Brian Mulroney
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| In office September 17, 1984 – June 25, 1993 | |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Progressive Conservative |
Brian Mulroney (born March 20, 1939) was the eighteenth Prime Minister of Canada from September 17, 1984, to June 25, 1993. According to Canadian protocol, as a former Prime Minister, he is styled "The Right Honourable" for life.
Born in Baie-Comeau, Quebec, Brian Mulroney became Prime Minister after his Progressive Conservative Party won the most parliamentary seats in Canadian history. At the time, Mulroney was unique in Canadian politics in that he had never been a career politician. Instead he was a longtime businessman and he had become leader of the Progressive Conservative Party without any political experience, running as an outsider.
Background
The son of Irish Canadian Catholic parents, Benedict and Irene (O'Shea) Mulroney. Benedict Mulroney was a paper mill electrician, and Brian received his high school education at a Roman Catholic boarding school in Chatham, New Brunswick operated by St. Thomas University. He graduated with an undergraduate degree from Saint Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, where he was a nationally ranked debater.
He then obtained a law degree from Université Laval in Quebec City. After graduation, he joined a Montreal law firm now called Ogilvy Renault, and on May 26, 1973, he married Mila Pivnicki, the daughter of ethnic Serb immigrants. The Mulroneys have four children: Nicolas, Mark, Ben and Caroline.
University
Mulroney would attend a Progressive Conservative leadership convention while still a student at Saint Francis Xavier University. While intially undecided, Mulroney would be captivated by John Diefenbaker. Mulroney would join a group named the "Youth for Diefenbaker" committee which was led by Ted Rogers, a future scion of Canadian business. Mulroney would strike an early friendship with Diefenbaker, and would often surprise his classmates by calling Diefenbaker on the phone during parties or bringing him into class. After graduating from St. Francis Xavier, Mulroney at first pursued a law degree from Dalhousie University. It was around this time that Mulroney would also cultivate friendships with the Tory premier of Nova Scotia Robert Stanfield, and his chief advisor Dalton Camp. It is a minor bit of controversy as to whether Mulroney failed out of his first year, or whether he simply transferred to the University of Laval in Quebec City.
In Quebec City, Mulroney was able to befriend Daniel Johnson Sr who would later become Premier of Quebec. At Laval, Mulroney was able to build a network of friends that would play a prominent role in Canadian politics for years to come. This included Lucien Bouchard, Bernard Roy, who was to serve as his chief advisor and later be chief prosecutor during the Gomery Inquiry, Michael Meighen, who would serve as a future President of the PC party (Mulroney would later name him a senator), Jean Bazin, and Peter White, who would later help business mogul Conrad Black build his Hollinger empire. During this time, Mulroney was still involved in the Conservative youth wing and was acquainted with the President of the Student Federation, Joe Clark.
It was at this time that Dalton Camp, who was now President of the Progressive Conservative Party, asked for the party to conduct a review of Diefenbaker's leadership. Camp's re-election campaign as party president was largely seen as a vote on Diefenbaker's leadership. Mulroney joined with most of his generation in supporting Camp and opposing Diefenbaker, but due to his past friendship with Diefenbaker, he attempted to stay out of the spotlight. With Camp's narrow victory, Diefenbaker called for a leadership convention in 1967. Mulroney joined with Joe Clark and others in supporting former Justice minister E. Davie Fulton. However, once Fulton dropped off the ballot, Mulroney helped in swinging most of his organization over to Robert Stanfield. Due to his previous friendship with Camp and Stanfield, Mulroney would become a chief advisor to the new leader in Quebec.
Gaining Publicity
After graduating from Laval, Mulroney would join the Montreal law firm now known as Ogilvy Renault. Mulroney would fail his bar exams, but amazingly, the firm would keep him due to his charming personality. After finally passing his bar exams, Mulroney became a labour lawyer, which was then a new and exciting field of law in Quebec. He would gain notoriety for ending several strikes along the Montreal waterfront where he would meet fellow lawyer W. David Angus. Angus would later serve as the Progressive Conservative party's chief fundraiser as well as Brian Mulroney's during his leadership campaigns. As Prime Minister, Mulroney would name Angus a senator.
Mulroney's reputation was further enhanced when he ended a strike that was considered impossible to resolve at the Montreal newspaper La Presse In doing so, Mulroney became friends with the paper's owner, Canadian business mogul Paul Desmarais.
Mulroney's big break would come during the Cliche Commission in 1973. There was labour turmoil in the St. James Bay dam facility which was then being constructed. Quebec premier Robert Bourassa set up a commission to investigate the matter. To ensure the commission was non-partisan, Bourassa placed Robert Cliche, a former leader of the provincial New Democratic Party party in charge. Cliche asked Mulroney, a former student of his, to join the commission. Mulroney would ask his friend, Lucien Bouchard, to be the third member. The committee's unravellings made Mulroney well-known in Quebec. A notable incident included the revelation that the controversy may have involved the office of the Premier of Quebec. Although Lucien Bouchard favoured calling in Robert Bourassa in as a witness, Mulroney refused deeming it a violation of 'executive privilege'. From this act, Mulroney and Bourassa would later cultivate a lifelong friendship that would turn out to be extremely beneficial when Mulroney ran for his re-election in 1988.
Rise to the top
Robert Stanfield, leader of the Progressive Conservative party would once again lose to Pierre Trudeau in the 1974 election. Following his third consecutive loss, Stanfield decided to resign the leadership. Mulroney was encouraged to run in the race to replace Stanfield. In the 1976 leadership convention, Mulroney would spend an estimated $500,000 (at the time an incredible sum), but would falter on the fourth ballot to Joe Clark.
Following the Convention, Mulroney took the job of Executive Vice President of the Iron Ore Company of Canada, a joint subsidiary of three major U.S. steel corporations. In 1977, he was appointed company President. Under his leadership, the company was sold off to foreign interests. By mid-1983, Joe Clark's leadership of the Progressive Conservative party was being questioned. Mulroney organized to defeat Clark at the party's leadership review. When Clark received an endorsement by less than 67 percent of delegates at the party convention, Clark resigned from the leadership, resulting in the 1983 leadership convention. Brian Mulroney was again a candidate, and he campaigned more shrewdly than he had done seven years before. He was elected party leader on June 11, 1983, beating Clark on the fourth ballot. He attracted broad support from the many factions of the party, especially from representatives of his native Quebec. Two months later, Mulroney entered Parliament as the MP for Central Nova in Nova Scotia, winning a by-election in what was then considered a safe Tory seat after Elmer MacKay stood down in his favour.
When Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau retired in June 1984, the Liberal Party chose John Turner as its new leader. Turner called a general election for September. Mulroney is remembered for his performance in the debate in which he attacked Turner for not cancelling patronage appointments made by Trudeau shortly before Trudeau left office. Ironically, Turner had planned to attack Mulroney over the patronage machine that the latter had set up in anticipation of victory. However, Mulroney successfully turned the tables by pointing to Turner's recent patronage appointments. When Turner said, "I had no option" except to keep the appointments, Mulroney famously responded, "You had an option, sir; you could have said 'no.'" Many observers considered the debate as the turning point in the campaign.
The election resulted in a massive landslide for the Progressive Conservatives. They won 211 seats to the Liberals' 40. It was the largest number of seats ever won in the House of Commons. They also won half the popular vote and led in every province, emerging as a national party for the first time since 1958. Mulroney himself yielded Central Nova back to McKay in order to run in the eastern Quebec riding of Manicouagan, which included Baie-Comeau.
In 1984, when the Canadian Press named Mulroney "Newsmaker of the Year," it was the second straight year he got the honour. The year before, he got the honour when named Progressive Conservative leader. Because he got the honours those two years, he became the second prime minister to have received the honour both before becoming prime minister and when prime minister (the other being Lester Pearson).
Prime Minister
First Term
The first PC majority in 22 years was considered by many to be a breath of fresh air at first, but growing pains would soon surface. Many of his ministers had little government experience, resulting in conflicts of interest and embarrassing scandals. Many Tories expected patronage appointments due to the long time out of government.
Mulroney's support was based on a "grand coalition" of socially conservative populists from the West, Quebec nationalists, and fiscal conservatives from Ontario and the Maritimes. Not surprisingly, such diverse interests became difficult for Mulroney to juggle. He attempted to appeal to the western provinces, whose earlier support had been critical to his electoral success, by cancelling the National Energy Program and including a large number of Westerners in his Cabinet (including Clark as minister of external affairs). However, he was not completely successful, even aside from economic and constitutional policy. For example, he moved CF-18 servicing from Manitoba to Quebec in 1986, even though the Manitoba bid was lower and the company was better rated, and exerted pressure on Manitoba over French language rights.
One of Mulroney's main priorities, at least publically, was reining in the deficit, which was running into the billions of dollars. However, not only was he unable to eliminate it, the country's debt increased substantially through his term. His attempts to cut spending limited his ability to deliver on many promises. Also impeding his progress was the Liberal controlled Senate, led by Allan MacEachen, which took on a very assertive role in legislation, forcing the government to compromise some points.
A major undertaking by Mulroney's government was an attempt to resolve the divisive issue of national unity. Mulroney wanted to include Quebec in a new agreement with the rest of Canada. Quebec was the only province that did not sign the new Canadian constitution negotiated by Pierre Trudeau in 1982. In 1987, Mulroney negotiated the Meech Lake Accord with the provincial premiers, a package of constitutional amendments designed to satisfy Quebec's demand for recognition as a "distinct society" within Canada, and to devolve some powers to the provinces.
Another priority was the privatization of many of Canada's crown corporations. In 1984 the government of Canada held 61 different crown corporations. [1] It sold off 23 of them. Air Canada was completely privatized by 1989, although the Air Canada Public Participation Act continued to make certain requirements of the airline. Petro-Canada would later be privatized.
Mulroney's government actively opposed the apartheid regime in South Africa. Mulroney met with many opposition leaders throughout his ministry. His position put him at odds with the American and British governments, but also won him respect elsewhere. Also, external affairs minister Joe Clark was the first foreign affairs minister to land in previously-isolated Ethiopia to lead the Western response to the 1984 - 1985 famine in Ethiopia; Clark landed in Addis Ababa so quickly he had not even seen the initial CBC report that had created the initial and strong public reaction; Canada's response was overwhelming and led the US and Britain to follow suit almost immediately — an unprecedented situation in foreign affairs to that time, since Ethiopia had a Marxist regime and had previously been isolated by Western governments.
The government took a strong stand against the U.S. intervention in Nicaragua under Reagan, and accepted refugees from El Salvador, Guatemala, and other countries with regimes supported directly by the Reagan administration.
During his tenure as prime minister, Brian Mulroney's close relationship with U.S. President Ronald Reagan helped result in the ratification of a free-trade treaty with the United States under which all tariffs between the two countries would be eliminated by 1998. Critics noted that Mulroney had originally professed opposition to free trade during the 1983 leadership campaign. This agreement was very controversial, and the Senate demanded an election before proceeding on voting. The agreement was the central issue of the 1988 election, in which the PCs were re-elected with a solid but reduced majority (but with only 43% of the popular vote). In this election, Mulroney was elected as the MP for Charlevoix, which included Baie-Comeau after redistribution of the electoral boundaries.
Second Term
Mulroney's second term would be marked by an economic recession. He proposed the introduction of a national sales tax, the Goods and Services Tax (GST), in 1989. When it was introduced in 1991, it replaced the Manufacturers' Sales Tax (MST) that had previously been applied at the wholesale level on goods manufactured in Canada. A bitter Senate battle ensued, and many polls showed that as many as 80% of Canadians were opposed to the tax. Mulroney would have to use a little known Constitutional provision, allowing him in an emergency situation to ask the Queen to appoint 8 new Senators. Although the government argued that the tax was not a tax increase, but a tax shift, the highly visible nature of the tax was extremely unpopular, and many resented Mulroney's use of an "emergency" clause in the constitution.
The Meech Lake Accord would also meet its doom in 1990. It was not ratified by the provincial governments of Manitoba and Newfoundland before the June ratification deadline. This failure sparked a revival of Quebec separatism, and led to another round of meetings in Charlottetown in 1991 and 1992. These negotiations culminated in the Charlottetown Accord, which outlined extensive changes to the constitution, including recognition of Quebec as a distinct society. However, the agreement was overwhelmingly defeated in a national referendum in October 1992. Many blamed the GST battle and Mulroney's unpopularity for the fall of the Accord.
In 1990 Mulroney appointed Ray Hnatyshyn, an MP from Saskatoon and a former Cabinet minister, as Governor General.
The worldwide recession of the early 1990s further exacerbated the government's financial situation. His inability to improve the government's finances, as well as his use of tax increases to deal with it was a major factor in alienating the western conservative portion of his power base.
Mulroney supported the coalition during the 1991 Gulf War and sent Canadian jets to participate. In August he sent the destroyers HMCS Terra Nova and HMCS Athabaskan to enforce the trade blockade against Iraq. The supply ship HMCS Protecteur was also sent to aid the gathering coalition forces. When the UN authorized full use of force in the operation, Canada sent a CF18 squadron with support personnel and a field hospital to deal with casualties from the ground war. When the air war began, Canada's planes were integrated into the coalition force and provided air cover and attacked ground targets. This was the first time since the Korean War that Canadian forces had participated in combat operations.
The Canadian Forces began a process of renewal under the Mulroney government. Most evident was the return to distinctive uniforms for the three services (previously unified in the period 1967-1970 under a single green uniform). A White Paper on defence boosted the proposed combat capability of the forces. Combat capability under previous governments had declined so badly that, according to Canadian Defence Quarterly, even had Canada desired to send a brigade to fight in the Gulf War, it would have been unable to. While many of the desired reforms never occurred, a new sense of purpose was introduced to the CF as modernization of a range of equipment from medium trucks (MLVWs) to a new family of small arms (replacing weapons of the FN family that were at that time 30 years old) were all introduced in the mid to late 1980s.
The decline of cod stocks in Atlantic Canada led the Mulroney government to impose a moratorium on the cod fishery there, putting an end to a large portion of the Newfoundland fishing industry, and causing serious economic hardship. The government instituted various programmes designed to mitigate these effects but still became deeply unpopular in the Atlantic provinces.
Retirement
Widespread public resentment of the GST, the fracturing of his political coalition, an economic slump, and his inability to resolve the Quebec situation caused Mulroney's popularity to decline considerably. He entered 1993 with approval ratings as low as 10% according to some pollsters while facing a statutory general election. He announced his resignation as PC leader and Prime Minister in February and was replaced in both posts by Defence Minister Kim Campbell in June. Mulroney was criticized in his last days of office for taking a lavish international "farewell" tour mostly at taxpayers' expense. Campbell and others would later blame him for not stepping down until almost the end of his five-year mandate, which meant that Campbell was faced with an election within months. She was left with little time to salvage the Progressive Conservatives' tattered reputation.
The pent-up resentment against the Mulroney government was delivered by the electorate in a withering, unmistakable judgement: the oldest party in Canada was reduced to two seats in one of the most lopsided results ever recorded in a free, fair and democratic election.
Airbus affair
In 1997, Mulroney accepted a $2 million settlement to a lawsuit he had brought against the Government of Canada. At issue were allegations that Mulroney had accepted bribes in the so-called "Airbus affair" concerning government contracts. The government said the charges could not be substantiated. The principal RCMP investigator on the case resigned a year later. The government later dropped the investigation entirely.
But Mulroney's actions continue to be the source of controversy. After stepping down as Prime Minister, Mulroney accepted $300,000 in cash in from Karlheinz Schreiber, a German-Canadian businessman. The cash changed hands in three meetings in hotels over an 18 month period, beginning in 1993. Schreiber had at his disposal $20 million from Airbus for the payment of secret commissions. CBC television reported on February 8 2006 that the money Schreiber paid to Mulroney originated in a Swiss bank account Schreiber also used to pay the secret Airbus commissions. But there is no evidence that Mulroney was aware of the source of the funds. Nor is there any evidence that Mulroney accepted bribes in the Airbus affair.
Through a spokesman, Mulroney said Schreiber paid him the money for consulting services to promote Schreiber's pasta business. In the February 2006 interview with CBC television, Schreiber scoffed at the claim. He says the only service Mulroney ever performed was sending him a brochure."What had he done for the money? Well, I learned to my great surprise that he worked with me on spaghetti." Schreiber said the money was a gift made to assist Mulroney in the transition to private life.
For many years, Mulroney did not acknowledge receiving money from Schreiber. The payments were not disclosed in Mulroney's lawsuit and Mulroney testified under oath that he "never had any dealings" with Schreiber and knew him only "peripherally". In his 2004 book "A Secret Trial," former law professor William Kaplan describes Mulroney's testimony as evasive, incomplete and misleading -- but concludes that it did not rise to the level of perjury.
Schreiber is fighting extradition to Germany, where he is at the centre of a bribery scandal that helped bring down the government. Mulroney supporters question Schreiber's credibility. Mulroney said he was "as clean as a whistle" in accepting the payment because he declared the money and paid tax on it.
After politics
Since leaving office, Mulroney has pursued a lucrative career as a lawyer at Ogilvy Renault and an international business consultant. His experiences as prime minister, such as trying to reconcile the western provinces and Quebec and his close relationship with former President George H.W. Bush, have served him well.
In 1998, Mulroney was accorded Canada's highest civilian honour when he was made a Companion of the Order of Canada.
In January 2004, Mulroney delivered a keynote speech in Washington, D.C. celebrating the tenth anniversary of the North American Free Trade Agreement. In June 2004, Mulroney presented a eulogy for former U.S. President Ronald Reagan during the latter's state funeral. Mulroney and former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher were the first foreign dignitaries to eulogize at a funeral for an American president.
In February 2005, Mulroney was diagnosed with a lesion on one of his lungs. In his youth, Mulroney had been a heavy smoker. He underwent successful surgery and was recovered well enough to tape a speech for the Conservative Party of Canada's 2005 Policy Convention in Montreal in March, though he could not attend in person. Though his surgery was initially reported to have gone on without incident, he later developed pancreatitis and he remained in hospital for several weeks. It was not until April 19 that his son, Ben Mulroney, announced he was recovering and would soon be released.
Mulroney currently sits on the board of directors of multiple corporations, including Barrick Gold and Quebecor Inc.
On September 12, 2005, veteran writer and former Mulroney confidant Peter C. Newman released The Secret Mulroney Tapes: Unguarded Confessions of a Prime Minister. Based in large part on unguarded remarks from the former prime minister which Newman had taped with Mulroney's knowledge, the book set off national controversy. Newman had been given unfettered access to Mulroney for a thorough biography. Newman claims Mulroney did not honour an agreement to allow him access to confidential papers. After the falling out, Mulroney began work on his autobiography, without Newman's help. Mulroney himself has declared that he showed poor judgement in making such unguarded statements, but he says that he will have to live with it.
This led Mulroney to respond at the annual Press Gallery Dinner in Ottawa, 22 October, 2005 with a minimalist, yet highly effective speech. The former Prime Minister appeared on tape and very formally acknowledged the various dignitaries and audience groups before delivering the shortest speech of the night: "Peter Newman: Go fuck yourself. Thank you. Good night." It should be noted that the Press Gallery Dinner is noted for its comedic moments.
Legacy
Mulroney's legacy is a complicated one, and even as of 2006 remains an emotional one. Mulroney makes the case that his once radical policies on the economy and free trade were not reversed by subsequent governments, and regards this as vindication. His Deputy Prime Minister Don Mazankowski said that his greatest accomplishment will be seen as, "Dragging Canada kicking and screaming into the 21st century." Mulroney's legacy in Canada is associated mostly with the 1988 Free Trade Agreement and the Goods and Services Tax.
Although the Tories were re-elected with a large majority in 1988 campaigning on free trade, they only won with 43% of the popular vote, compared to 56% of the vote which went to the Liberals and the NDP who campaigned mostly against the agreement. However, when the Liberals under Jean Chrétien came to office in 1993 promising to re-negotiate key parts of the agreement, they continued the deal with only slight changes, and signed the North American Free Trade Agreement which expanded the free trade area to include Mexico. Environmentalists, social activists, nationalists, labour leaders and members of the cultural community continue to complain today of alleged injustices Canada faces due to free trade.
The visibility of the Goods and Services Tax proved to be very unpopular. The GST was created to help eliminate the ever growing deficit and to replace the hidden Manufacturer's sales tax (which Mulroney claimed was hurting business). Mulroney's usage of a rare Constitutional clause to push the tax through, prices not falling very much with the MST removed, and the "in your face" nature of the tax would infuriate the public.
Mulroney's intense unpopularity at the time of his resignation led many Conservative politicians to distance themselves from him for some years. His government had flirted with 10% approval ratings in the early 90's. Mulroney's honesty and intentions were frequently questioned in the media, by Canadians in general and by his political colleagues. His reputation for arrogance and "sleaze" would further alienate him.
Social conservatives found fault with Mulroney in a variety of areas. These include his opposition to capital punishment and the outlawing of abortion. Fiscal conservatives likewise didn't appreciate his tax increases and his failure to curtail expansion of "big government" programs and political patronage. While Mulroney's views on these issues helped him to be electable across Canada, the Canadian right wing would fracture during Mulroney's tenure. Many Western conservatives left the Tories for the new Reform Party, and many Quebec Tories left to join the separatist Bloc Québécois and the Liberals. This fragmentation contributed to the defeat of the Progressive Conservative Party in 1993, and left it a marginal force in the House of Commons. The Canadian right was not reunited until the December 2003 merger to form the new Conservative Party. Mulroney played an influential role by supporting the merger at a time when former PC leaders Joe Clark and Kim Campbell either opposed it or expressed ambivalence.
Supreme Court appointments
Mulroney appointed the following Justices to the Supreme Court of Canada:
- Gerard La Forest - (January 16, 1985 - September 30, 1997)
- Claire L'Heureux-Dubé - (April 15, 1987 - July 1, 2002)
- John Sopinka - (May 24, 1988 - November 24, 1997)
- Charles Gonthier - (February 1, 1989 - August 1, 2003)
- Peter Cory - (February 1, 1989 - June 1, 1999)
- Beverly McLachlin - (March 30, 1989 - present)
- Antonio Lamer (Chief Justice) - (July 1, 1990 - January 6, 2000) (appointed a Puisne Justice by Pierre Trudeau in 1980)
- William Stevenson - (September 17, 1990 - June 5, 1992)
- Frank Iacobucci - (January 7, 1991 - June 30, 2004)
- John C. Major - (November 13, 1992 - December 25, 2005)
Notable cabinet ministers
See also
- Shamrock Summit
- Airbus affair
- Ben Mulroney - son of the Prime Minister and journalist
External links
- Order of Canada Citation
- Political Biography from the Library of Parliament
- From Cheers to Jeers video from the Mulroney Years CBC
- 1939 births
- Living people
- Canadian businesspeople
- Canadian lawyers
- Debaters
- Irish Canadians
- Members of the Canadian House of Commons from Quebec
- Members of the National Order of Quebec
- Members of the Order of Canada
- Members of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada
- Prime Ministers of Canada
- Progressive Conservative Party of Canada MPs
- Quebec politicians
- Quebecor Inc.
- Roman Catholics
- Roman Catholic politicians