Brian Mulroney

Mulroney acknowledged receiving cash payments from businessman Karlheinz Schreiber after leaving office as Prime Minister. The Oliphant Commission concluded that their business relationship and its management were inappropriate, particularly because of the lack of transparency surrounding the payments and the services allegedly provided.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

Canadian authorities investigated allegations that Mulroney had received bribes connected with Air Canada's purchase of Airbus aircraft. A letter sent to Swiss authorities had specifically linked him to a system of secret commissions, prompting the former Prime Minister to bring a defamation action.

Attribution

Directly implicated

Following the failure of Meech Lake, Mulroney supported the Charlottetown Accord, a wide-ranging constitutional compromise addressing Quebec, Indigenous peoples, the Senate and the division of powers, among other matters. It was rejected in the 1992 national referendum.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

The Mulroney government replaced the federal sales tax with a 7% Goods and Services Tax (GST). The measure prompted intense public and parliamentary opposition and became one of the symbols of the government's unpopularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

The Meech Lake Accord, negotiated by Mulroney to secure Quebec's formal acceptance of the 1982 Constitution, triggered a national crisis over Quebec's status, Indigenous rights and constitutional amendment procedures. As the deadline approached, Mulroney's strategy and his 'roll the dice' remark fuelled criticism before ratification failed in 1990.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

Facing a Senate deadlock over GST, Mulroney invoked an exceptional constitutional provision allowing the appointment of eight additional senators. Using this rare power to change the balance of the upper chamber provoked fierce institutional controversy.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

The Mulroney government was criticised for patronage in public appointments, including judicial appointments. Subsequent studies found that a significant proportion of judges appointed during his government's early years had Conservative connections, before screening committees were introduced to professionalise the system.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Direct responsibility

Mulroney had expressed serious reservations about a comprehensive free trade agreement during the 1983 leadership contest, before making it one of his government's central projects. The Canada-US agreement prompted a major political battle and dominated the 1988 election.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Political responsibility

During the 1984 federal campaign, Mulroney was associated with an extremely disparaging remark about former Liberal minister Bryce Mackasey, who had briefly joined the Conservatives before returning to the Liberals. The phrase became an enduring episode in his image as a combative politician.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated