John Turner

Early life and education

John Turner was born in Richmond, Surrey, England, to Leonard Hugh Turner, an English journalist with The Manchester Guardian, and Phyllis Gregory, a Canadian economist. He had a younger sister, Brenda, and a brother, Michael, who died shortly after birth. Following his father's death in 1932, he moved to Canada with his mother and sister, settling first in her childhood home in Rossland, British Columbia. The family later moved to Ottawa, where Turner was educated at Ashbury College and St Patrick's College. His mother remarried in 1945 to Frank Mackenzie Ross, who later served as Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia, prompting a family relocation to Vancouver.

Turner enrolled at the University of British Columbia in 1945 at age 16, where he joined the Beta Theta Pi fraternity. He emerged as one of Canada's outstanding track sprinters in the late 1940s, holding the Canadian record for the men's 100-yard dash. He qualified for the 1948 London Olympics but a knee injury prevented him from competing. He graduated from UBC with a BA (Honours) in 1949. Awarded a Rhodes Scholarship, he attended Magdalen College at the University of Oxford, earning a BA in jurisprudence in 1951 and a BCL in 1952. At Oxford, he was on the track and field team with Roger Bannister and was a classmate of future Australian prime ministers Malcolm Fraser and Bob Hawke, as well as British Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe. He also pursued doctoral studies at the University of Paris from 1952 to 1953.

Relationship with Princess Margaret

Turner first received significant Canadian press attention in July 1958 at a ball hosted by his mother and stepfather, the Lieutenant Governor, in honour of Princess Margaret at HMCS Discovery in Vancouver. Further meetings during Margaret's three-week official visit led to considerable speculation about a potential romance. Press reports suggested British officials were concerned, but Canadian officials were more relaxed about the reports. A year later, in September 1959, reports circulated that Turner had been a guest at Balmoral Castle in August where marriage was discussed, and that he had paid a secret visit to see the princess in April. According to his authorized biography, Antony Armstrong-Jones first visited Balmoral in early October 1959, not August as sometimes claimed. Letters discovered in 2015, written by Margaret to a friend, revealed the princess wrote, "John Turner is here & we meet on Thursday. It will seem so funny as we haven't met since I nearly married him & he's bringing his wife!". Turner told the Daily Mail he would not discuss the matter. His sister Brenda confirmed a "very definite attraction" but said Turner was uninterested in royalty and would not have given up his Catholic faith. Turner was the only Canadian unofficial guest at Margaret's wedding to Armstrong-Jones in May 1960 and remained a friend, attending her private funeral in 2002 as Canada's official representative.

Early career and entry into politics

After his studies, Turner practised law with the firm of Stikeman Elliott in Montreal. In 1962, he was elected as the Member of Parliament for St. Lawrence, St. George, a seat he held until the riding's dissolution in 1968. He was then elected for Ottawa, Carleton, serving until 1976. An incident in 1965 highlighted his character while vacationing in Barbados, Turner noticed former prime minister John Diefenbaker struggling in strong surf. Turner, a competitive swimmer from university, jumped in and pulled Diefenbaker to shore, an act that demonstrated his physical courage and quick thinking.

In Parliament, Turner served in the cabinet of Prime Minister Lester Pearson, most notably as Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs. When Pearson retired, the 38-year-old Turner ran to succeed him at the 1968 Liberal leadership convention. As the youngest of a dozen candidates, he stated "My time is now" and remarked during his speech that he was "not here for some vague, future convention in, say, 1984". Turner stayed on until the fourth and final ballot, finishing third behind Pierre Trudeau and runner-up Robert Winters, establishing himself as a significant figure in the party's next generation.

Cabinet minister under Pierre Trudeau

Turner served in Trudeau's cabinet as Minister of Justice and Attorney General from 1968 to 1972. Biographer Paul Litt argues Turner was a hard-working, well-informed minister whose success was assured by his warm relationship with his peers. His achievements included strengthening the rights of individual defendants on trial, creating the influential Law Reform Commission, selecting highly professional judges, and bringing a policy perspective to the Justice Department. He led the government's position on the controversial Official Languages Act and helped manage the federal response during the October Crisis in 1970.

A member of the Business Liberal faction, Turner then served as Minister of Finance from 1972 until his resignation in 1975. He faced severe global challenges including the 1973 oil crisis, the collapse of the Bretton Woods system, stagflation, and growing deficits. His economic positions were more conservative than Trudeau's, creating distance between them. The Liberals had won the 1974 election by attacking Progressive Conservative leader Robert Stanfield's platform of wage and price controls. However, Trudeau decided to implement those controls in late 1975. In a 2013 interview, Turner confirmed his resignation was a direct result of refusing to implement the wage and price controls after campaigning against them. Trudeau's memoirs suggested Turner was also tired after 13 years in Ottawa and sought a better-paying job in Toronto to support his family. As finance minister, Turner presented four federal budgets in 1973, May 1974, November 1974, and 1975.

Bay Street interlude and return to politics

From 1975 to 1984, Turner worked as a corporate lawyer at the Bay Street law firm McMillan Binch. When Pierre Trudeau resigned as Liberal leader following the 1979 election loss, Turner announced he would not be a candidate for the leadership. Trudeau was persuaded to rescind his resignation after Joe Clark's government was defeated on a motion of no confidence, returning to win the 1980 election. Trudeau served until 1984, retiring after polls showed the Liberals faced certain defeat if he remained. Turner then re-entered politics, defeating Jean Chrétien, his successor as finance minister, on the second ballot of the June 1984 Liberal leadership convention.

He was formally appointed prime minister on June 30, 1984. When sworn in, Turner was not an MP or senator, a situation not repeated until Mark Carney in 2025. He announced he would not run in a by-election but would instead run in the next general election as the Liberal candidate in Vancouver Quadra, a Tory-held seat in British Columbia. This was part of his strategy to rebuild the Liberals' image in western Canada, where the party then held no seats west of Winnipeg. In his final days, Trudeau recommended the appointment of over 200 Liberals to patronage positions. Turner allowed these to stand and made a further 19 appointments himself, one of Trudeau's conditions for retiring earlier than planned.

Prime ministership and the 1984 election

John Turner's tenure as prime minister lasted only 79 days, the second-shortest in Canadian history behind Charles Tupper. Only nine days after being sworn in, on July 9, he asked Governor General Jeanne Sauvé to dissolve Parliament and call an election for early September. This surprised opponents who expected a longer government tour. The campaign proved difficult for Turner, who appeared rusty and used outdated language like "make work projects." He was also caught on television patting the bottoms of Liberal Party President Iona Campagnolo and Vice-President Lise St. Martin-Tremblay, causing an uproar among feminists who saw the behaviour as sexist.

During the televised leaders' debate, Turner attacked Brian Mulroney over the patronage machine the latter had allegedly set up. Mulroney responded by pointing to the raft of appointments made on the advice of Trudeau and Turner. Mulroney demanded Turner apologize for "these horrible appointments." Turner claimed, "I had no option" except to let them stand. Mulroney famously retorted, "You had an option, sir, to say 'no', and you chose to say 'yes' to the old attitudes and the old stories of the Liberal Party." Turner discovered late in the campaign that Liberal hopes were poor in Quebec, their traditional stronghold. The party had relied on Trudeau's appeal and patronage, but Turner had surrounded himself with Trudeau's factional opponents and received no endorsement from Trudeau himself. Quebec's disaffection over the 1982 constitutional patriation further contributed to the defeat, which Mulroney harnessed by promising a new constitutional agreement.

On September 4, the Liberals were swept from power in a historic landslide. They were cut down to 40 seats, the fewest in party history until 2011, against 211 for the Progressive Conservatives. In Quebec, the Liberals won only 17 seats, all but four in and around Montreal. Eleven members of Turner's cabinet were defeated. Turner stepped down as prime minister on September 17. Along with Tupper and later Kim Campbell, Turner was a prime minister who never faced a parliament or implemented any legislative initiative.

Leader of the Opposition

Despite the national rout, Turner managed to defeat the Tory incumbent in Vancouver Quadra, Bill Clarke, by 3,200 votes, becoming Leader of the Opposition. He was the only Liberal MP from British Columbia and one of only two from west of Ontario. With the Liberals at their worst showing and the NDP close behind with 30 seats, some pundits speculated the party might follow the British Liberals into oblivion. The Liberals used their large Senate majority, built up over years of Liberal governments, to stall Mulroney's legislation. A group of young Liberal MPs known as the "Rat Pack," including Sheila Copps, Brian Tobin, Don Boudria, and John Nunziata, aggressively opposed the government in the Commons.

Turner's leadership was frequently questioned, and a vote of confidence loomed at the 1986 Liberal convention. The popular Jean Chrétien resigned his seat, creating a stir in caucus. Senior Liberal Keith Davey publicly voiced concerns with Turner's leadership, coinciding with backroom struggles involving Chrétien's supporters. Turner led the Liberals into the 1988 election, campaigning vigorously against Mulroney's proposed Canada, United States Free Trade Agreement. Despite this improvement, Turner resigned as party leader in 1990 and did not seek re-election as an MP in the 1993 federal election.

Personal life, family, and later years

John Turner married Geills McCrae Kilgour on May 11, 1963. She was a systems engineer with IBM and the great niece of Canadian Army doctor John McCrae, author of "In Flanders Fields." Her brother, David Kilgour, served as a long-time Canadian MP. The Turners had four children: daughter Elizabeth and sons Michael, David, and Andrew. The children attended Rockcliffe Park Public School in Ottawa, and the three sons went to Upper Canada College in Toronto. David Turner died in 2021. The family maintained a residence in Ottawa throughout Turner's political career.

After leaving politics, Turner lived a private life. He was Canada's fifth longest-lived prime minister, dying at the age of 91 on September 19, 2020. His death prompted national reflection on a career that spanned three decades at the highest levels of Canadian public life. He was remembered for his service as a respected cabinet minister, a prime minister who led during a period of great electoral change, and an opposition leader who mounted a principled campaign on a major national issue.

Questions about John Turner

How long was John Turner prime minister?

John Turner served as prime minister for only 79 days, from June 30 to September 17, 1984. This makes him the second shortest-serving prime minister in Canadian history, behind only Sir Charles Tupper. His brief tenure resulted from calling an election just nine days after being sworn in, which led to a landslide defeat. He never faced Parliament or passed any legislation during his time in office.

Why did John Turner resign as finance minister in 1975?

John Turner resigned as Minister of Finance in 1975 primarily over a policy disagreement with Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau regarding wage and price controls. The Liberals had won the 1974 election by campaigning against such controls, but Trudeau decided to implement them in late 1975. Turner refused to carry out this policy, leading to his resignation. Trudeau's memoirs also suggested Turner wanted a better-paying job in Toronto to support his family after 13 years in Ottawa.

Was John Turner married to Princess Margaret?

No, John Turner was not married to Princess Margaret. They had a well-documented friendship and romantic speculation followed their meetings in 1958 and 1959. Letters from the princess later referenced that she "nearly married him. Turner, however, married Geills McCrae Kilgour in 1963. He remained a lifelong friend of Princess Margaret, attending her wedding in 1960 and her funeral in 2002 as Canada's official representative.

Where was John Turner born?

John Turner was born in Richmond, Surrey, England, on June 7, 1929. He moved to Canada at age three after his father's death, settling with his Canadian-born mother in Rossland, British Columbia. This made him Canada's first prime minister born in the United Kingdom since Mackenzie Bowell in 1896. He was educated in Canada and England, attending the University of British Columbia and Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar.

What happened to John Turner after he left politics?

After resigning as Liberal leader in 1990 and not seeking re-election in 1993, John Turner retired from political life. He lived privately until his death at age 91 on September 19, 2020. In his later years, he was remembered for his service as a cabinet minister, prime minister, and opposition leader. His death prompted national reflection on his career during a period of significant change in Canadian politics.

Sources: Wikipedia and current public reporting, checked by the Nosy Mag desk. Last updated 2026-10-22.