Disillusioned with the crushing cynicism of Canadian federal politics, speechwriter Daniel Addison finally has enough when he catches his girlfriend criticizing his political boss. Unfortunately, the party's top political genius forces Daniel to first find a candidate and run an election campaign in a desperate race before he can resign. Daniel eventually finds a candidate in Angus McLintock, an eccentric engineering professor who agrees to the terms that Daniel teach his engineering English course and not campaign himself. With his fictional campaign in place, everything begins to go awry as these schemers find themselves in a race where their unorthodox acts and goals begin to energize her. Now Daniel, inspired by the idealism of his followers, especially the lovely daughter of a veteran volunteer, discovers that it's a fight to be won despite his best efforts.