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Martin Brian Mulroney ( muul-ROO-nee; 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. 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. After placing third in the 1976 Progressive Conservative leadership election, he was appointed president of the Iron Ore Company of Canada in 1977. He held that post until 1983, when he became leader of the Progressive Conservatives. He 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 percent) and receiving over 50 percent of the popular vote. He 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, the goods and services tax (GST) that was created to replace the manufacturers' sales tax, and the privatization of 23 of 61 Crown corporations including Air Canada and Petro-Canada. Mulroney sought Quebec's endorsement of the 1982 constitutional amendments by first introducing the Meech Lake Accord and then the Charlottetown Accord. Both proposed recognizing Quebec as a distinct society, extending provincial powers, and extensively changing the constitution. Both of the accords failed to be ratified, and the Meech Lake Accord's demise revived Quebec separatism, leading to the rise of the Bloc Québécois. In foreign policy, Mulroney strengthened Canada's ties with the United States and opposed the apartheid regime in South Africa, leading an effort within the Commonwealth to sanction the country. Mulroney's tenure 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 priority by securing a treaty with the United States on acid rain, making Canada the first industrialized country to ratify the Convention on Biological Diversity, adding significant national parks, and passing the Environmental Assessment Act and the 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 cabinet minister Kim Campbell in June 1993. In the election later that year, the Progressive Conservatives were reduced from a majority government of 156 seats 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 that came to light only several years after he left office. Early life (1939–1955) Mulroney was born on March 20, 1939, in Baie-Comeau, Quebec, a remote and isolated town of the Côte-Nord region, in the eastern part of the province. He was the son of Irish Canadian Catholic parents, Mary Irene (née O'Shea) and Benedict Martin Mulroney, who was a paper mill electrician. As there was no English-language Catholic high school in Baie-Comeau, Mulroney completed his high school education at a Roman Catholic boarding school in Chatham, New Brunswick, operated by St. Thomas University. In 2001, St. Thomas University named its newest academic building in his honour. Benedict Mulroney worked overtime and ran a repair business to earn extra money for his children's education, and he encouraged his oldest son to attend university. Mulroney would frequently tell stories about newspaper publisher Robert R. McCormick, whose company had founded Baie-Comeau. Mulroney would sing Irish songs for McCormick, and the publisher would slip him $50. Mulroney grew up speaking English and French fluently. Family On May 26, 1973, Mulroney married Mila Pivnički, the daughter of a Serbian-Canadian doctor, Dimitrije Pivnički, from Novi Bečej. Many PC campaign buttons featured both Mulroney's face and hers, and Ontario Premier Bill Davis commented to Brian, "Mila will get you more votes for you than you will for yourself." The Mulroneys have four children: Caroline, Benedict (Ben), Mark and Nicolas. Caroline unsuccessfully ran for the 2018 Ontario PC leadership race and represents the party in the provincial legislature as the member for York—Simcoe. She served as Ontario's minister of transportation and minister of Francophone affairs. She moved from transportation to being President of the Treasury Board while continuing on as the minister of Francophone affairs. Ben was the host of the CTV morning show Your Morning from June 2016 to October 2021. Ben is married to stylist Jessica, and their three children served as page boys and bridesmaids during the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on May 19, 2018. Mark and Nicolas both work in the financial industry in Toronto. Education (1955–1964) Mulroney entered St. Francis Xavier University in the fall of 1955 as a 16-year-old first-year student. His political life began when he was recruited to the campus Progressive Conservative group by Lowell Murray and others early in his first year. Murray, who was appointed to the Senate of Canada in 1979, became Mulroney's close friend, mentor, and adviser. Mulroney made other important, lasting friendships with Gerald Doucet, Fred Doucet, Sam Wakim, and Patrick MacAdam. Mulroney enthusiastically embraced political organization and assisted the local PC candidate in his successful 1956 Nova Scotia provincial election campaign; the PCs, led provincially by Robert Stanfield, won a surprise victory. Mulroney became a youth delegate and attended the 1956 leadership convention in Ottawa. While initially undecided, Mulroney was captivated by John Diefenbaker's powerful oratory and easy approachability. Mulroney joined the Youth for Diefenbaker committee, which was led by Ted Rogers, a future scion of Canadian business. Mulroney struck an early friendship with Diefenbaker (who won the leadership) and received telephone calls from him. Mulroney won several public speaking contests at St. Francis Xavier University, was a star member of the school's debating team, and never lost an inter-university debate. He was also very active in campus politics, serving with distinction in several Model Parliaments, and was campus prime minister in a Maritimes-wide Model Parliament in 1958. Mulroney assisted with the 1958 national election.... Discover the Brian R Martin popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Brian R Martin books.