Brian Mulroney

Brian Mulroney (http://www.artbabych.com/nov18-24.html)

Brian Mulroney was born on March 20, 1939 in Quebec as the son of Irish immigrants. His father was an electrician. Brian Mulroney had six siblings in a his family; his parents’ names were Irene and Benedict. He won the leadership of the Conservatives in 1983 beating Joe Clark, with the final ballot being 1584 to 1325 votes. He was Prime Minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993. He created GST (the Goods and Services Tax), as well as helped create NAFTA (the North American Free Trade Agreement). He stepped down from being Prime Minister in 1993, and Kim Campbell succeeded him as Prime Minister. Brian Mulroney was a very brave and resilient person, because he went ahead even when receiving criticism for what he was doing.

Mulroney graduated from Laval University in 1964 then went to a Montreal Law firm known as Ogilvy Renault. In 1974, Mulroney ran for leadership of the Progressive Conservatives, but did not succeed. Mulroney took the job of Executive Vice President of Iron Ore Company of Canada; he was appointed President of the company in 1977. Mulroney was elected the party leader of the Progressive Conservatives on June 11, 1983, replacing Joe Clark.

Brian Mulroney (http://www.politician-pictures.com/prime_minister_pictures.html)

Mulroney became Prime Minister in 1984 with an overwhelming majority, one of the biggest majorities in the history of Canada. Mulroney’s second term as Prime Minister was also won with a large majority. During his time in power, Mulroney was involved in the North America Free Trade Agreement, which gave Canada much more capability when it came to trade. He also created the GST (Goods and Services Tax) to replace the Manufacturing Tax. The Manufacturing Tax was bad for trade because it could be applied every time that goods were sold. The GST is only applied once, when a product is sold to the final buyer. GST is also more fair because there is GST Rebate which allows people who have a lower income to get a certain percentage of their tax back.

Another great thing, the Multiculturalism Act was also created during his time as Prime Minister. Under this act everyone is considered equal under the law and everyone has the right to equal protection and benefit of the law. Everyone also as the right to a freedom of conscience, religion, thought, belief, opinion, expression, peaceful assembly, and association.

In conclusion, Brian Mulroney is a hero because even though he knew he may receive criticism for the Goods and Services Tax he went ahead and did it anyways. He did it because he knew that the Goods and Services Tax would help Canada. I think this makes him brave and resilient. Not to mention that he thought about individual Canadians futures not just Canada’s future as a whole. The Multiculturalism Act was another great thing that Brian Mulroney did for Canada. This also talks about how everyone has freedom. This explains why in my opinion that Brian Mulroney is a hero to be sought after.