1939-2024: Former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney dead at 84

Former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney has died at 84, according to a social media post from his daughter. He served as PM from 1984 to 1993.

Connect with CTV News:

---
CTV News is Canada's most-watched news organization both locally and nationally, and has a network of national, international, and local news operations.

[markastoforoff]

They say not to speak ill of the dead so I will just say he's dead.

[mikemorbid]

I regret that he served no jail time for his crimes against the country.

[madmarkm]

he maybe gone but his GST tax will live forever.

[belle]

Wasn’t he the PM to introduce the GST tax?

[jw-hynq]

This is the guy that thought it was perfectly normal to have a representative of Airbus push a large paper bag full of cash under a restaurant table to him. A bag he later jammed in his home safe and claimed he had no idea what was in it and why the airbus rep gave it to him.

[hymansahak]

Why are politicians so important and talked about on the news and put in such high regard? I don’t get it. All they do is eat well, sleep well and take care of themselves.

[CaperCountry]

Possibly one of the most hated pm’s, almost killed the pc party

[KevinSills]

Under Brian Mulroney we got NAFTA, which handcuffed the Canadian agricultural industry for sales, in particular the dairy industry, and in fact set in motion the demise of the dairy industry. The most recent NAFTA agreement even gave the Americans "Veto" power over any new Canadian production plants. As an example, the ground had already been broken and construction started on a new Baby Formula production plant near Cornwall, Ontario, when the most recent NAFTA agreement was signed work on the site was halted, and as a direct result there was a North American baby formula shortage that never should have happened. Also, the recent NAFTA agreement spelled out the dismantling of the milk quota system in Canada which will result in the closing down of thousands of dairy farms just in Ontario, countless coast to coast. The Americans subsidize their agricultural industry to the tune of "BILLIONS" of dollars each year, something Canada cannot compete with, soon all your milk and dairy products will be coming from the USA, and when you see the quality difference, well by that time it will be too late!

[kaid]

In 1995, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) accused Mulroney and Frank Moores of accepting kickbacks from Karlheinz Schreiber on the sale of Airbus airplanes to the government-owned airline during Mulroney's time as Prime Minister of Canada. The allegations were made in a letter sent by the RCMP to the government of Switzerland seeking access to banking records. Schreiber had earlier raised money for Mulroney's successful 1983 bid to win the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party.

Mulroney denied the allegations, and launched a $50 million defamation suit against the Canadian government, alleging that the newly elected Liberal government of Jean Chrétien was engaging in a smear campaign against its predecessor. The government settled out of court in early 1997, and agreed to publicly apologize to Mulroney, as well as paying the former prime minister's $2.1 million legal fees.

Although there is no evidence that Mulroney accepted kickbacks while prime minister, he acknowledged in 2003 that shortly after stepping down in 1993 that he accepted $225, 000 over 18 months from Schreiber, in three cash payments of $75, 000 each. Mulroney was still a member of the House of Commons of Canada when one of the payments was made. Mulroney claims that this money was paid to him for consulting services he rendered to help promote a fresh pasta business, and to develop international contacts for Schreiber. Mulroney had previously not admitted accepting any commissions from Schreiber during his lawsuit against the Canadian government, and later under oath specifically denied any business dealings with him. Mulroney has not yet provided evidence of any work he performed for that money, and declared it as income to Revenue Canada only years later, when Schreiber had come under criminal investigation in Germany. Schreiber ridiculed their dealings in pasta-macaroni as nothing more than being sent a single flyer, and has stated that the three separate payments were actually $100, 000 each in $1000 bills, a total of $300, 000.

[keithalexander]

I think his claim to fame was all those kickbacks from that air Canada government funding.

[gerryjamieson]

A crap PM, a bully, arrogant to name a few of his character traits. Glad he's gone.

[cashnrg]

Monumental figure is correct...he hurt the health care system so much that we are still losing

[Gary-lo]

I`m not at all sad, he brought in the GST, Canada has never been the same since.

[janef]

Hopefully there is accountability in the afterlife

[StoicStud]

Thanks for the gst and pst and taxes and for making yourselves richer and all the scandals job well done!

[paulc.]

Well the scandal of airbus vs envelope's is now laid to rest

[ElectoneGuy]

He was, at the end of his last term, one of the most hated PMs in Canadian history. His party was decimated in the next election. Same thing is going to happen to Justin.

[cdnJGSL]

Everyone, we will remember him by looking at the the price tag wherever you go and then when comes to paying it is significantly more thanks to his GST

[corwyncorey]

For many, if not most, neither unfortunate, nor sad news.

Condolences to his family. They had to know him far longer than we did.

[WalterRychlicki]

Can't forgive him for the GST and the way he has implemented it.