In Defense of Mulroney

Brian Mulroney has always had my respect. Here is a man who saw what needed to be done, and did it, regardless of the opposition he faced. His larger initiatives include NAFTA, the GST, cancelling the National Energy Program and two attempts to 'fix' Trudeau's constitution to include Quebec. His lesser-known initiatives include supporting an independent Ukraine (before any western country) and opposing the South African aparthied (when the US and UK did not).

Later, he was forcibly evicted from caucus based on allegations which later proved to be completely untrue. (Granted, I get to feel superior on this point because when these accusations were broken, I was in Grade 2 and living overseas)

However, his record is not the only reason I write this post. There is also Trudeau.

Trudeau did a lot of good things in his tenure. His accomplisments include the Constitution, the Charter, the Canada Health Act and huge increases in social spending and foreign aid. However, he had no ways to pay for all this. Trudeau entered power with a debt of $18 billion. We could have paid that off in a year. He finally retired with a debt of $200 and a huge deficeit and a national recession. Mulroney spent 9 years trying to keep improve our economy to the point where slaying the deficit was possible.

Some would argue that the financial burden Trudeau left was necessary for the greater good. I can respect that argument, even if I will argue with the extremes Trudeau went to. However, most Liberals (capital L) seem to argue that Trudeau was perfect economical and all our finacial burdens can be laid at the feet of Mulroney. This is what happens when your primary source for historical information is the CBC.

Don't believe me? Can't blame you. I haven't referenced a single fact in this post. And I don't trust media to evaluate economic history. So I'll give you a proper study.

Here. (this is a nice one. It is also the only scholarly study I can find online)

I would like to include more, but it is surprisingly difficult to find good economic analyses online. Textbooks are great, but I'm a little far from Robart's (University of Toronto Library) right now, even if I wanted to take the time to scan it.

I welcome people to refute me on this post. It is quite easy to debate the tenures of Mulroney and Trudeau. But please, use facts and arguments, and try to avoid name calling and references to the CBC or the Liberal Party Website.