The death of former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney last week was met by sadness in many quarters as leaders in Canada and abroad honoured his legacy. And while there was some revisionism on the former prime minister’s record going on, positive or negative, depending on where those asked stood politically, for the most part all sides agreed that Mulroney was an instrumental figure in modern Canadian history.
The deep-voiced Irishman from Baie-Comeau, Quebec came into office as a soothing figure after years of contentious political and social battles under the former prime minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau. Mulroney beguiled Canadians and world leaders alike with his charm and wit, and created a strong relationship with Cold War allies Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, (who could forget their impromptu duet singing “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling” in 1985?), and later established an equally strong relationship with Reagan’s successor President George H.W. Bush.
Mulroney eventually became a close personal friend, and was one of the few asked to speak at Bush Senior’s funeral in 2018.
Mulroney parlayed these close relationships into establishing the first Free Trade agreement between the U.S. and Canada. While controversial at the time, Mulroney’s vision has proven to be a boon to Canada’s ongoing prosperity and a legacy to be proud of.
What wrecked Mulroney and led to his exit from office a few short years after winning the biggest majority in Canada’s history in 1984, and what also led to the eventual annihilation of the Progressive Conservative party, wasn’t his international achievements, but rather his decision to re-open the Canadian constitution debate during the Meech Lake Accords with disastrous consequences to the unity of the country, and his introduction of the perpetually unpopular GST.
However, recent history has judged Mulroney more kindly even in these old debates.
RIP, Sir.
