Canadian History for Kids: Brian Mulroney

September 4, 1984, Brian Mulroney wins landslide victory against opponents Liberal John Turner and New Democrat Ed Broadbent. This Canadian History for Kids, Sketches of Canada, looks at the life of Canada’s 18th Prime Minister.

Free Trade! Love it or hate, this will always be the legacy of Martin Brian Mulroney. He was born March 20, 1939 in the town of Baie-Comeau, Québec. He went to a private high school in New Brunswick before getting his B.A. at St. Francis Xavier University.

He went on to graduate from Laval University with a degree in civil law. Mulroney became a specialist in labour relations for a major Montréal law firm. From 1977 to 1983, Mulroney was president of Iron Ore Company of Canada. In an expensive 1976 campaign, he was defeated by Joe Clark in a bid for the party leadership. He later beat Clarke for the leadership in 1983. In 1984 he and his Tory party won the federal election with 211 seats including 58 seats in Quebec. It was the largest majority in Canadian history. Mulroney hoped to restore confidence in the Canadian economy struck a Free Trade Agreement with the United States.

Mulroney tried to end Quebec’s constitutional grievances by negotiating the Meech Lake Accord in 1987. It failed unfortunately.
A second set of constitutional proposals, the Charlottetown Accord, went to a national referendum but the voters rejected it in 1992.
By that time Mulroney’s popularity in the polls was lower than any prime minister’s in history. Mulroney announced his decision to leave politics in February 1993.
 

Canadian History for Kids’ Highlights as Prime Minister

• Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement 1988
• North American Free Trade Agreement – NAFTA 1992
• Canada Multiculturalism Act 1988
• Canadian participation in Gulf War 1991
• Goods and Service Tax 1991
• Nunavut Settlement Agreement 1993

And that’s this week Canadian History for Kids Sketches of Canada!
 

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