Brian Mulroney, Canadian lawyer and politician 18th Prime Minister of Canada
Martin Brian Mulroney (; born March 20, 1939) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 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 lawyer and businessman. He unsuccessfully ran for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada (PC Party) in 1976, coming in third place, and then returned back to business leadership as he was appointed president of the Iron Ore Company of Canada in 1977. He held that post until 1983, when he successfully became leader of the Progressive Conservatives. He then carried the party to a landslide victory in the 1984 federal election, winning 211 seats, the highest number of seats won by any party in Canadian history. The election was the last time that the winning party won every province and territory and the last time that the winning party received over 50% of the national popular vote. Mulroney also won the second-largest percentage of seats in Canadian history (at 74.8%). Mulroney later won a second majority government in 1988.
Mulroney's tenure as prime minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement and the goods and services tax (GST) that was created to replace the manufacturers' sales tax. His government also privatized 23 of 61 Crown corporations including Air Canada and Petro-Canada. In 1987, Mulroney sought Quebec's endorsement of the 1982 constitutional amendments by introducing the Meech Lake Accord, which would recognize Quebec as a distinct society. It was not ratified by two provincial governments before the June 22, 1990, deadline. This led him to introduce the Charlottetown Accord, which would create extensive changes to the constitution, including recognition of Quebec as a distinct society. The accord was defeated in a national referendum in October 1992. The Meech Lake Accord's demise sparked a revival of Quebec separatism, culminating in the creation and rise of the Bloc Québécois. In foreign policy, Mulroney opposed the apartheid regime in South Africa and met with many of the regime's opposition leaders. Mulroney's first term was marked by the Air India Flight 182 bombing, the largest mass killing in Canadian history, though his response to the attack came under criticism. Mulroney made environmental protection a key focus of his government, securing a treaty with the United States on acid rain and moving Canada to become the first industrialized country to ratify the Convention on Biological Diversity. His government added significant new national parks (Bruce Peninsula and South Moresby) and passed the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.
The unpopularity of the GST and the controversy surrounding its passage in the Senate, combined with the early 1990s recession, the collapse of the Charlottetown Accord, and growing Western alienation that triggered the rise of the Reform Party, caused a stark decline in Mulroney's popularity, which induced him to resign and hand over power to his former minister of justice and attorney general, Kim Campbell, in June 1993. In the 1993 election that followed, the Progressive Conservatives collapsed, being reduced from a majority government of 156 seats to two, largely as a result of the emergence of the Bloc and Reform parties. In his retirement, Mulroney serves as an international business consultant and sits on the board of directors of multiple corporations. Though ranked as an above-average prime minister for his economic, foreign, and environmental achievements, his legacy remains controversial. He has been criticized for his role in the resurgence of Quebec nationalism and accused of corruption in the Airbus affair, a scandal that would only gain prominence several years after he left office.