Brian Mulroney: Telling the story in his own words

Article content

On defeat

I can recall the splendor of the view from the highest mountaintop and the sorrow one feels in the valley of defeat. Life is an unending sequence of challenges from which no one emerges unscathed. Defeat is not something to fear but surrender is something to reject.

Article content

— Dedication of the Brian Mulroney Institute of Government, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Sept. 18, 2018

Article content

Advice to young Canadians

My advice to any young person contemplating politics as a career is to reject the easy, popular route and to always do what you believe to be right for Canada. Keep your eye on the long- term prize. The attacks of the critics may be brutal, not to mention hurtful to both you and your family, but years later you will be rewarded for having done things for the greater benefit of your country.

— From Memoirs

On leadership

Leadership is the process, not only of foreseeing the need for change, but of making the case for change. Leadership does not consist of imposing unpopular ideas on the public, but of making unpopular ideas acceptable to the nation.

— April 9, 2004

Leaders must have vision and they must find the courage to fight for the policies that will give that vision life. Leaders must govern not for easy headlines in 10 days but for a better Canada in 10 years.

— Nov. 5, 2015

On Free Trade and ­American Presidents and Canadian-American relations

To all who seek a definition of peaceful association between nations, I say look no further (than Canada and the United States); it is unlikely you shall find a better illustration than the simple story of friendship and prosperity that has marked the evolution of our two countries over the years.

Article content

— New York City, Dec. 10, 1984

Mila and I flew to Quebec late Saturday night. A late- night crisis emerged when I tried to secure tougher language on acid rain and provoked outrage with [National Security Advisor] Bud McFarlane and others in Washington. When Derek Burney reported this through Allan Gotlieb and asked for my instructions, I told him to tell McFarlane to “f–k off.” McFarlane is a fine gentleman and a great friend of Canada, but he is not the president. I told Burney to tell Gotlieb not to worry about him or others. Reagan is the one who matters, not the others, and he makes the decisions and wants the summit to succeed. I like the Americans but I’m not impressed with their bureaucratic bluster. I hope Gotlieb conveyed my message exactly as transmitted — it will do wonders for McFarlane’s indigestion.

— Personal Journal, 1985, preparing for the Shamrock Summit in Quebec City with President Reagan

Canada is privileged to have the United States as a neighbour and friend. And the United States should thank its lucky stars every day that they have Canada on their northern border.

Article content

Article content

— To the U.S. Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee, Washington, D.C., Jan. 30, 2018

George H.W. Bush

I invested heavily in my relationship with George Bush, and we have remained very close friends over 30 years to this day. There were three reasons why I spent so much time with him when he was vice president. First of all, I liked him a lot. He was and remains a highly principled and accomplished man whose presidency added to the lustre of America’s great international achievements. Second, I thought he was going to win the Republican nomination and the presidency in 1988 and I wanted Canada to have a privileged relationship with him. And third, he cared about the environment and the acid rain file. And I knew that if we were going to get it done, it would be on his watch as president.

— Recalling the Canada-U.S. treaty on acid rain, March 13, 2012

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan does not enter history tentatively — he does so with certainty and panache. At home and on the world stage, his were not the pallid etchings of a timorous politician. They were the bold strokes of a confident and accomplished leader.

Article content

— Ronald Reagan State funeral, June 11, 2004

One day at lunch in Tokyo during a discussion of leading personalities in public life I asked [President Reagan] who he really disliked in American politics. He thought for a moment, looked at me quizzically and said: “You know, Brian, I just can’t think of one at the moment. I’m fixated on what looks like an eel in my soup.”

— 2011 speech in Washington, marking Reagan Centennial

On Joe Biden

Joe Biden is a multilateralist, and I say that as someone who has known the president-elect for 35 years. He’s been everywhere in the world and knows it well.

— National Post, Nov. 17, 2020

Announcing his campaign for leader of the PC Party

This party has long since established its ability to be somewhat unruly and difficult. This will only be cured by an extended stay in government … I am in this race … to break the bizarre stranglehold the Liberal Party has developed on our national government … Someone must address this fundamental electoral problem on behalf of the Conservative Party. I propose to do just that and, in the process, bring French Canada into the fullness and magnificence of Canadian life … I am in this race because I believe I can do these and other things for my party and for Canada.

Article content

— March 1983, Ottawa

The facts are unassailable. Our losses in francophone seats from Nova Scotia to Manitoba impede us, election after election. And what about the challenge of new Canadians? A continuing concern must be to attract and hold the sympathy and the support of millions of the new Canadians who populate the major industrial cities of this country and who have stayed away from this party, notwithstanding generous efforts [to include them]. I tell you that bringing with affection and openness and open- mindedness French Canadians and new Canadians to join you and me together is the challenge of this generation for the Conservative party. I invite you to reach out tonight and take their hands of friendship and say, “Together we will build a new party.”

— From his speech to the Leadership Convention, June 1983, Ottawa

On antisemitism

Antisemitism is born in ignorance and nurtured in envy. It is the stepchild of delusion and evil … Contemporary antisemitism has added the state of Israel to its list of targets, to deny the Jewish state its rightful place among the community of nations. Israel has become the new Jew.

Article content

— University of Toronto, Feb. 9, 2003

The Environment

The one thing acid rain does not do is discriminate … It is damaging your environment from Michigan to Maine and threatens marine life on the eastern seaboard. It is a rapidly escalating ecological tragedy in this country as well. What would be said of a generation of North Americans that found a way to explore the stars, but allowed its lakes and forests to languish and die?

— Address to U.S. Congress, April 27, 1988

As difficult as the process may be to arrest and to mitigate the effects of global warming, the work cannot be left to the next fellow. The stakes are too high, the risks to our planet and the human species too grave.

— Accepting Pollution Probe’s Environmental Leadership Award, Toronto, Ontario, Nov. 19, 2019

We must all be idealists on the environment. But we must also be without illusions. We must not make the perfect the enemy of the good. In the real world, progress comes in stages, and improvement comes before perfection.

— The Twentieth Anniversary of the Montreal Protocol, Le Palais des Congrès, Montréal, Quebec, Sept. 16, 2007

Article content

Quebec and National Unity

The myth has been current since long before Confederation that no English-speaking person is supposed to comprehend what people of Norman origin have on their minds. This premise is utterly ridiculous. Quebec and its inhabitants … are quite different from the rest of Canada. But not irreconcilably so.

— St. Francis Xavier University Thesis, The Politics of Quebec, 1959

French Canada is now convinced that it is going places under its own steam. The province has become completely self- confident and, as a consequence, its disenchantment with the federal government is beginning to harden. Unless swift action is taken to allay fears that Ottawa is indifferent to the aspirations of French Canada and insensitive to its demands, every Conservative candidate in this province will feel the effects in the next general election.

— Telegram to Prime Minister John Diefenbaker, 1962

I am honoured to inform the House that at about 10 p.m. last night the premiers and I reached unanimous agreement in principle on a constitutional package which will allow Quebec to rejoin the Canadian constitutional family. This agreement enhances the Confederation bargain and strengthens, I believe, the federal nature of Canada. Although it remains to be formalized, it represents in the judgment of first ministers of all political stripes, from all areas of the country, a historic accomplishment … Mr. Speaker, Sir Wilfrid Laurier once said, ‘The governing motive of my life has been to harmonize the diverse elements which compose our country.’ Surely that is the wish of every member, on all sides of this House. This is our policy. That is our purpose — building a stronger Canada for all Canadians.

Article content

— Officially informing the House of Commons in April 1987 that he and the Premiers have agreed to what became known as the Meech Lake Accord

The next morning, on May 27 (1987), the thunderbolt struck: a vitriolic front- page story in the Toronto Star (always a faithful Trudeau supporter) and La Presse. As a splenetic personal attack by a former prime minister against a governing prime minister, replete with vicious insults and specious argument, it was unrivalled in Canadian history … The implications were clear. Trudeau was strong and courageous; the premiers and I were not. Captain Canada had arrived to save the country, reporting for duty.

— From Memoirs, on Pierre Trudeau’s denunciation of the Meech Lake Accord

Had Bouchard left openly on a question of principle, I would have been dismayed, but I would have understood. No one is perfect in politics — certainly not me, as this book confirms — and nothing is forever. But this “resignation” was a complete contrivance. Not only was no principle involved, but he had ascribed his actions to noble motives, when the truth revealed the exact opposite.

Article content

— From Memoirs, on Lucien Bouchard’s resignation from his cabinet over the Meech Lake Accord

On the Fall of the Soviet Union

The implosion of the Soviet Union and the unification of Germany both without a shot being fired have no parallels in modern history. More than anything, these two events evoked the value of the basic freedoms we in the West enjoy, freedoms which should never be taken for granted.

— Marking the anniversary of the toppling of the Berlin Wall, Feb. 15, 2010

World leaders

Nelson Mandela and the fight against Apartheid

Mandela pressed me hard for a contribution of about $10 million to assist in the political struggle that lay ahead. When I reminded him of our earlier contributions, he politely dismissed my concerns and kept arguing. Finally, I gave in, assuring him we would make another significant contribution. At this, Mandela rose and said, “Canada has been a tremendous friend of our cause and Prime Minister Mulroney has supported us for years, worldwide. We are extremely grateful.” Then he shook hands, turned, and headed for the door where he stopped and looked at me with a big smile wreathing his face. “Oh, by the way, Brian,” he said, “could you make that contribution in American dollars?” Even I burst out laughing.

Article content

— From Memoirs, on the newly-free Nelson Mandela as negotiator, Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, Zimbabwe, 1991

Our role — and it was part of a larger process — was possible only because it was sustained and strongly supported by the people of Canada. Few initiatives met with such wide approval and appreciation as the determination of the government and all parties in Parliament to assist by every conceivable means in securing the freedom of [Nelson Mandela].

— December 2015

First encounter with the Queen and Prince Philip

We chatted amicably about John Turner’s decision to call an election in the first place, the reasons why and the results. At this point, Prince Philip entered, poured himself and the Queen a strong Beefeater martini, and offered me one. When I declined in favour of a soda, he laughed and said, “Thank God those charged with running the government stay away from the evil booze.”

— On Her Majesty the Queen, Personal Journal, Sept. 21, 1984

Margaret Thatcher

If you admired strength and vision, if you respected a political colleague who could endure the most powerful blows and never flinch, if you respected a leader who stood on principle no matter how politically painful was its defence — you had to love Margaret Thatcher.

Article content

— Upon the death of Margaret Thatcher, April 2013

Margaret and I had a complicated friendship. I admired her position on most issues, and we supported each other at international meetings on issues as diverse as bringing Mikhail Gorbachev into the circle of the G7, on free trade and on expanding NATO to broaden and deepen the boundaries of democratic Europe. But on one issue we clashed, repeatedly. Mrs. Thatcher could not see the importance, the inevitability even, of the end of a system as patently cruel as apartheid. We had our most difficult conversations about it for more than five years.

— Upon the death of Margaret Thatcher, April 2013

Mikhail Gorbachev

Gorbachev is indeed an impressive individual. He speaks slowly and carefully. He is at home in this room in the Kremlin and his confidence shows. He began by thanking me for coming all this way, speaking about his regard for Canada, his trip to our country, commercial relations, etc. I thanked him and pointed out that while Canada was not a superpower, we were not without influence, and were deeply hopeful that genuine progress would be made at Geneva. On two occasions he deferred to Gromyko but maintained the dialogue himself. USSR would make every effort but there must be an adequate response from the other side.

Article content

— Personal Journal after first meeting with Mikhail Gorbachev in Moscow, 1985

Boris Yeltsin

I had my first encounter with newly elected Russian President Boris Yeltsin, who arrived in Ottawa after talks with President Bush at Camp David. I had planned a dinner party for him at 24 Sussex, and I knew it was going to be an interesting evening from the moment we first shook hands. Yeltsin, as we used to say in Baie-Comeau, had arrived “in pretty good shape.” And his happy mood was not diminished by the servings of the best French champagne Mila provided for him. He became more and more gregarious as the evening progressed and — like les gars in the Taverne aux Amis back home — it was simply impossible not to like him.

— From Memoirs

Etcetera

On quitting drinking

I suffered from a weakness, an illness, and a combination of time and willpower made me better. Not cured, just better. It also made me extremely sensitive to people with similar problems, and I have met many such in the private sector and during my time as prime minister. I hope that recounting my own battle to overcome the problem was of some assistance to them, just as I hope that this account will help others combat this tough disease.

Article content

— From Memoirs

On the death penalty

I am not persuaded the death penalty works as a deterrent. Nor am I persuaded it is appropriate as punishment. On the contrary, I believe it is repugnant, and I believe it is profoundly unacceptable to take a life. It is wrong to take life and I can think of no circumstance excepting self-defence to justify it. I have held these views since I was a young student and I still hold them today.”

— House of Commons, 1987

Humour

In Zimbabwe, my staff advised me that I had to have a meeting with the president, the ceremonial head of state. When I protested, they said the commitment was made, and that in any case the Canadian media were really enthusiastic about it. When I glanced at the program, I quickly figured out why: the head of state was President Canaan Banana. When I emerged from the meeting the next day, the first question was predictable, and it came from the hard-nosed and irrepressible Robert Fife: “Prime Minister,” he intoned gravely, “how would you describe your meeting with President Banana?” With matching gravity I replied, “Fruitful.”

Article content

— From Memoirs, recalling his 1987 visit to Africa

On Western Canada

Twenty years ago, you often heard some people say: “The West wants in.” The chant became part of the mythology of Canadian politics in which, like all myths, the truth became the first and most important victim. And why? Because, in fact, the West was already in, and had been since the day our government took office on Sept. 17. 1984. The West and Alberta were in with Don Mazankowski as deputy prime minister … The West and Alberta were in with Joe Clark as minister of Foreign Affairs, the most admired foreign minister since Lester B. Pearson. The West and Alberta were in with Harvie Andre as government House leader, setting the agenda for Parliament every day … The West was in when we abolished the National Energy Program, which had looted the Alberta treasury of $100 billion.

— Oct. 23, 2012, Calgary, Alberta

On the economy

So, what economic shape was Canada really in as my time in office came to an end? In spite of a serious global recession that hit Canada hard, employment was up 1.4 million jobs from the 1984 level. We had cut spending and the size of government more deeply than Ronald Reagan had, and we had privatized and deregulated more swiftly than Margaret Thatcher. The prime rate was 6 per cent, the lowest in twenty years. Our inflation rate was well below 2 per cent, the lowest in thirty years. The OECD and the IMF were both forecasting that Canada was about to beat all of the other G-7 countries in job creation.

Article content

— From Memoirs

We cannot market our resources globally if we do not have the infrastructure — political and industrial — to deliver them to market. That is precisely why we need a strong national commitment to build the infrastructure that will enable us to bring our abundance of natural resources — our most vital comparative advantage — to global markets, notably to the dynamic Asian economies where much of global growth is occurring.

— Canada’s Next Big Thing, Ottawa, Ontario, April 8, 2014

On introducing the GST

On April 10, I was scheduled to travel to Toronto’s SkyDome to watch the Blue Jays play the Texas Rangers. President Bush and I planned a few hours of discussions on the margins of the game. We were also scheduled to throw out ceremonial first pitches. In what would be any advance person’s worst nightmare, April 10 also happened to be the day the House of Commons approved the GST! And here I, the leader of the majority party that had pushed the new tax through the House, would be walking out in front of thousands of full- throated Canadians in a baseball stadium, with television cameras on hand as well.

Article content

As expected, I was given a terrible raspberry by the crowd. Afterwards, members of the American media covering the event asked me how I felt at hearing all the boos with George Bush by my side. With a smile I told them that I felt as ashamed as any other Canadian to see the visiting president of the United States treated in such a manner!

Memo to all future prime ministers: don’t attend a Blue Jays game after you bring forth a new tax.

— From Memoirs

On NATO

The simple reality is that, if Canada expects NATO to do more on global security, we must decide to do more for NATO. That should be a top defence priority. What we cannot do is talk about Canada “being back” in the world without making tangible commitments that will anchor our aspirations.

— To the NATO Association of Canada, Toronto, Ontario, June 21, 2016

On his caucus

The PC caucus will always be a family to me. As I watch them on Wednesday mornings, I am struck by their differences and their commonality of interests; their healthy ambition and their selflessness; their vigorous defence of the provincial interest subordinated into a powerful statement of the national interest.

Article content

— Personal Journal, March 14, 1992

On a favourite Opposition MP

A particular favourite of mine was Svend Robinson. Canada’s first openly gay MP, Svend was no favourite of the less progressive wing of my caucus. Sometimes when that group had caused me grief, I’d invite Svend over to sit next to me as the House continued, and I enjoyed the angry stares from my backbench as I did so. Svend was committed to justice for Canada’s native peoples, and he would sometimes send me notes that tipped me off about a question he was planning to ask in the Commons. This practice ensured that both he and Aboriginal groups received a more complete answer from the prime minister. “Brian: A very hopeful answer,” he wrote in a note he sent across the floor of the Commons during a 1987 question period, when there were major problems in the Queen Charlotte Islands. “Thank you for keeping the pressure on this vital question. I don’t want the Haida, or myself, to be blocking loggers ever again!”

— On NDP MP Svend Robinson, 1986, Memoirs

Advice for members of the Opposition

As they did in my time and as they will forever, opposition parties must be vigilant and vigorous and, if need be, unrelenting in their pursuit of a noble objection. And through it all, good days and bad, opposition parties must always retain a sense of confidence and optimism as they recall the words of Lester B. Pearson who said, “Don’t be downhearted in the thick of battle. It is where all good men would wish to be.”

Article content

— Unveiling of his Official Portrait, Parliament Hill, Nov. 19, 2002

Answering suggestions by some Europeans about why Canada should be involved in Europe

We are not renting our seat in Europe. We paid for it. If people want to know how Canada paid for its seat in Europe, they should check out the graves in Belgium and France.

— February 1990, telephone conversation with President George H.W. Bush

On the causes of the 9/11 attack

In the world of moral equivalency, there is much hand wringing about the root cause of terrorism. This is dangerous intellectual nonsense. Bin Laden wasn’t born in a refugee camp, nor were any of the suicide terrorists. Bin Laden is an extremely wealthy man of privileged background, and the suicide hijackers were all affluent and well educated. The root cause of terrorism is terrorists.

— To the United Nations’ Association of Canada, Oct. 30, 2001

On his political hero, Sir John A. Macdonald

Despite his trials and tribulations, his mistakes and failures — both human and political — Canada — Macdonald’s Canada — was a transcontinental nation that truly stretched from sea to shining sea. The four provinces he had persuaded to come together in 1867 under his guidance were now seven and the groundwork for one of the world’s greatest nations had been successfully laid.

Article content

— Sir John A. Macdonald Bicentennial Dinner, Albany Club, Nov. 5, 2015

Canada will celebrate its 150th birthday as a modern, industrialized, respected nation. This was principally due to the vision and leadership of Canada’s greatest Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald. All Prime Ministers of Canada who have followed — including this one — have stood very much in Macdonald’s shadow. Like other giants of the world stage, Sir John A. thought big and long-term. “Depend on it,” he once said, “the long game is the true one.”

— Canada@150, Vancouver, British Columbia, April 25, 2017

On John Diefenbaker

Diefenbaker had his flaws and failings, but he possessed many admirable traits as well. These tended to be blotted out by negative coverage that left Canadians with an unattractive, one- dimensional view of Mr. Diefenbaker. My generation had not yet learned that the media are relentless in their assault upon Conservative leaders who win, thereby depriving “the natural governing party,” the Liberals, of time in office, which the Grits (and too many others in Ottawa) take as their rightful due. Joe Clark and I would one day find this out for ourselves.

Article content

— Memoirs

On Joe Clark

Joe Clark has just left my office after an hour- long meeting. As usual it was cordial and indeed friendly. I’ve often regretted that the circumstances of our 1976 leadership bids and aftermath effectively precluded an especially warm relationship between us. He is an easy guy to like and has been, as I’ve often mentioned and written, a good, effective, and loyal member of the government. We both sought the leadership over 17 years ago, both too young, too inexperienced, and too ambitious and, unfortunately for him, he won.

— Personal Journal: Feb. 18, 1993

On the famous, ‘You had an option,’ English debate with John Turner, 1984 election

The English debate was held on July 26. On that day, the patronage issue went nuclear for the Liberal leader. While many Canadians remember the debate’s most dramatic moment, few recall that John and I were each holding our own for the first hundred minutes of the broadcast. Then he gave me my golden opportunity (why, I’ll never know) and I seized it … If our debate had been a boxing match, John would have lowered his gloves, closed his eyes, and stuck out his chin …
During the drive home from the television studio Mila and I sat in silence. “What do you think just happened?” I asked my top adviser as soon as we left the parking lot. “The earth just moved,” she replied.

Article content

— From Memoirs

The famous English-language television debate rematch in the 1988 election

When I look back on that night I remember it being obvious to me that Turner had improved. He had spent a great deal of time in debate preparation, and it showed. He looked right into the cameras and his once- famous blue eyes blazed in a way they hadn’t in 1984 … Four years earlier, in a different studio, Turner had been rusty. He was anything but rusty in Campaign ’88.

As Turner went on the attack over the FTA, I wasn’t worried. I had heard his criticisms on the floor of the House of Commons hundreds of times. When your opponent is trying to sow false fears among the electorate for political gain, you get to a point where you stop listening. And that’s what I did during the debates. What I should have realized is that most Canadians — well intentioned, honest, and hard- working — don’t have time to follow the to- and- fro of politics on a day- by- day basis. In the midst of an election, however, they were doing their democratic duty and watching the campaign. As a result many heard in the debates for the first time the charges that they were going to lose their medicare, their pensions, and even their country because of free trade.

Article content

— From Memoirs

* * *

Kingston’s Arthur Milnes’ books include studies of Sir John A. Macdonald, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, R.B. Bennett, Arthur Meighen and John Napier Turner, as well as numerous other leaders. He served as the Memoirs’ assistant for five years on the Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney’s best-selling autobiography, and was later a speech writer to prime minister Stephen J. Harper.

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.

Article content