Under the leadership of Trudeau, Liberals held the reins of power in a series of close elections (except in 1979, when a minority Tory regime seized control under Joseph Clark). Headed by David Lewis, the New Democratic Party held the balance of power in the liberal minority government.
The Nova Scotia Court of Appeal overturned the 1971 murder conviction of Native American Donald Marshall. The court revealed a gross miscarriage of justice in the earlier case and ordered Marshall's release, after he had served 11 years in prison for a crime that he did not commit.
John Turner replaced Trudeau as prime minister, dissolved Parliament, and called for new elections, which he lost to the Progressive Conservative Brian Mulroney, who served through 1993.
The Supreme Court of Canada declared abortion law to be in conflict with the nation's Charter of Rights. Dr. Henry Morgentaler had helped polarize Canadian opinion on the subject when he defied earlier legal constraints and continued to perform abortions.
The Meech Lake Agreement to protect Quebec's autonomy gave Quebec veto over most amendments to the constitution, but failed passage (June 1990) after Manitoba's Indian leader Elijah Harper and Newfoundland's Clyde Wells refused to endorse the measure.
