Joe Clark spent his last day in parliament Thursday, where colleagues offered a farewell full of respect that was oftentimes missing during his long career.

"His commitment to progressive conservatism never wavered," Deputy Prime Minister Anne McLellan said Thursday in the House of Commons, noting his fight against apartheid in South Africa as one example.

Clark, first elected in Alberta's Rocky Mountain riding in 1972, will not be running again in the upcoming election. The House will adjourn Friday and take a one-week break, with an election call expected for May 23.

An outspoken opponent of the merger between the Progressive Conservative and Canadian Alliance parties, he repeated his concerns after he left the Commons Thursday.

"I'm troubled by the disappearance of my party," he told reporters.

In the Commons, Stephen Harper, the leader of the new party, tried to be gracious.

"We've been political opponents. But in this business, while it may colour one's perspective, it should not blind one to the abilities and accomplishments of others," he said.

A few weeks before, Clark had said he would prefer to see Paul Martin remain prime minister rather than see the nation's top job go to Harper, whom he characterized as a right-wing extremist.

Harper's supporters had then characterized Clark as a "bitter old man" and a "traitor."

Joe Who

Born in High River, Alberta, the 64-year-old Clark was a lifelong politician.

He became Progressive Conservative  leader in 1976, a compromise candidate between a brash Montreal lawyer named Brian Mulroney and Quebec veteran Claude Wagner. He became known to political wags as Joe Who?

In 1979, at the age of 39, he defeated the 11-year-old Liberal government of Pierre Trudeau.

However, in a legendary act of political misjudgment, his government lost a vote of confidence on its budget -- something for which many power-hungry Tories never forgave him.

Trudeau was enticed to cancel his resignation and led the Liberals to another four-year majority.

In another act that could be seen as either principled or an example of bad judgment, Clark announced that leadership review win of 66 per cent wasn't enough, and triggered a leadership contest.

He was defeated by Mulroney, who went on to lead the Tories to two consecutive majorities.

Clark served as a cabinet minister with Mulroney, occupying the foreign affairs and constitutional affairs portfolios.

He retired from elected politics in 1993. In the federal election that year, under Kim Campbell's leadership, the Tories fell to two seats in the House of Commons.

By 1998, he was persuaded to come back and lead his struggling party after Jean Charest left to lead the Quebec Liberal Party.

He returned to Parliament in a 2000 byelection, then won his Calgary Centre seat in the general election that year.

Clark stepped down as Tory leader last year, replaced by Nova Scotia MP Peter MacKay -- who went on to orchestrate a merger with the Alliance, after agreeing during the leadership convention to not do so.

Joe pays tribute to family

After the chants of "Joe! Joe!" quieted down, Clark, his voice breaking, paid tribute to the support of his family.

While all family members of politicians have a burden to sacrifice, he said, "in no case has it been more true than in the case of Maureen McTeer and Catherine Clark," his wife and daughter respectively. They smiled back at him.

His final wish for his colleagues and opponents in Parliament?

"I hope my colleagues in the House are able to draw as much satisfaction from your public service as I have from mine."

Clark's post-politics plans include writing his memoirs, doing some consulting and teaching and living outside of Canada for a year, possibly in either Washington, Los Angeles or London.