Tom Wappel - 1988 Election

1988 Election

Wappel won the Scarborough West Liberal nomination in 1988 in a surprising upset over Patrick Johnston, a star candidate who had been personally recruited by party leader John Turner. His campaign was supported by members of the anti-abortion group Campaign Life, and his election platform included a pledge of "respect for human life, from conception to the natural end of life". He also opposed the Canada-United States free trade agreement, and criticized the media for portraying him as a single-issue candidate. He won a narrow victory in the general election, defeating Progressive Conservative incumbent Reg Stackhouse by 440 votes.

During the election, Campaign Life activists circulated a pamphlet that accused Stackhouse of supporting "baby-killing" in some circumstances. There is no evidence that Wappel personally endorsed the pamphlet.

The Progressive Conservatives won a majority government in 1988, and Wappel entered parliament as a member of the opposition. John Turner resigned as party leader in 1989, and a new leadership contest was called to select his replacement.