The death of former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney this past week marks the end of an era in Canadian politics, and that to me is regrettable.
The man, like any political leader, was not perfect. He made his mistakes and sometimes his ego got away from him, but he will go down in history as one of our greatest Prime Ministers.
Years ago, I was a delegate to the convention that elected Brian Mulroney as Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. I didn’t vote for him. I supported Joe Clark, in part because he had a Huntsville connection and in part because he was the only leadership candidate who phoned me personally and asked for my vote.
I don’t regret that vote, but as the years went on, I quickly realized that Brian Mulroney was a remarkable leader with an unquenched belief in the strength of Canada both domestically and on the world stage. There was nothing shy and retiring about him. He was not afraid to take risks and some of them blew up in his face. As Toronto Star journalist Martin Regg Cohn wrote in a recent article, “Mulroney always swung for the fences, seeking triumph while risking failure.”
While tributes for Brian Mulroney came from all parts of the world in recent days, the one that summed up his public life most succinctly came from former Prime Minister Joe Clark, often a man who was a competitor of Mulroney’s. This is what he said: “Brian was one of Canada’s great change-makers—determined to move this country forward and with an instinct to respect differences and an extraordinary capacity to reconcile. He was bold, a big dreamer and an unparalleled negotiator and persuader both at home in Canada and in the wider world.”
One of Brian Mulroney’s greatest assets was his humanity. It quite likely was the saving grace that kept him in government when his popularity was in decline. He knew how to manage his caucus in a manner, unlike any other federal political leader I have seen since. No birthday, no achievement, no crisis or failure occurred without a personal and comforting phone call from the Prime Minister. Not from one of his honchos, but from the man himself.
At one point the child of one of his backbencher’s children was very sick in hospital. Brian Mulroney and his wife Mila spent several evenings at her bedside. Another time, Brian Mulroney was campaigning in Western Canada when Parry Sound-Muskoka Member of Parliament Stan Darling’s wife Mona died. Brian Mulroney cancelled his plans, got on a plane and attended Mona Darling’s funeral in Burk’s Falls. It is little wonder that Mulroney had unconditional support and loyalty from his caucus.
Brian Mulroney was my kind of Conservative and he governed at a time when civility was still in vogue, when politicians of all stripes could talk to each other and sometimes, even find common ground. A time when one didn’t have to wait until their opponents were dead before saying something nice about them. As a result, it was also a time when things actually got done and when Canada was very big on the world stage.
Today, a lot of that has changed. John Manley, a former Liberal Minister of Foreign Affairs, has recently observed that Canada is no longer useful in world affairs. What a sad statement that is from someone who should know.
Politics in Canada has become so divisive, so self-serving and so nasty that it has become a completely different solitude to that of former years. Preston Manning, founder of the right-wing and now-defunct Reform Party noted that “the humanity of Brian Mulroney has been lost in Canadian politics.” On that, and likely on that alone, I agree with him.
Even the Toronto Star’s Susan Delacourt, normally a Liberal apologist, put it this way in an article today: “Why has Canadian politics become so stupid? Our federal political parties believe their best chances of power can be found on the path that is shallower, dumber, angrier and more hysterical.”
She is right about that. Civility, facts, and respectful disagreement seem to be a thing of the past in Canadian politics.
Canada in my view, has seldom, if ever, been as divided as it is now. More importantly, politicians at the federal level, of all stripes, are catering to this divisiveness rather than attempting to unify this country, despite what they may otherwise claim.
We also live in a time of unchecked spending with interest alone on government debt costing Canadians $81.8 billion a year. And a Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister who thinks it is okay to spend nearly $6,000.00 per month on the public dime, for personal grooming expenses including hairdressers, spa treatments, personal trainers and gym memberships. Top that off with one scandal after another, including SNC Lavalin, the WE Charity and now ArriveCan, and man, things are getting out of control.
It is little wonder that people want change. But the big question is what should that change be? Few people want to jump from the frying pan into the fire.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is likely to win the next federal election especially if there is no change in the current Liberal leadership. But can he bring back civility to federal politics? Will he be flexible enough in his policies to unite Canadians rather than divide them? What is his plan to deal with Canada’s national debt? Will he stay the hell out of the bedrooms of the Nation, and can he restore Canada’s status as a world power? These are questions many Canadians are seeking answers to. They do not want the same old, same old.
In my view, the time for punchouts and divisive politics is over. We can learn from Brian Mulroney. He was known for swinging to the fence and getting things done with courage and in a manner that underlined both his determination and his humanity. Those qualities are extremely important in a leader.
Whoever leads Canada into the future, should aim for nothing less.
Hugh Mackenzie
Publisher
Hugh Mackenzie has held elected office as a trustee on the Muskoka Board of Education, a Huntsville councillor, a District councillor, and mayor of Huntsville. He has also served as chairman of the District of Muskoka and as chief of staff to former premier of Ontario, Frank Miller.
Hugh has also served on a number of provincial, federal and local boards, including chair of the Ontario Health Disciplines Board, vice-chair of the Ontario Family Health Network, vice-chair of the Ontario Election Finance Commission, and board member of Roy Thomson Hall, the National Theatre School of Canada, and the Anglican Church of Canada. Locally, he has served as president of the Huntsville Rotary Club, chair of Huntsville District Memorial Hospital, chair of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation, president of Huntsville Festival of the Arts, and board member of Community Living Huntsville.
In business, Hugh Mackenzie has a background in radio and newspaper publishing. He was also a founding partner and CEO of Enterprise Canada, a national public affairs and strategic communications firm established in 1986.
Currently, Hugh is president of C3 Digital Media Inc., the parent company of Doppler Online, and he enjoys writing commentary for Huntsville Doppler.
Don’t miss out on Doppler!
Sign up here to receive our email digest with links to our most recent stories.
Local news in your inbox three times per week!
Click here to support local news
Madeline Humphreys says
Couldn’t agree more Hugh.
Hugh Holland says
I agree that Brian Mulroney was one of Canada’s greatest and most transformational Prime Ministers. I got to shake his hand personally in 1985. But he was human and not everything he did was 100%. The Canada-US Free Trade agreement was a double-edged sword that pitted many of our industries in direct competition against US rivals 10 times our size, and that makes for very tough sledding on our slide. That has contributed to a slow but sure decline in some of our industries. And of course, there were the envelopes of cash from Karl-Heinze Schrieber.
The problem today is that when one side resorts to reckless and relentless mud slinging and the other side does not respond in kind, the majority, who are not full-time political junkies, begin to think the mudslingers are correct. Mudslinging seems to be Poilievre’s main strength.
We see that in spades in the USA where it seems that Trump can get away with every ethical and moral offence and still get enough votes from supporters who don’t seem to understand what he is doing to them. This past week, Texas had a record wildfire that destroyed everything in over one million acres, but Trump plans to make the governor of Texas, one of the most ardent deniers of climate change, his vice president. Not enough people are connecting the dots. We are seeing that, albeit to a somewhat lesser extent, in Canada and several other countries. Is democracy on a slippery slope? And what will be the end result?
Anna-Lise Kear says
Mr. Mackenie; my strongest memories about Mr. Mulroney are the following:
1] the closure of a small, rural (Ottawa Valley village) Canadian manufacturing knitting mill offering employment in an impoverished economic area( a result of free-trade-agreement).
2] the failure to support a viable lab producing immunization serum, e.g. Connaught labs (the reason we had no such facility to operate during the pandemic outbreak)
3] the bedside confession of a Quebec man who knew that bus loads of only recently registered Conservatives from Quebec had arrived at the Conservative convention for the sole purpose to vote him into leadership of the party. Ethically questionable, if not illegal.
4] his association with Ronald Reagan – Reganomics and the “trickle down effect”, which did not happen. Tax breaks and incentives to the rich resulted in no such sharing – but rather of purchasing more stoke options for the rich.
5] Finally, the Airbus scandal, which resulted in the exposure of his greed.
I will concede that he had a respected presence internationally
John K. Davis says
Wow a Liberal is a Liberal and sees nothing else. It always amazes me that they call themselves progressives? It is this very attitude that has created this big divide in Canada.
Even when great policies like free trade brings our country kicking and screaming into greater stature in the world, affording citizens of this country opportunities never thought possible, we get the glass half empty comments.
We have a Prime Minister now that hides out instead of talking to people with legitimate complaints. Brian Mulroney would have picked up the phone if nothing else and given those in pain the comfort of a hearing, whether he agreed with them or not.
Liberals couldn’t tear him down in life, now they think they are safe to besmirch his legacy.
I guess if you can’t find anything in your leader to be proud of, the next best thing to do is try and tear down someone, who has achieved so much?
Joanne Tanaka says
Thank you for all your thoughts on Brian Mulroney’s legacy. He worked hard serving Canadians achieving much and is still considered the PM who has set a standard for commitment to the Environment which has not yet been matched by succeeding PMs. Among the stories shared recently, on CBC a mom related her surprise when he called to be interviewed by her twelve year old daughter as she had written to him to request. She thought it was a prank and had to be convinced otherwise. You can imagine what that mom said to the “prankster” I have framed an Acknowledgement of Canada’s mistreatment of Japanese Canadians, signed by PM Brian Mulroney. That document did much to heal years of hurt suffered by my parents.
He lived a very good life that inspires all of us to do better and do more to be friendly and respectful and kind no matter what our beliefs on various issues.
Anna-Lise Kear says
Mr. Davis, my comments only broaden the scope of legacy left by Brian Mulroney, as could be stated of any Prime Minister. Who would argue that decisions, any decision is without consequence?
Those people in the Ottawa valley I mentioned as an example of loss of their employment, show that there is always a “micro” picture within a “macro” decision; the free trade decision had more than a positive impact, it had a negative one too. One, with which we are still dealing with today.
So, by all means, sing along with Reagan and Mulroney “When Irish Eyes are Smiling” – I will remember the loss of manufacturing in a small, impoverished village and what that meant to the folks there.
Allen Markle says
Is there really a need to begin a sentence with ‘wow’? Often using a capitol! As if you are shouting at someone. And ‘wow’ doesn’t change the fact that a Conservative is, as well, a Conservative. Sort of the reciprocal of the Liberal thing.
We’ve had a lot of majority governments in the last few decades. Recall a dude named Mike Harris? Landslide! A few years later he was running like a gazelle. We now have a Federal PC wanting to use the ‘common sense’ shtick? Thought Mike may have tainted that.
PET had a few majority governments (3). An unfortunate soul named Joe(PC) told Canadians that the price of gasoline was going up. Trudeau contradicted the notion. Joe lost the election! And the price of gas went up! And later, as we have been told, PET took “a walk in the snow.”
Brian Mulroney was simply another Prime Minister, capable of good and bad stuff. As were and are, they all. What stood out for me with the end of the Mulroney era was the lack of balls shown by the male PCs of the day. It seemed to me the guys kinda felt they were going down and none of them wanted to show badly. Enter Kim Campbell. Did the guys talk it over and decide to sacrifice the lady? Sort of “If it works we’ll look golden. If not? Well it’s only…. Kim.”
Politicians all play fast and loose with facts and truth, mostly just interested in re-election. Along the way, some good may be done.
Years of politicians and politics can leave one somewhat jaded.