Joe Clark - Early Political Career

Early Political Career

Clark first became active in politics at the university level. He competed with the University of Alberta Debate Society. He served as President of the University of Alberta Young Progressive Conservatives, and eventually served as national president for the young PCs group. Clark sparred with future political rival Preston Manning in debate forums on campus between the Young PCs and the Youth League of the Alberta Social Credit Party. Clark encountered another future rival when he met Brian Mulroney at a national Young PCs meeting in 1958.

Clark spent time in France to improve his fluency in the French language, and also took courses in French while he was living in Ottawa. He eventually became comfortable speaking and answering questions in French, which helped his political standing in Quebec.

Clark was keenly aware from a very young age of the politics of Canada. In his youth, Clark was an admirer of Progressive Conservative leader and Canadian Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, and he eventually entered politics himself at the provincial level at the age of 28. He was unsuccessful in his first foray into politics as an official constituency candidate for the provincial Progressive Conservatives in the 1967 provincial election. Clark served as a chief assistant to provincial opposition leader and future Premier Peter Lougheed, and served in the office of federal Opposition leader Robert Stanfield, learning the inner workings of government. Clark missed being elected to the Alberta Legislative Assembly in the 1971 provincial election. However, he ran in the federal election held a year later, and was elected to Parliament as the MP for Rocky Mountain, a largely rural riding in southwestern Alberta.

Clark was the first Canadian politician to take a strong stand for decriminalization of marijuana in Canada, and for a guaranteed minimum income for everyone; both positions were characteristic of the Red Tories. In many ways his social liberalism was as bold in the 1970s as Trudeau's was in the 1960s. These positions put Clark at odds with the right-wing members of his caucus, several members of which were not afraid to confront him. For example, in the lead-up to the 1979 election when Clark's riding was merged into the riding of another Tory MP during a redistribution of ridings, the other MP refused to step aside (even though Clark was now party leader), forcing Clark to run in nearby Yellowhead.