FORMER Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney has died at age 84.
Mulroney won 211 seats for the Progressive Conservative party in 1984. It was the largest margin of victory for a political party in Canadian history. He resigned in 1993.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement: “I learned with great sadness today of the death of the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney, former Prime Minister of Canada.
“Mr. Mulroney loved Canada. After a distinguished business and legal career, he became Prime Minister in 1984 and made significant progress on important issues here at home and around the world. He negotiated the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement and, later, the expanded North American Free Trade Agreement with the United States and Mexico. He worked hard to build bridges between French and English Canada. He was at the forefront of environmental issues, helping secure an air quality agreement with the United States to reduce acid rain, championing the first Canadian Environmental Protection Act, and creating several new national parks. And he exemplified Canadian values, standing up against apartheid in South Africa.
“After leaving office, Mr. Mulroney continued to lead an active life, serving on corporate boards and becoming chair of Quebecor Inc. and Forbes Global Business and Finance. He was also a senior partner at Norton Rose Fulbright Canada, a Montréal-based international law firm, for almost 30 years. Mr. Mulroney never stopped working for Canadians, and he always sought to make this country an even better place to call home.
“For his many accomplishments, Mr. Mulroney received numerous honours and awards, including the Order of Canada, the Ordre national du Québec, and the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service. A globally respected and recognized leader, Mr. Mulroney was also awarded some of the highest recognitions from governments around the world.
“As we mourn his passing and keep his family and friends in our thoughts, let us also acknowledge – and celebrate – Mr. Mulroney’s role in building the modern, dynamic, and prosperous country we all know today.”
CONSERVATIVE Party Leader Pierre Poilievre said in a statement: “It is with great sadness that Canadians learn of the loss of one of our greatest ever statesmen, the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney. The love and prayers of all Canadians go to his beloved children, Caroline, Ben, Mark and Nicolas, and the love of his life, his best friend and wife, Mila.
“From Baie-Comeau, the son of an Irish electrician, raised in a working-class community, Mr. Mulroney had achieved prodigious success in business by the time he was in his late 30s. He led the Iron Ore Company as President and played leading roles in many of Canada’s other brilliant companies.
“His success in politics was even greater, winning the biggest majority in Canadian history, along with an impressive reelection. But it was the transformational change he brought to his nearly a decade as Prime Minister that is most important. He unleashed free enterprise, crushed inflation, restored fiscal sanity and concluded one of the greatest free trade agreements the world has ever seen, which remains largely in place today. These changes gave thousands of working-class families the same opportunities he had, that is, the chance to work hard, buy a home, and build their dreams.
“On the world stage, he stood firmly on the side of Western allies against communism and for freedom. He was among the first and most strident to fight against South Africa’s apartheid policy and champion the cause of Nelson Mandela. He later went on to thank Mr. Mulroney for his essential role in ending this racist policy.
“I will always be thankful for his candid advice and generous mentorship to me personally. All Canadians are grateful for his immense sacrifice and the lasting legacy he leaves us all.”
