Brian Mulroney

Biography

Martin Brian Mulroney (March 20, 1939 – February 29, 2024) was a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. He led the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada and served as a member of Parliament (MP) from 1983 to 1993.

Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studied political science and law. He then moved to Montreal and gained prominence as a labour lawyer. He ran for leader of the Progressive Conservative Party in 1976, placing third. He was appointed as president of the Iron Ore Company of Canada in 1977. In 1983, Mulroney defeated former prime minister Joe Clark to become leader of the Progressive Conservatives. Mulroney led the party to a landslide victory in the 1984 federal election, winning the second-largest percentage of seats in Canadian history—at 74.8%—and receiving over 50% of the popular vote. He led the party to a second majority government in the 1988 federal election.

Mulroney's tenure as prime minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the goods and services tax (GST) which was created to replace the manufacturers' sales tax, and the privatization of 23 of 61 of Canada's Crown corporations, including Air Canada and Petro-Canada. In constitutional affairs, Mulroney attempted to secure Quebec's support of the 1982 constitutional amendments by introducing the Meech Lake Accord and the Charlottetown Accord. Both proposed recognizing Quebec as a distinct society, extending provincial powers, and extensively changing the Canadian constitution; however, the accords failed to be ratified, and the Meech Lake Accord's demise revived Quebec separatism, leading to the formation of the Bloc Québécois. Mulroney faced criticism for his response to the Air India Flight 182 bombing, the largest mass killing in Canadian history. In 1993, his government signed the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, leading to the creation of the territory of Nunavut. In foreign policy, Mulroney's government strengthened Canada's ties with the United States, ordered military intervention in the Gulf War, and played a leading role within the Commonwealth to sanction the apartheid regime in South Africa. He made environmental protection a priority by securing a treaty with the United States on acid rain, making Canada the first developed country to ratify the Convention on Biological Diversity, adding eight national parks, and passing the 1988 Environmental Protection Act and the 1992 Environmental Assessment Act.

The unpopularity of the GST and the controversy surrounding its passage in the Senate, combined with the early 1990s recession, the prevalence of Canada's chronic budget deficit, the collapse of the Charlottetown Accord, and the rise of the Bloc and the Reform Party (the latter a result of growing Western alienation), caused a stark decline in Mulroney's popularity. He resigned in June 1993 and was succeeded by his cabinet minister Kim Campbell. In the election later that year, the Progressive Conservatives were reduced from a parliamentary caucus of 156 to two, with its support being eroded by the Bloc and Reform parties. In his retirement, Mulroney served as an international business consultant and sat on the board of directors of multiple corporations. Although he places above average in rankings of Canadian prime ministers, his legacy remains controversial. He was criticized for his role in the resurgence of Quebec nationalism and accused of corruption in the Airbus affair, a scandal which came to light several years after he left office.