Former MP was ‘minister of everything’
While serving Mulroney, ‘Maz’ considered most popular federal politician
As the story goes, it was a uniquely Canadian metaphor from his wife that prompted Don Mazankowski’s departure from politics in 1993 after a 25year ascension to the penultimate position of power in Ottawa.
“She said a good hockey player knows when to hang up his skates,” the then-deputy prime minister in Brian Mulroney’s Tory government told the Toronto Star in early June that year.
On Tuesday night, the man affectionately known on Parliament Hill as “Maz” — and often referred to as the most popular federal politician of his time — died at the age of 85.
The proud Albertan from Vegreville was a giant in federal politics for a generation during which he commanded sweeping influence that earned him the informal title of “minister of everything” in the Mulroney government.
“He was a superb minister and member of Parliament and a team player who achieved more for Alberta than any federal politician in our history,” Mulroney said Wednesday evening. “He didn’t have any malice whatsoever in him. He liked people very much and he was proud of his humble roots.”
Born to Polish immigrants in the small town of Viking, Alta., Mazankowski was lured away from a car dealership he’d launched with his brother after meeting Prime Minister John Diefenbaker during a speaking stop in Vegreville. Inspired by the idea of giving voice to the Western experience in Canada, Mazankowski ran for a federal seat in the 1968 election.
The decision would change his life — and the country — for good. Mazankowski went on to represent his constituency for a quarter of a century, serve in the cabinets of Joe Clark and Brian Mulroney and play a key role in issues ranging from U.S.Canada free trade to national energy and transportation policy.
In 1984, when Mulroney was looking to form a cabinet in his newly elected government, he scanned the room for standouts. “As I looked around the shadow cabinet, Mazankowski was a very strong performer,” the former prime minister recalled.
Initially, Mulroney appointed Mazankowski transportation minister. In a cabinet shuffle two years later, he tapped Mazankowski for deputy prime minister. “I realized what an effective leader he was. And he did so without creating enemies anywhere he went. He was never viewed as a miserable partisan by the other side … Even in tough debates, he never burned bridges.”
The two became more than colleagues, Mulroney said. “We got along so well to the point where we could complete each other’s sentences,” said Mulroney, who had kept in close touch with his old friend, visiting him in Edmonton two years ago and speaking with him as recently as last month.
Geoff Norquay, former senior adviser to Mulroney and now principal with the Earnscliffe Strategy Group, recalls a close friendship between the two men that defined the government of the day.
“While others may have had the title, Don Mazankowski was the first deputy prime minister who was truly the chief operating officer of the government of Canada,” he said. “This arrangement worked because of the complete trust between the (prime minister) and Maz. I saw them together almost every day over several years and the relationship was totally seamless and mutually supporting.”
On June 18, 1993 — less than two weeks after taking his wife’s Lorraine’s veiled advice — Mazankowski was summoned to a ceremony in Ottawa at which he was elevated in title from “honourable” to “right honourable” — a rare honorific typically reserved for the governor general, the country’s chief justice and the prime minister.
The honour was orchestrated by Mulroney as a parting gift to his friend. “After the ceremony, (Mazankowski) and I were standing out in front of Rideau Hall and said to him, ‘Well, Maz, how do you think we’ve done?’ He chuckled with a big smile on his face and said, ‘Well, Brian, for a car salesman from Vegreville and a son of an electrician from Baie-Comeau, when you ask how did we do, I think we’ve done not bad.’”
In 2000, Mazankowski was named Officer of the Order of Canada. After receiving a lifetime achievement award in 2010 from the Canadian Association of Former Parliamentarians, Mazankowski gave a speech in which he called the House of Commons “a reflection of the legitimate political declaration of our nation.” “I recall my first walk up the steps of the Peace Tower. I was filled with pride, humility and awe. I paused, looked around and said to myself, ‘Wow, how did I ever get here?’ I soon realized it was rooted in a combination of faith, family and friends, blended with a touch of courage, a bit of luck and hard work.”