The Canadian federal election of 1993 was held on October 25, 1993. Fourteen parties competed for the 295 seats in the Canadian House of Commons at that time. It was one of the most eventful elections in Canadian history, with more than half of the electorate switching parties from the 1988 election. The election was called by new Progressive Conservative Party leader Kim Campbell, near the end of her party's five-year mandate. Despite an unpopular legacy from the Brian Mulroney years, Conservative support had recovered in the lead-up to the election, and was near the rival Liberals when the writs were dropped. However, this momentum did not last, and the Conservatives suffered the worst defeat in their history. The PCs lost more than half their vote from 1988 and were reduced to only two seats. The Liberals, led by Jean Chrétien, won a strong majority in the House and formed the next government of Canada.

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_federal_election%2C_1993

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

467: Anthemius became Emperor of the Western Roman Empire. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthemius)

1633: The formal interrogation of Galileo Galilei by the Inquisition began. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galileo_Galilei)

1961: Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first man to enter outer space. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuri_Gagarin)

1980: Terry Fox dipped his artificial leg in the Atlantic Ocean and began running his Marathon of Hope towards the Pacific Ocean to raise funds across Canada for cancer research. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marathon_of_Hope)

1981: Columbia, the first space shuttle, was launched for its first flight. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Shuttle_Columbia)

_____________________ Wikiquote of the day:

"Man is a creature of hope and invention, both of which belie the idea that things cannot be changed." -- Tom Clancy (http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Tom_Clancy)