Mulroney had a personal touch
Ex-PM ‘fearless’ with tough choices
Former prime minister Brian Mulroney is remembered in local conservative circles as a passionate leader with a personal touch and the courage to make groundbreaking decisions.
Rob Nicholson first won a seat in the House of Commons representing Niagara Falls in the 1984 election that brought Mulroney to power. He joined Mulroney’s cabinet as attorney general from 1989 to 1993.
Nicholson said it was “easy” to work with Mulroney.
“It was terrific to be with him,” Nicholson said. “He was always so fair and open and honest. He was always on the right track, I used to believe, and it was easy for me to support him.”
Mulroney was 84. A family spokesperson said he died Thursday at a hospital in Palm Beach, Fla., where he was being treated after a recent fall.
Nicholson said he appreciated the leadership role Mulroney played for Canada on the world stage.
“It didn’t matter whether it was the United States or Britain or NATO, or any of these others, he always had a leadership role to play, and it was very impressive — in particular with respect to the question of apartheid.
“He took the leadership role on this and put pressure on South Africa to stop their apartheid regimes. It was one of the things that impressed me about him.”
Nicholson also said Mulroney was fearless in tackling what could be controversial issues if he believed it was right for Canada.
“With the free trade agreement that we have with the United States, there was some controversy about that, but he truly believed, and he made the point to us that it was the right thing to do for Canada and we would prosper in it,” he said, adding Mulroney had a way of connecting with people on a personal level.
“He would reach out to people and be supportive of people, even those in different political parties, and I always agreed with that. When one of my kids was born or something, he made a point of pointing that out
to everybody that I had a new baby child.”
Ken Atkinson, a lawyer and former St. Catharines city councillor who won a seat representing the city in Mulroney’s government from 1988 to 1993, also remembered Mulroney’s personal touch.
“During my time in office, my father, Harold Atkinson, passed away suddenly,” Atkinson said. “One of the first calls I received was from Brian Mulroney to offer his sympathy to my mother and our family. He had lost his father and was very empathetic to how I was feeling, and that call provided me with much comfort.
“I feel very fortunate and honoured to have served in his government and to support his leadership on such matters as the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, acid rain and the support of Nelson Mandela against the apartheid regime of South Africa.”
Atkinson said the former prime minister cared about his MPs and the issues concerning their ridings.
“In particular, he wanted to know more about Ontario Paper since his father had worked for the company in Baie Comeau,” Atkinson said.
“Whether it was the wine industry, improving the piers at Port Dalhousie, or our auto industry, he was always aware and supportive of our Niagara area.”
Rob Welch, a lawyer and Niagara Region councillor from 1985 to 1994, has deep ties to the Progressive Conservative Party of Canada. Welch’s father, Bob, represented St. Catharines at Queen’s Park from 1963 to 1985 and made a run for the provincial party leadership in 1971 at the convention Bill Davis won.
Welch met Mulroney in 1975 when Welch was home for a reading weekend at Queen’s University.
Mulroney was invited to a gathering of party faithful at the Parkway Complex on Ontario Street in St. Catharines as he made the rounds during his first run at party leadership.
“He certainly impressed me,” Welch said. “He was probably 36, and I would have been 21. I decided to support him in that leadership race and ran and won a delegate position with the Queen’s Youth PC club.”
Welch observed Mulroney during his time on the political stage and said one of his strengths was bringing people together and moving forward on big issues such as free trade and changes in the tax system that initiated the GST.
“We tried a couple of times to get the constitution back home, and that obviously didn’t work, but he tried,” Welch said. “I think he made mistakes, which are well documented, and there were times when he had a bigger personality than others would have liked, but on the other hand the results were there.
“In later years, he was certainly seen with much more respect as those mistakes were well in the rear-view mirror.”