Brian Mulroney made Canada better, much better. I personally bore witness to his passion for transforming Canada into a stronger nation during the six years I spent working in the Mulroney PMO, as a young recruit fresh out of his alma mater at St. FX.
The Prime Minister’s passion for nation-building was contagious and inspiring. He led his team and Canada bravely. He tackled big problems. He secured a broad trade pact with our largest customer with the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement. He modernized Canada’s tax system by replacing the Manufacturers Sales Tax with the broader GST. He solved the major environmental problems of acid rain and ozone-depleting CFCs. Through perseverance, charm and brilliant understanding of the human dimension of problem-solving, the Prime Minister led. Internationally, Canada mattered because Mulroney was a trusted friend, ally and partner. His leadership in battling the scourge of South African apartheid will be recognized as his defining achievement on a global stage.
Mulroney went to high school and university in Atlantic Canada. His first foray into elected politics was in a Nova Scotia riding. Brian Mulroney became the best Prime Minister Atlantic Canada ever had. His ambitious policy initiatives in trade and the environment helped our region by securing access to the US market and cleaning our rivers of acid rain.
Mulroney also knew the best way to bring Atlantic Canada to its rightful place in Canada was to unleash its economic potential. That’s why he made Newfoundland’s offshore industry possible by supporting the Hibernia oil project when it was on the rocks, through an equity investment that kickstarted a transformative industry. He was justifiably proud when Newfoundland stopped receiving equalization because of offshore petroleum revenues.
He pushed for the fixed link to PEI over significant local opposition. He understood that an economy dependent on exporting perishable products would do better with a reliable link to markets. He also pushed major changes to the role of the federal government in the region by locating the GST processing Centre in Summerside and relocated hundreds of government officials from Ottawa to Atlantic Canada to be closer to the people and industries they were regulating.
Before Mulroney, government efforts to encourage regional economic development were a political game of creating a succession of failed economic development agencies (DREE, DRIE, etc.) Mulroney tasked NB Professor and Economist Donald Savoie to come up with a better model. ACOA was recommended with a head office in Atlantic Canada (over much Ottawa bureaucratic opposition). Forty years later, ACOA is still the central engine of Federal Government support for Atlantic economic policy.
New Brunswick’s twinned TransCanada Highway was Mulroney’s doing, as was the return of major shipbuilding to Atlantic Canada with establishment of the naval frigate program in Saint John. Offshore Accords, concluded with Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia, would eventually yield billions of dollars in resource revenues to each province.
Overall, Brian Mulroney was an awesome leader, boss and person. Those who knew him best liked him the most. His caucus members, staff and friends were treated to the compassionate support of a man who deeply cared for and about them. I will be forever grateful for the opportunity provided by the Prime Minister to play a small part in his unceasing and successful effort to build a better country.
Noel Sampson was Special Assistant in Brian Mulroney’s office from 1986 to 1993.
March 9, 2024 -
Excellent piece.