Many Ontario political leaders have made mistakes and recovered. But can Progressive Conservative leader John Tory?

Tory blundered massively in the Oct 10 election by promising to fund private faith-based schools, which many voters felt would further divide students and the community.

John Robarts, Conservative premier from 1961to 1971, usually is thought of as the steady, reliable, unflappable "chairman of the board," so respected when he left provincial politics a federal government grabbed him to head a commission to shape national unity.

But in 1964, Robarts tried to counter growing organized crime by introducing legislation, quickly labeled "the police state bill," that would have given the then Ontario Police Commission power to call people before it in secret, question them and demand they produce documents. If they refused, it could have jailed them indefinitely until they complied. It was an unprecedented breach of the province's tradition of protecting civil rights.

At a news conference this writer attended, Robarts' attorney general, Fred Cass, admitted the new law was "dangerous" and some Conservative MPPs said they and their constituents were appalled.

Rights activists picketed the legislature, Cass resigned and an unknown Liberal backbencher, Andrew Thompson, passionately denounced the bill and on the strength of this was catapulted into his party's vacant leadership, where he remained briefly and unnoticed until being appointed to the Senate, where he became its most absent member in history.

Slow to grasp the impact of his legislation, Robarts eventually withdrew it in humiliation and there was even speculation that his political career might be damaged irretrievably.

But the premier rehabilitated himself by modernizing education and building links to Quebec. Three years later he won a second election and was able to retire undefeated.

Premier William Davis lost the PC party's customary majority in 1975, particularly because his government was seen giving favours to donors to his party, and failed to recover it two years later, after he contrived to be defeated in the legislature on a minor vote he argued was one of confidence, but voters saw through it.

But Davis hung on, stifling party members who wanted him replaced as leader and re-making himself partly by accepting opposition policies including rent controls, He won back his majority and became the longest-serving premier of recent decades.

Premier Dalton McGuinty is among those who were forgiven by voters, because in opposition before the 2003 election he promised his Liberals would not increase taxes, but in office quickly imposed a health tax collecting more than $2 billion a year.

McGuinty claimed with justification that it was partly the Conservatives' fault, because the outgoing Ernie Eves government pretended it had balanced its books, while concealing a massive deficit.

For four years his party were called "Fiberals" and McGuinty dubbed "McLiar," but lived this down enough to be re-elected, with much help from Tory's blunder on schools.

Some opposition leaders similarly have been able to continue despite fumbles. Liberal Robert Nixon was allowed to lead his party in 1967, 1971 and 1975, although some thought he threw away at least one opportunity by attacking Davis's personal integrity, but the Conservatives always had more troops and money.

Another Liberal leader, psychiatrist Stuart Smith, had chances in 1977 and 1981 and failed both times, partly because he lacked political smarts. On one cold campaign night in Sault Ste. Marie he said he was glad it was nearly over, because he'd never have to go there again in winter, which did not warm northerners to him.

Stephen Lewis led the New Democrats in three elections, but he had special speaking talents that made him hard to let go, and New Democrats realistically did not expect to win under any leader.

This shows parties have allowed leaders to stay on after they stumbled, but it can be argued Tory made the worst blunder of any in throwing away an election in which he had a reasonable chance, something for which there is no precise precedent.