Former Progressive Conservative Party leader Robert Stanfield had few misgivings at the end of a long political life that led many to conclude he was the best prime minister Canada never had.
However, he said his one regret as leader of the Opposition was giving Pierre Trudeau the benefit of the doubt over the invocation of the War Measures Act. Stanfield later admitted he wished he had dissented, instead of supporting a policy he said encouraged “confrontation, escalation and disillusionment.”
