•
Harold Lloyd Henderson, 51, Mayor of
Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. •
Paul Martin Sr., 54, former Minister of National Health and Welfare (1946–1957), MP for
Essex East, Ontario since 1935. •
Lester B. Pearson, 60, former Secretary of State for External Affairs (1948–1957), MP for
Algoma East, Ontario since 1948.
Donald Hugh Mackay, Mayor of Calgary, withdrew his candidacy a week before the convention. Former Finance Minister
Walter Edward Harris, who had lost his seat in the election, had initially been expected to be Pearson's main competitor but did not run. Newfoundland MP and former Minister for Citizenship and Immigration
Jack Pickersgill was also expected to run but did not stand. Other names mentioned as possible candidates were former Fisheries Minister and British Columbia MP
James Sinclair (
Coast—Capilano), former Transport Minister and Montreal MP
George Carlyle Marler (
Saint-Antoine—Westmount), and former Public Works Minister
Robert Winters who had lost his
Queens—Lunenburg, Nova Scotia seat in the election. Pearson was the choice of the party establishment, had strong support from MPs in Quebec and Toronto, and won overwhelmingly on the first ballot and was also helped by being awarded the 1957
Nobel Peace Prize weeks before the convention. Martin, who had been on the left of the St. Laurent cabinet, attempted to appeal to the rank-and-file, ==Results==