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John Turner Quotes

John Napier Wyndham Turner is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 17th prime minister of Canada from June 30 to September 17, 1984.

In his political career, Turner held several prominent Cabinet posts, including Minister of Justice and Minister of Finance, under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau from 1968 to 1975. Amid a global recession and the prospect of having to implement the unpopular wage and price controls, Turner surprisingly resigned his position in 1975. After a hiatus from politics from 1975 to 1984, Turner returned and successfully contested the Liberal leadership. Turner held the office of Prime Minister for 79 days , as he advised the Governor General to dissolve Parliament immediately after being sworn in, and went on to lose the 1984 election in a landslide. Turner stayed on as Liberal leader and led the Opposition for the next six years, leading his party to a modest recovery in the 1988 election; he resigned as Liberal leader in 1990 and stepped down as an MP at the 1993 election. Turner was Canada's first Prime Minister born in the United Kingdom since Mackenzie Bowell in 1896. At age 90, Turner is currently the oldest living former Canadian Prime Minister. Wikipedia  

✵ 7. June 1929
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John Turner: 7   quotes 0   likes

Famous John Turner Quotes

“I'm not just in this race so you will remember my name at some future date. I'm not here now for some next time. I am not bidding now for your consideration for some vague convention in 1984- perhaps when I've mellowed a bit. My time is now and now is no time for mellow men!”

John Turner

1968 Liberal Party Leadership convention speech, April 5, 1968. Turner would, in fact, win the 1984 convention rather than the 1968 one. ( http://ms.radio-canada.ca/archives_new/2006/en/wmv/turner19680405et1.wmv)

“I think the issues happen to be so important for the future of Canada. (spoken over Brian Mulroney's objections) I happen to believe that you've sold us out…once any country yields its economic levers, once a country yields its investments, once a country yields its energy, once a country yields its agriculture, once a country opens itself to a subsidy war with the United States on terms of definition, then the political ability of this country to sustain the influence of the United States, to remain as an independent nation- that is lost forever!”

John Turner

Attacking the Free Trade agreement in the 1988 Federal Election debate, October 25, 1988.
Source: https://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/mulroney-battles-turner-on-free-trade-in-1988

“I'm not going to allow Mr. Mulroney to sell out our birthright, I'm not going to let Mr. Mulroney destroy a great 120 year old dream called Canada.”

John Turner

repeated comment during 1988 Federal Election campaign in opposition to the Free Trade Agreement.( http://archives.cbc.ca/programs/730-6569/page/5/)

“I've told you and I've told the Canadian people, Mr. Mulroney, that I had no option.”

John Turner

Defending patronage appointments in the 1984 Federal Election debate, July 25, 1984.
Source: https://www.cbc.ca/archives/entry/mulroney-battles-turner-on-free-trade-in-1988

“In opposition, there's not much one can do. One doesn't have the carrot and one doesn't have the stick. One can't promote and one can't fire. And persuasion has its limits.”

John Turner

Explaining why he did not punish objectors to his Liberal Party leadership, published in the Toronto Star, June 19, 1990.

“In any democracy, there is always a tug-of-war between policies to achieve equality and policies to promote excellence. I am certain that Canada can achieve both equality and excellence.”

John Turner

1968 Liberal Party Leadership convention speech, April 5, 1968. ( http://ms.radio-canada.ca/archives_new/2006/en/wmv/turner19680405et1.wmv)

“I think the Canadian people have a right to know: Why, when your primary objective was to get unfettered and secure access into the American Market we didn't get it. Why you didn't put clauses in to protect our social programs in this negotiation we'll have on the definition of subsidies where the heavy weight of the American Republic will be put in against us. Why did that not happen? Why also, did we get a situation where we surrendered our Energy policy to the United States, something which they'd been trying to achieve since 1956? Why did we abandon our farmers? Why did we open our Capital Markets so that a Canadian Bank can be bought up and we don't have reciprocal rights into the American Market at all? And why did you remove any ability to control the Canadian ownership of our businesses? These are questions that Canadians deserve to have an answer to, and we have not had an opportunity in six hours to deal with them in a way that would make you come out of your shell!”

John Turner

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