National Post (National Edition)
Telling the story in his own words
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. Dedication of the Brian Mulroney Institute of Government, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, Sept. 18, 2018
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.
New York City, Dec. 10, 1984
Mila and I flew to Quebec late Saturday night. A latenight 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.
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.
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.
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.”
Above 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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
From Memoirs On the newlyfree 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.
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.
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.
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.” From Memoirs, recalling his 1987 visit to Africa