“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of my father,” Caroline Mulroney, an Ontario politician, told X. “He died peacefully, surrounded by his family.”

Brian Mulroney, Canada's last Cold War leader, opposed apartheid in South Africa and helped secure a historic acid rain treaty with Washington.

But he introduced a consumption tax still reviled by Canadians to this day, and his efforts to push for constitutional reform, largely to incorporate rebellious Quebec, ended in failure.

Mulroney, a lawyer by training, was ambitious and charming, with bright blue eyes and a baritone voice. He was fluent in Canada's two official languages: French and English.

He briefly came out of retirement to advise current Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on a new continental trade deal.

“I will never forget the ideas he shared with me over the years: he was generous, tireless and incredibly passionate,” Trudeau said, praising “Mr. Mulroney’s role in building the modern country, dynamic and prosperous that we all know today.

A quick start in politics

Born March 20, 1939 in Quebec City into a family of Irish origin, Mulroney entered university at age 16, where he first became involved in the Progressive Conservative Party (now known as the Conservative Party). ).

After completing his law studies, he quickly entered politics, first seeking to become leader of his party in 1976.

When he lost, he took a job as CEO of a mining company. He was not yet 40 years old.

In 1983, he re-entered the political fray, competing for and winning the leadership of what was then the official opposition.

A year later, Mulroney brought his Progressive Conservatives to power, ending nearly two decades of Liberal rule in Ottawa with the largest majority government in history.

This resounding victory was based on the promise to integrate his native Quebec into the constitutional fold of Canada.

The French-speaking province had tried to secede from the rest of Canada in 1980, so it did not sign a new constitution in 1982 after Ottawa rejected its demands for more powers.

Mulroney pledged that Quebec would be recognized as a “distinct society” within Canada.

However, his first year in office was complicated, as several of his ministers resigned due to scandals. And his noble objectives for Quebec will remain unrealized.

Defender of free trade

On the world stage, Mulroney led an offensive against the pro-apartheid regime in South Africa, putting him at odds with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

But his greatest foreign policy achievement will be the rapprochement with the United States under Ronald Reagan… and the subsequent step in trade relations.

“I told him: Ronald, I want a global free trade agreement with you and the United States,” he recalled in an interview with Radio-Canada.

Negotiations began in March 1985.

The two leaders, both of Irish descent, caused a media sensation by closing the “Shamrock Summit” by singing “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling.”

After three years, a deal was reached, but many Canadians were wary of the outcome and opposition parties accused Mulroney of conceding too much.

The 1988 election would become a referendum on free trade. Mulroney won and the agreement was implemented.

This agreement would soon be replaced by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which unified Mexico and created one of the largest trading blocs in the world.

“Overall, it's been a success,” he told CBC in a 2012 interview. “It hasn't been a panacea, but I've never seen it like that.” »

Scandal

Mulroney's second term was marked by a harsh recession, forcing the government to raise taxes to try to reduce a deficit that reached a record level during his final year in office.

The constitutional reforms he proposed imploded: they were deemed too favorable to Quebec and rejected.

“It was the worst moment of my life,” he later recalled.

Mulroney also introduced a goods and services tax and oversaw the one-third privatization of more than 60 crown corporations, including Air Canada.

By the time he retired in 1993, his popularity had plummeted; his 11 percent support made him the most unpopular prime minister in Canadian history.

Less than three months after his departure, the Conservatives suffered a humiliating electoral defeat that reduced the party's number of seats in the House of Commons from 151 to two.

Shortly after, Mulroney found himself embroiled in a corruption scandal.

A commission of inquiry accused him of having accepted more than 200,000 Canadian dollars in cash from Karlheinz Schreiber, a German-Canadian arms dealer and Airbus broker as part of his relations with Air Canada.

The money had changed hands in brown paper bags during three secret meetings at the hotel. Mulroney finally admitted his mistake in accepting the money.

Mulroney briefly came out of retirement in 2017 at Trudeau's urging to give his opinion on a new continental trade deal.

He worked behind the scenes for months to convince his occasional golf buddy, Donald Trump, not to abandon negotiations on renewing NAFTA.

In July 2020, a new agreement, the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, took effect.

Mulroney married Mila in 1973 and the couple had four children.

(AFP)