I rise today with a heavy heart, full of sadness. We mourn the loss of a truly remarkable leader. Brian Mulroney was a visionary and principled Prime Minister of Canada. He dedicated his life to pursuing Canada’s national interests and humanitarian issues worldwide.

Mr. Speaker, when I came to Canada in 1983, I was inspired by Prime Minister Mulroney and what he represented to people like me coming from a war-torn country. His compassion, his leadership and his dedication to freedom, democracy and social justice improved the lives of millions of people around the world. He was truly a dynamic leader for Canada—a transformative force for positive change.

During the 1983 pogroms against the Tamil people during the civil war, thousands of Tamils came to Canada seeking asylum and a better place to live. Prime Minister Mulroney faced strong pressure not to accept such refugees. As a man of principle and strong moral conviction, he simply replied that Canada is “not in the business of turning away refugees.”

Prime Minister Mulroney didn’t shy away from international pressure either. Despite the opposition he faced from his allies, Prime Minister Mulroney’s support of Nelson Mandela against the apartheid government of South Africa helped bring about the end of that ugly regime. He was always committed to doing the right thing, not the popular thing.

Mr. Speaker, leaders are never born, they are made. Prime Minister Mulroney’s spirit burns bright, a candle that will light the world forever.

If you seek it, you will find unanimous consent to allow members to make statements in remembrance for the late Right Honourable Brian Mulroney, 18th Prime Minister of Canada, with five minutes allotted to His Majesty’s loyal opposition, five minutes allotted to the independent members as a group and five minutes allotted to His Majesty’s government.

It’s a pleasure to rise today on behalf of the official opposition to share our deepest condolences on the passing of the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney, Canada’s 18th Prime Minister.

I want to start by offering, of course, our most sincere sympathies to the family of Prime Minister Mulroney: his wife Mila; our colleague the President of the Treasury Board and the member for York–Simcoe; Ben, Mark and Nicolas; and all of his grandchildren, family, friends and loved ones as they find themselves in the midst of such a huge loss. I want you to know that as you find yourselves navigating through this new grief, a nation is grieving right alongside you.

Brian Mulroney’s commitment to Canada and its people cannot be understated. He’s left a legacy that will be remembered and recounted for generations to follow. I want to reflect for a moment on what that legacy means as we face, in this moment, the very real and looming threat of climate change. Every day we are breaking new records—and not the good kind—but climate change denialism persists as a major challenge.

Decades ago, when climate activism wasn’t as loud or as visible, Brian Mulroney campaigned for the planet. Under his leadership, Canada broke ground on a number of environmental policies. It was Prime Minister Mulroney who led the signing of the acid rain treaty with the United States. It was a unique first step in managing cross-border pollution. As well, there was the Montreal Protocol, an international treaty to ban CFCs that were burning a hole in the ozone layer. That’s still one of the most successful international environmental treaties.

I could go on listing his environmental accomplishments: the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, the Environmental Protection Act, ratifying the Convention on Biological Diversity, recognizing conservation of biodiversity as a common concern of humankind—under Prime Minister Mulroney’s leadership Canada was the first industrialized country to do so. His government released the Green Plan, with millions in funds and policies to bring carbon emissions under control. For Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, the environment and the Earth’s well-being was not a partisan issue. He understood the importance of coming together to save the planet that we all share and his actions on this matter reflected that.

Many will also remember that under Prime Minister Mulroney’s watch Canada was one of the first countries that Nelson Mandela visited upon his release from prison after nearly 27 years. We don’t have to tell anybody in this room, probably, but Prime Minister Mulroney repeatedly called for the release of Nelson Mandela and he took on Margaret Thatcher to impose sanctions on the apartheid regime. Back when I was a young thing, that was an issue that I cared very deeply about. And while there’s no question that, certainly, the fight for liberation in South Africa was won by South Africans, by people organizing and resisting, sanctions were an absolutely critical factor in applying international pressure to the apartheid state.

Personally, I saw another side to that role that Canada played, because Canada also used, under Prime Minister Mulroney, our international development heft to support the front-line states in their resistance against apartheid as well.

My family’s life changed under Prime Minister Mulroney’s policies. We were living in Newfoundland, and my father got a contract doing work for CIDA in international development in southern Africa, working with the SADC states. At that time, there was enormous resistance to apartheid in South Africa. His project was to ensure industrial energy conservation was taking place in those front-line states. What was important about that was it allowed for those states to remain independent of the South African apartheid state. It was a critical thing. It was another way—and I think there were many of these tactics that were used by Canada in that moment—to use our policy and our money and our decisions to put pressure to end apartheid. It’s something that changed my life, and it changed my family’s life.

Mr. Mulroney’s legacy is folded into Canada’s story, and that’s quite a legacy to leave. He also leaves a more personal legacy for many of us in political life, as a mentor and as someone who was always willing to reach across party lines to give advice. He even left me a message or two, I will say.

I was reminded at Ed Broadbent’s memorial not very long ago—another great Canadian—of their friendship. A friend of mine was reminding me that at the inaugural Broadbent Institute gala a number of years back, Mr. Mulroney sent in a lovely little video, and it started out with him saying, “Hello, Brian Mulroney here. Bet you’re wondering what I’m doing at the Broadbent gala.” I know they had a very close friendship and respect for each other, and I think that was very important to Mr. Broadbent as well.

On the other side of someone’s passing, the loss feels so huge. It is huge, and it is sometimes insurmountable. This morning of tributes is our human attempt to fill the vacuum that can otherwise feel so overwhelming. As we remember a Prime Minister and a global leader, we are really remembering a person: a brother, a father, a husband and a valued community member.

So to Caroline, to Mr. Mulroney’s family, I can only hope there is some solace and smiles and warmth to be found in the very rich life that Brian Mulroney led. And I say this again: Those whose lives were touched by your father across this country and around the world are standing right beside you. I hope you’re all feeling our support that is there with you today.

It’s an honour today to rise to pay tribute to the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney, Canada’s 18th Prime Minister.

Brian Mulroney’s impact on Canada and the world was significant: the fight against apartheid in South Africa, the GST, fighting acid rain and championing free trade. It was free trade, John Turner and Brian Mulroney that got me off the couch in 1998 to go and knock doors in Ottawa South, and that was the spark that led me here some 25 years later.

Since then, I’ve come closer to his position on free trade. That’s the thing about political legacies: Our victories, our mistakes, our missed opportunities are always looked at through the lens of the present. They’re subject to debate. There is a legacy that is more important, and that is the mark that you leave on people’s hearts.

Our colleague the President of the Treasury Board introduced me to her father at the tribute to another great leader, former Premier Bill Davis. And I don’t remember his words as much as I remember how he made me feel—warm words of encouragement, a genuine interest. After that conversation, I thought to myself, I understand why Brian Mulroney is so special, but it wasn’t until reading the tributes that poured in after his death that I realized his lasting legacy. There was a recurring theme: He was always the first to call a colleague or a political rival who had suffered a defeat, a victory, a personal loss or was just having a hard time. He took time with them. He left an impression on everyone he met. Not only was he a friend to many, most importantly, he was a dad, a grandad, a husband and a son.

In closing, I’d like to use some of Brian Mulroney’s own words to pay tribute to him. Late one night, he asked Arthur Milnes, who helped him write his memoirs, to review a passage he wrote about the death of his father, Ben. I’ll try to get through this. “In the evenings I would take him in my arms like a child—he was losing weight very quickly—and carry him downstairs to the living room so he could watch TV and tune in to the CBC ... news. In those days the lead announcer was Earl Cameron, who always concluded his newscast with the words, ‘This is Earl Cameron saying good night from Toronto,’ and my dad unfailingly replied with a smile, ‘Good night, Earl.’ He continued to do this right to the end.”

To the Mulroney family: I’m sure that your father is in his dad’s arms right now.

It is an honour today to rise to pay tribute to the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney. Prime Minister Mulroney was one of a kind, with his baritone voice, remarkable storytelling ability and his courage to take extraordinary risk as Prime Minister. His remarkable ability to connect with people, building relationships through his persistent work on the phones is a lesson for all politicians that, even in this day and age of social media, taking the time for the personal touch makes a difference.

It’s hard to imagine another Prime Minister winning the landslide majority that Prime Minister Mulroney won in 1984, and he put that majority to work, proposing transformative changes that few Prime Ministers would dare to advance, from economic reform, such as free trade and the GST; to constitutional proposals in Meech Lake and Charlottetown; to international efforts, highlighted by his efforts to end apartheid in South Africa.

What I want to highlight most is to emphasize Prime Minister Mulroney’s game-changing work on environmental issues. Securing a treaty on acid rain with the US made our lakes and rivers cleaner. Making Canada the first industrialized country to ratify the Convention on Biological Diversity is even more relevant today. His passing of the environmental assessment and environmental protection acts protects the places we all love in Canada. His support for the Montreal Protocol and the ozone layer shows how international co-operation can help us fight existential threats such as the climate crisis.

I want to extend my sincerest condolences to the Mulroney family, especially our colleague, his daughter, the member from York–Simcoe. Brian Mulroney was a devoted husband to his wife, Mila, and father and grandfather to his many children and grandchildren.

I hope you all find comfort in the outpouring of support and love and tributes across the country for Prime Minister Mulroney. Thank you for sharing him with us, for his work transformed Canada.

I rise today to remember the remarkable life of Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, who sadly passed away last week. Prime Minister Brian Mulroney had a massive impact on Ontario and Canada. His vision and his leadership profoundly shaped our nation.

Serving as Prime Minister from 1984 to 1993, he challenged the status quo for a better country from coast to coast to coast. He championed economic and tax reforms to build a stronger economy. He was the driving force behind the Canada-US Free Trade Agreement and later NAFTA. He’s the reason that today we do over $1.2 trillion in two-way trade with the United States every single year.

He was a larger-than-life figure who not only reshaped Canada’s political landscape but also its place on the world stage. He gave our country confidence that we never had before. He carried great influence with global leaders like President Ronald Reagan, President George H.W. Bush and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. And he used that influence to play a leading role in ending South Africa’s racist apartheid system and in the international response to the Ethiopian famine.

Prime Minister Mulroney was instrumental in negotiating the landmark acid rain treaty. He knew that a strong economy and a strong environment go hand in hand, and it’s a lesson that I carry with me today.

Even after politics, he never stopped serving the people. He became an elder statesman, an adviser to so many of us.

On a personal note, he was a mentor, he was a role model and a friend. I have so many fond memories of him. I used to call him when I needed advice. When I was faced with a tough decision, he was always quick to answer the phone. And he had the best stories. If you’ve ever heard Prime Minister Mulroney’s stories—he had the best stories, and he always had a way to lift you up. I used to tell him after our chats that I felt so inspired and ready to take on the world.

Mr. Speaker, I’ll tell you a personal story: My mother, when she was sick—she loved the Prime Minister. He gave her a CD. I don’t know if people realize there’s a CD out there of the Prime Minister with all his songs and with his voice. She would be playing it all the time. I came home one day and heard Brian Mulroney’s voice singing, and I thought, “Okay, Mum, where’s he hiding?” She had his CD, and I thought, “Boy, wouldn’t this be an appropriate time to give him a call?” I gave him a call. He answered, and I said—I always called him “Prime Minister”—“Prime Minister, I walked into the house and my mum was listening to your song.” He said, “Can you pass the phone to your mother?” I passed it to her, and he started to sing. By the time he was done, my mother was a puddle on the floor. He was such a true gentleman.

Brian was so proud of his family: his wife, Mila; his four children, Caroline, Ben, Mark and Nicolas; and his many grandchildren.

I see so much of Brian’s best qualities in Caroline. I see the kindness, the intelligence and selfless service. I told him—just bear with me. I told him that when his daughter—because anyone knows that when you have a daughter—sons are sons; they’re great too. But when you have a daughter—now his daughter was stepping into the big leagues. She was coming down here, and I think—when you talked to him about Caroline, you could hear it; you could see it in his eyes. She was the apple of his eye. I think I gave him comfort—and not that she needed this, believe me. Caroline is one of the smartest, toughest women I know, and everyone knows that. I said, “I will protect her with my life. I’ll make sure I look after her.” The ironic thing is she’s protecting me and looks after me all the time. It just gave him comfort. When you would talk to Caroline about her dad, she would light up, just light up. You could see the glow in her face.

I just want to say, our prayers are with the Mulroney family, and especially Caroline. On behalf of the people of Ontario, I want to offer our condolences, our prayers, our thoughts to the family.

And I want to thank you for sharing your dad with us, Caroline, for so many years. While he’s left us now, he leaves behind a legacy as a trailblazer, as a visionary, as one of the greatest Prime Ministers in Canadian history, as a great man. He’ll be dearly missed by all.

I just want to say thank you to his family and to the Prime Minister for serving. May God bless Brian Mulroney.

Applause.

I thank the members for their eloquent tributes as together we give thanks for the life and public service of the Right Honourable Martin Brian Mulroney. We should almost have a recess.

It is now time for oral questions.

The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.

The Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing.