Brian Mulroney, Prime Minister of Canada from 1984-1993, has died at 84

[The Right Honourable Martin Brian Mulroney PC CC GOQ]

It's telling that progressives and conservatives are both clamouring to claim Mulroney's legacy (at least in part). That's the marker of a true leader. Yes, he was quite unpopular, even hated, by the end of his term. But as is so often the case, the leaders who make the hard and unpopular decisions in their time are the ones who get vindicated by history, and I believe this is the case for Mulroney. Both the left and right hated him by the end of his term, and now both sides want to claim him. The left wants to emulate his global leadership on the environment and human rights, and the right wants to expand on his fiscally conservative and pro-business vision at home. And his once-polarizing free trade agreement is now something that all sides of Canadian politics want to protect. Two Prime Ministers since him, Chretien and Harper, served longer terms than him, yet I would argue Mulroney left a bigger legacy. Trudeau is a few months short of surpassing Mulroney's longevity, but I suspect Trudeau's legacy will be much more likely to be dismantled than Mulroney's - which was far from dismantled, it was expanded upon by his political opponents. This isn't to pave over Mulroney's failures, like the constitutional accords with Quebec, and his ultimate inability to fix Canada's fiscal issues - though on the latter, you could argue that in some aspects, he paved the way for Chretien to take the credit. The GST for example was going to destroy any government that implemented it, but Chretien and Martin eventually mounted Canada's economic recovery on having as reliable and efficient a revenue source as the GST, as well as the massive expansion of cross-border business through NAFTA.

Beyond politics though, Mulroney's story is even more remarkable. He was the son of an electrician in a small, rural mill town in a part of Quebec that even Quebecers forget about. He entered the workforce as a 10 year old, but still excelled as a student. He had no connections, he genuinely came from nothing, but was clearly a very talented and hardworking young man. By his early 30s, he was already a successful lawyer, and a known quantity in Montreal's saturated and cutthroat legal industry. By the age of 38, he was the President of one of the biggest companies in Canada. By 44, he was the leader of Canada's official opposition, and at 45 he was our Prime Minister, despite previously never having been elected to anything. In Canada's political culture, that's basically unheard of. In fact, I believe he's the only leader that either the Tories or Liberals have ever had (federally) who had never held political office prior to becoming party leader. He also holds the record of commanding the largest majority government in Canadian history. A guy who grew up in a working-class family in the middle of nowhere, whose talents, intelligence, and sheer hard work propelled him to exceptional success in business and in politics. I don't think Canadians of that era truly appreciated his impressive and inspirational rise to the top, but I hope history does.

Politically successful, personally successful, and a class act through it all. Rest in peace, Brian Mulroney.