Kim Campbell, who served as Canada’s prime minister in 1993, remembers her predecessor’s pragmatism.
“He lived an amazing, consequential life…What was interesting about Brian Mulroney was his willingness to rethink things and learn new things and change his mind,” she told CBC News Network host David -Told Cochrane. power and politics.
“He spent much of his childhood believing that free trade between Canada and the United States could never start,” said Campbell, who also served in Mulroney’s Conservative cabinet.
However, negotiating free trade agreements with the United States and later Mexico was one of the most controversial policies of the Mulroney era.
Canada’s 18th prime minister in nine years died earlier this week at the age of 84.
He was first elected Canada’s prime minister in 1984 after running a campaign promising to “repair” relations between Canada and the United States amid years of tension.
Officials who worked with the Mulroney administration say his ability to foster personal relationships ultimately helped secure a trade deal with the United States.
The seeds of the agreement were sown at the 1985 Shamrock Summit, when Mulroney hosted U.S. President Ronald Reagan in Quebec City. They are both from Ireland and are famous for singing lines from folk songs. when irish eye aRe-smile At a rally that began on St. Patrick’s Day.
The U.S. president and prime minister sing “Irish Eyes Are Smiling” during a St. Patrick’s Day celebration in Quebec City. It aired on CBC’s The National on March 17, 1985.
Fred Ryan, who served as chief of staff in the Reagan administration, told the CBC News Network that Mulroney left an impression on the president that helped pave the way for free trade negotiations.
The two “realized that they had a common worldview, were proud of their Irish heritage, and had a common sense of humour. And that combination actually made the two of them the best person ever.” We were able to find common ground to get things done in ways that we hadn’t before.” That never happened before,” Ryan told CBC’s Hilary Johnston.
Mr. Ryan said Mr. Reagan and Mr. Mulroney shared a “vision” to enable free trade between neighboring countries.
“If there is no great chemistry between the two of you, [a trade deal] It might not have happened. ”
as it happened7:02‘It’s a sad day for Canada,’ says former chief of staff Brian Mulroney.
Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney has died at the age of 84. His former chief of staff, Derek Burney, told As It Happens host Nir Koksal that he was a “humane person” who made an impression on the world stage in a very Canadian way. Told. Politicians rarely do it.
Derek Burney, Mulroney’s chief of staff and later Canada’s ambassador to the United States, said negotiations were in danger of collapsing in 1987.
“It was a combination of his direct efforts with President Reagan and my negotiations with then-Treasury Secretary Jim Baker that brought us the deal,” Bernie told CBC Radio host Nir Koksal. As it happens.
Louise Brace, a former diplomat and Mulroney government official, said one of the sticking points for Canada is making sure the country protects its cultural industries. But she praised Mulroney for fighting for cultural exemptions, which ultimately led to a final agreement.
“He left no stone unturned, put money in when it mattered, and kept the negotiations going,” she told CBC News.
1988 election campaign focused on free trade
Mr. Mulroney and Mr. Reagan signed the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement in January 1988. But Mulroney will face an election before the deal is ratified.
The 1988 federal election campaign was a fight over free trade, but Goldie Heider, president of the Business Council of Canada, said the concept wasn’t necessarily popular at the time.
“I was on campus at the University of Calgary at the time, and looking back, I can tell you from what I was hearing every day that free trade was not going to pass,” he told CBC News.
But Heider said the fact that Mulroney initially opposed free trade gave him enough credibility to persuade voters to give him more duties.
“I think, in a strange way, that gave him a great deal of credibility. For him to say, ‘I changed my mind,’ gave credibility to the concept and to him personally.” Changing Minds There aren’t that many politicians. ”
Hyder said this agreement, and the subsequent North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) agreement that brought Mexico into the fold, helped transform Canada’s economy.
“Without free trade, where would we be? Where would Canada be today? And the answer is, we would not be the rich country that we are today,” Hyder said. .
Brace argued that the free trade agreement backed by Mulroney paved the way for the creation of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
“It was very helpful in having a major impact on the development of the global free trade structure.”
But not all Canadians are convinced that free trade with the United States and Mexico has been good for Canada.
Maud Barlow was one of the most vocal opponents of free trade in the 1980s. In 1985, she co-founded the Council of Canadians, a citizens’ organization dedicated to preserving Canada’s independence.
“I would argue that the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement and NAFTA have gutted manufacturing in this country,” she said.
Ms. Barlow said she was adamantly opposed to Mr. Mulroney’s policies, but remained civil to her opponents and passionately debated the issues.
“I would say it was a very passionate fight for the soul of Canada,” she said of the free trade talks.
“He had a sense of decency. Even when we were fighting, I think there was a decency that still applies today.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would ultimately turn to Mulroney for advice and assistance during the renegotiation of NAFTA during President Donald Trump’s tenure. Canada finally signed the new NAFTA in 2019, and it entered into force in mid-2020.
With a contract review looming in 2026, Heider and Brace said Mulroney’s loss will be felt.
“When you lose a giant like Brian Mulroney, you lose that knowledge as well. And I don’t think there was another prime minister who really knew how to manage this relationship and how to manage the American psyche. ”Brace said.
“Trade deals aren’t about lawyers. It’s not about the paper they’re written on. It’s about personal relationships between leaders, and what Mr. Mulroney was able to do is to I think it was about leveraging what we’ve had for a decade and building and maintaining those relationships,” Haider said.
“It was his gift.”
