Party President Robert Stanfield won this convention handily defeating C. Fred Fraser 246-76 on November 10, 1948. Stanfield would go on to become premier from 1956 to 1967. In 1967, he won the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada and led that party for another nine years.
1967 leadership convention
With Stanfield's election as federal leader, the provincial leadership and premiership opened up. His long-time right-hand man, G.I. (Ike) Smith, ran for the leadership and was acclaimed on November 4, 1967.
1971 leadership convention
Three candidates, all in their thirties, ran for the leadership of the opposition Tories. Two former cabinet ministers, Gerry Doucet, the 33-year-old MLA for Richmond, and John Buchanan, the 39-year-old MLA for Halifax Atlantic were running against the 36-year-old mayor of Dartmouth, Rollie Thornhill.
After a couple of decades, including 12 years as premier, John Buchanan resigned the party leadership when he was summoned to the Senate.
Four candidates fought to succeed him as premier. Rollie Thornhill, from the 1971 race, would make a second run for the leadership, this time after sitting in the House as the MLA for Dartmouth South for 17 years. Caucus colleagues running were Donald Cameron, the MLA for Pictou East who entered the House when Thornhill did; and Tom McInnis, the 13-year MLA for Eastern Shore. Rounding out the field was Clair Callaghan, the principal of the Technical University of Nova Scotia (now part of Dalhousie University), and a candidate in the 1988 general election.
The election was conducted on a One Member One Vote basis, weighted so that each electoral district being allocated 100 points, which were distributed proportionally according to each candidate's level of support.[2]
