Turner was elected as a member of Parliament in 1962. He held several positions in Cabinet, including minister of justice and minister of finance under Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau from 1968 to 1975. He resigned his ministry in 1975, and took a break from politics until 1984. During this time, he worked as a lawyer in Toronto. In 1984, Turner returned and successfully ran for the leadership of the Liberal Party. Turner held the office of Prime Minister for just 79 days. Immediately after being sworn in as Prime Minister, he dissolved Parliament and called for new elections. He lost that election by a wide margin. Turner remained as leader of the Liberal Party, and was the Leader of the Opposition for the next six years. His party slightly recovered in the 1988 election. Turner resigned as Opposition leader in 1990, and retired from politics in 1993. He worked as a lawyer he stopped being a politician.