Callbeck was elected leader of the PEI Liberal Party, succeeding Premier Joseph Ghiz.
On January 23, 1993, Catherine Callbeck was elected leader of the Liberal Party of Prince Edward Island, succeeding the popular outgoing premier Joseph Ghiz, who had stepped down from provincial politics.
This leadership convention victory was a milestone moment: Callbeck became the first woman to lead a major provincial political party in Prince Edward Island, positioning her to potentially become the province's first female head of government. Her selection reflected her long tenure in provincial and federal politics, including her service as an MLA, cabinet minister, and later as a Member of Parliament for Malpeque starting in 1988.
Because the Liberal Party held a majority in the legislature at the time, her election as party leader meant she would automatically become Premier upon being sworn in — a historic first for a woman in the province's history and, within weeks, in Canadian history as a whole. Her leadership campaign emphasized fiscal responsibility, rural development, and continuity of Liberal governance, themes that would carry into her subsequent election campaign as premier.