Former PM Brian Mulroney Dead at Eighty-Four

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Former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney has passed away, his family announced on Feb. 29. He was 84.

“On behalf of my mother and our family, it is with great sadness we announce the passing of my father, The Right Honourable Brian Mulroney, Canada’s 18th Prime Minister,” Mr. Mulroney’s daughter Caroline Mulroney said on social media on Feb. 29.

“He died peacefully, surrounded by family,” said Ms. Mulroney, who is Ontario’s minister of francophone affairs.

Mr. Mulroney was Canada’s prime minister from 1984 to 1993 and leader of the Progressive Conservative Party from 1983 to 1993.

Born in Baie-Comeau, Quebec, in 1939, he studied law, worked in labour law, and was a business executive before entering politics.

Mr. Mulroney led his party to one of the largest landslide victories in Canadian history in 1984, and won another majority government in 1988.

During his tenure he focused on building stronger ties with the United States, negotiating the first free-trade agreement with the United States in 1988.

Canada’s economic growth was strong during the first years of his administration. Mr. Mulroney brought in a wave of privatizations and deregulation, as well as major tax reforms.

His government also introduced the goods and services tax, or GST, in 1991.

Mr. Mulroney sought to gain Quebec’s endorsement of the constitutional amendments of 1982 through the Meech Lake Accord and the Charlottetown Accord, which both failed, leading to the rise of the Bloc Québécois.

He resigned as prime minister in 1993 amid declining support due in part to the unpopularity of the GST, the collapse of the constitutional reform talks, and the rising popularity of the Reform Party among Canadian conservatives.  His defence minister, Kim Campbell, replaced him as prime minister and leader of the PCs. She lost the 1993 election to the Liberals.

Mr. Mulroney gave a eulogy for Queen Elizabeth II in Ottawa in September 2022.

In June 2023, his daughter announced that he was recovering after treatment for prostate cancer.

He leaves behind his wife, Mila, and four children.