It unexpectedly elected Joe Clark, a 36-year-old, little-known PC Member of Parliament from Alberta as the party's new leader.

Mulroney was slightly ahead of the rest of the chasing pack, but still over seven percentage points behind Wagner, who was now the clear front-runner.

Grafftey was automatically eliminated after finishing in last place, with Gillies and Stevens dropping out of their own accord; all three endorsed Clark.

MacDonald, having remained on the second ballot in the hope that she might pick up some Red Tory delegates from the candidates who dropped out, likewise earned only a small number of extra delegates; realizing that the situation was hopeless and that she would most likely be eliminated next if she remained on the ballot, she withdrew and threw her support behind Clark, as did Fraser, who was automatically eliminated in this round.

Ultimately, Mulroney's delegates were sufficiently favourable to Clark to afford him a narrow victory on the final ballot.