Conservatives, they were also looking over their shoulders at the NDP. For the Liberals, this election was as much about the battle for second place as it was about winning the election. Free trade provided the Liberals with an opportunity to position themselves as the major opponent of the Conservatives. Although arguably a reversal of the party’s traditional position on trade, it allowed the party to take a firm position and fend off the surging NDP. The focus on free trade also helped to deflect attention away from Liberal weaknesses, such as persistent rumours that Turner was going to be replaced by Jean Chretien.

In the campaign, the Liberals tried to walk a delicate line in defending the principle of free trade, but opposing this particular agreement. These subtle nuances did not work well, however, and the Liberal strategy began to focus on the emotional level. Turner emphasized the unpatriotic aspects of the Free Trade agreement by declaring that Mulroney was “selling out” and had been coerced by the Americans. He campaigned under the slogan “This is more than an election – this is your future.”

New Democratic Party Strategy

Although the NDP was not plagued with the divisions facing the Liberals on free trade, the focus on the single issue did not play to the NDP’s strengths. Generally speaking, the NDP was not perceived as being strong on economic issues, limiting the extent to which the NDP could capitalize on the issue. As the election developed into a single issue election with two sides, the Liberals outmaneuvered the NDP in the debate. The NDP tried to capitalize on Broadbent’s personal popularity, but to no avail.

The Leadership Debate

This event really cemented free trade as the single issue in the campaign. Even Ed Broadbent, who had tried to keep the focus on the personal credibility of Mulroney, used the threat to Canada’s social programs to draw attention to the free trade issue. This was an emotionally charged event, with the climax coming as Turner and Mulroney had a heated debate over their commitment to Canada. Turner accused Mulroney of giving up Canada ’s economic levers to the US, and that Canada ’s “political independence was sure to follow.” In response, Mulroney accused Turner of being overly dramatic and of resorting to personal attacks because he offered to effective alternative of his own. In the end, there was no clear consensus on who had won the debate, but the magnitude of the election had been revealed. The debate likely did not change the outcome of the election, but it certainly affected the flow of the campaign, changing the election into a virtual referendum on the free trade deal.

Watch a clip of the Leadership Debate (link to Canadian Broadcasting Corporation)

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