The 1976 Progressive Conservative leadership election was held at the Ottawa Civic Centre in Ottawa on February 22, 1976, to elect a leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada to replace Robert Stanfield, who had resigned after losing the 1968, 1972, and 1974 elections. It unexpectedly elected Joe Clark, a 36-year-old, little-known PC Member of Parliament from Alberta as the party's new leader. Clark defeated Claude Wagner on the fourth ballot of the convention by a margin of 65 votes.
- Joe Clark, 36, had been the Member of Parliament for Rocky Mountain, Alberta since the 1972 federal election. A Red Tory, in his youth he had served two terms as president of the Progressive Conservative Youth wing. Prior to being elected to parliament, Clark was a journalist, political science teacher, and party worker.