Brian Mulroney: Rolling The Dice

Brian Mulroney: Rolling The Dice By: Laura Staffen and Nichole Everett

Biography • Born on March 20, 1939 in Baie-Comeau, Quebec • He got married in 1973 to Mila Pivnicki • He has one daughter and three sons • He was a lawyer, a member of the Cliché Commission, the Vice-President and President of Iron Ore Company, and an author

Biography Cont. • He was part of the Progressive Conservative party • He was the leader of it in 1983-1993 • He was the 18th Prime Minister of Canada • He followed Kim Campbell and was proceeded by John Turner • He ran in Central Nova, Manicouagan, and Charlevoix

Political Philosophy • Mulroney was a Conservative • He became the Conservative Party leader • He was aiming to follow through on all the Conservative goals • He was also aiming to have a very good relationship with the United States

Election 1984 • Trudeau retired in 1984 • John Turner called the election for September • Turner had planned to attack Mulroney which lead to the setup of Mulroney’s victory • He compared his patronage to that of the Old Nationale in Quebec

Election 1984 • Mulroney had a famous response to Turner not canceling his appointment to the Governor General; “You had an option, sir. You could have said, 'I am not going to do it. This is wrong for Canada, and I am not going to ask Canadians to pay the price.' You had an option, sir--to say 'no'--and you chose to say 'yes' to the old attitudes and the old stories of the Liberal Party.”

Election 1988 • Free trade was the central issue • The Liberals and the NDPs were opposing it • The Conservatives won due to a successful counter attack towards the Liberals • They had a reduced majority of 43% • Mulroney was now the only Conservative leader to win two consecutive majority governments • During this election he was also elected MP for Charlevoix

The Goods and Services Tax • It was introduced on January 1st, 1991 • It was introduced by the PM Brian Mulroney and the Finance Officer Michael Wilson • In 1989, the PM proposed National Sales Tax of 9% in every province except Alberta • At the time, Alberta already had it’s own provincial sales tax • The purpose of GST was to replace 13.5% of Manufacturer’s Sales Tax • GST also replaced Federal Telecommunications Tax of 11%

The Goods and Services Tax Cont. • Canadians disapproved of the GST and were irritated by it because it would be more costly for Canadians • This gave other parties in Parliament to attack the Conservatives • It was soon lowered to 7% but it still made Canadians angry

Mulroney’s Legacy for Canada • He was responsible for the Canada and US Free Trade Agreement • He was also responsible for the proposal to change the Canadian Constitution

Introduction to Mulroney - First Impression • When Mulroney became the PM he had a lot of ideas that he thought would help Canada • He had also worked closely with other successful politicians • One of his first promises were to reduce government intervention in the economy and to forge closer trading ties with the United States

The Meech Lake Accord - The Role of Pierre Trudeau • Former PM and arch-federalist, Pierre Trudeau, spoke out against the Accord • He claimed that Mulroney had “sold out” to the provinces • He argued that Quebec was no more distinct than other places in Canada • He also said that the federal government should oppose many of the provincial initiatives to be able to keep the balance of powers within Confederation • Some of the Liberal MPs called on him to be their “spiritual leader” against the Accord

The Meech Lake Accord - The Rise of the Bloc Quebecois • Months before the Accord deadline, a commission led by Jean Charest recommended some changes to the Meech Lake Accord • Because of this, Lucien Bouchard, the environment minister, and also the chief Quebec lieutenant under Mulroney, and others, to leave the PC Party • Soon they formed the federal Bloc Quebecois party with several disenchanted Liberals

What Was The Meech Lake Accord? • It was a meeting that was held at Meech Lake • The premiers would try to find a solution that would satisfy both Quebec while also addressing the concerns of the others • They finally decided on four main points • They would recognize Quebec as a “distinct society” • There would be increased powers given to Quebec over the areas of immigration and appointments to the Supreme Court Of Canada

The Meech Lake Accord Cont. • There would be restrictions to the government’s spending power • There would be a veto to all the provinces on constitutional changes • But for this to be passed it had to be formally accepted by all of the provinces and they all had to agree on this within three years for it to be passed • There were many opponents to this

The Meech Lake Accord Cont. • Quebec thought that they didn’t receive enough power and the other provinces believed that Quebec had too much power • The Aboriginal leaders had a fear that the western governments would block their call for a self-government • Some women also believed that the accord would not address their needs • By 1990 polls had showed that most of Canada opposed this plan

Why Did It Fail? • It failed because of a number of different reasons • Not all of the provinces accepted it because they didn’t think it was fair for them • The Aboriginals feared that the western governments would block their call for self-government • Women thought that the accord would not address their needs • To be passed all of the members of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly had to agree to bring the Accord forward to debate

Why Did It Fail Cont. • One of the members, Elijah Harper, who was a Cree member, said “no” to the Accord eight times over the span of two days • To him, the Accord failed to recognize the Native people as equal partners • Because he had said no, the Accord couldn’t be ratified in time and Clyde Wells, Newfoundland’s premier, didn’t bring the Accord forward for debate

What Were The Consequences? • Many of the people in Quebec had felt betrayed and rejected by the federal system • It was announced that Quebec wouldn’t be involved in any more constitutional talks • The Belanger-Campeau Commission was launched • It was used to try to study some future options for Quebec and it concluded that Quebec had two choices • They could either separate from Canada or they could negotiate with Canada for a new federal partnership

What Were The Consequences Cont. • In Canada, the Mulroney government launched its own commission which was called Citizens’ Forum on Canada’s Future • It was led by the journalist Keith Spicer • It was set up to reassure Canadians that their input was important to the government’s plans for Canada’s future • The Canadians became furious with the government because Mulroney had said that he had been “rolling the dice”

http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-73-536-2634/politics_economy/free_trade/clip1http://archives.cbc.ca/IDC-1-73-536-2634/politics_economy/free_trade/clip1

Bibliography • History Textbook • CBC Archives • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Mulroney • http://www.canadiancollections.ca

Brian Mulroney: Rolling The Dice