Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, who forged close ties with two Republican US presidents through a sweeping free trade agreement that was once vilified but now celebrated, died Thursday. He was 84. The country's 18th prime minister died peacefully and surrounded by family, his daughter Caroline Mulroney said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. Mulroney's family said last summer he was improving daily after a heart procedure that followed treatment for prostate cancer in early 2023. Leader of the Progressive Conservative party from 1983 to 1993, Mulroney served almost a decade as prime minister. He was first elected in 1984 after snagging the largest majority in Canadian history with 211 of 282 seats, the AP reports.
The win would mark Canada's first Conservative majority government in 26 years. His government was re-elected in 1988. Mulroney entered the job with massive support, but he left with the lowest approval rating in Canadian history. His Progressive Conservative party suffered a devastating defeat just after he left office. In the years after the loss, prime ministers sought his advice. "He had the courage to do big things," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said. "He shaped our past, but he shapes our present and he will impact our future as well. He was an extraordinary statesman and he will be deeply, deeply missed."
Mulroney pushed the 1988 US-Canada Free Trade Agreement forward in no small part due to his chumminess with Ronald Reagan. He also had an enduring friendship with George HW Bush. Few Canadians around during his reign have forgotten the widely broadcast Mulroney-Reagan duet of "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" at the Shamrock summit in Quebec City in 1985, named after the pair's Irish heritage and the fact that the summit fell on St. Patrick's Day. The 24-hour meeting opened the door to future free trade talks between the countries. The agreement later included Mexico in 1994, evolving into the North American Free Trade Agreement.
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But many constituents were opposed to the treaty, concerned that the agreement would jeopardize Canadian sovereignty. Critics blamed the rising unemployment during the late '80s and early '90s in Canada on factors such as businesses moving south to escape higher Canadian taxes and labor costs. Mulroney also irked Canadians by failing to unite the country's then bickering provinces and resolve French-speaking Quebec's desire for special status in the constitution, eventually leading to what would become a referendum on Quebec separation after he left office. The Quebec separatists lost a narrow vote. (More Canada stories.)
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