In foreign policy, Mulroney strengthened Canada's ties with the United States and opposed the apartheid regime in South Africa, leading an effort within the Commonwealth to sanction the country.

The unpopularity of the GST and the controversy surrounding its passage in the Senate, combined with the early 1990s recession, the collapse of the Charlottetown Accord, and growing Western alienation that triggered the rise of the Reform Party, caused a stark decline in Mulroney's popularity, which induced him to resign and hand over power to his cabinet minister Kim Campbell in June 1993.

Benedict Mulroney worked overtime and ran a repair business to earn extra money for his children's education, and he encouraged his oldest son to attend university.

At Laval, Mulroney built a network of friends, including Lucien Bouchard, Bernard Roy, Michel Cogger, Michael Meighen, and Jean Bazin, that would play a prominent role in Canadian politics for years to come.

[18] In addition, he met fellow then Stikeman Elliott lawyer Stanley Hartt, who later played a vital role assisting him during his political career as Mulroney's Chief of Staff.

His expensive campaign, slick image, lack of parliamentary experience, and vague policy positions did not endear him to many delegates, and he was unable to build upon his base support, being overtaken by eventual winner Joe Clark on the second ballot.

[25] In the wake of his loss in the 1976 leadership race, Mulroney battled alcohol abuse and depression for several years; he credits his loyal wife Mila with helping him recover.

By late 1982, Joe Clark's leadership of the Progressive Conservatives was being questioned in many party circles and among many Tory members of Parliament, despite his solid national lead over Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in opinion polls.

Mulroney had been criticized in 1976 for lacking policy depth and substance, a weakness he addressed by making several major speeches across the country in the early 1980s, which were collected into a book, Where I Stand, published in 1983.

[28] Tasha Kheiriddin, writing in La Presse, argued that "Brian Mulroney's injuries to Joe Clark in 1983 took more than 15 years to heal, as various factions continued to compete for leadership roles in the field and youth wings.

In his final days in office, Trudeau had controversially appointed a flurry of senators, judges, and executives on various governmental and crown corporation boards, widely seen as a way to offer 'plum jobs' to loyal members of the Liberal Party.

In a televised leaders' debate, Turner launched what appeared to be the start of a blistering attack on Mulroney by comparing his patronage machine to that of the old Union Nationale in Quebec.

These deficits grew the national debt dangerously close to the psychological benchmark of 100 percent of GDP, further weakening the Canadian dollar and damaging Canada's international credit rating.

[95] Mulroney called a First Ministers' conference with the ten provincial premiers for April 30, 1987, at Willson House, located on the shores of Meech Lake, Quebec, in the Gatineau Hills.

[96] During the conference, Mulroney negotiated the Meech Lake Accord, a package of constitutional amendments designed to satisfy Quebec's demand for recognition as a "distinct society" within Canada.

Critics believed the Accord would weaken the federal government's authority, and some from English Canada argued the "distinct society" clause would give Quebec special status and not make it equal to the other nine provinces.

[104] Mulroney's environment minister and Quebec lieutenant, Lucien Bouchard, viewed the companion accord as a betrayal of Meech and subsequently praised the Parti Québécois in a telegram.

[106][107][108] In early June 1990, all premiers finally agreed to ratify the Accord[d] provided there be further constitutional discussions revolving around an elected Senate, the amending formula, equality, and Indigenous issues.

In addition, the Accord addressed Indigenous self-government and contained the "Canada Clause" that determines Canadian values including egalitarianism, multiculturalism, and recognition of Quebec as a distinct society.

Although it could have been ratified as a constitutional amendment, Mulroney's government insisted on holding a national referendum to avoid a repetition of the criticism that the Meech Lake Accord was agreed upon without public approval.

Beginning in 1985, Mulroney led an effort within the Commonwealth to sanction the South African government with the goal of pressuring them to end apartheid and release anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela from prison.

[123] At an October 23, 1985, United Nations General Assembly meeting, Mulroney stated, "if there is no progress in the dismantling of apartheid, [Canada]'s relations with South Africa may have to be severed completely"; he restored this line in his speech after he originally removed it at the advice of External Affairs.

Toronto-Dominion Bank chairman Richard Thomson accused Mulroney's government of favouritism toward Amex as its Chief Executive Officer, James Robinson, supported free trade.

[145] Widespread public resentment of the goods and services tax, the early 1990s recession, the fracturing of his political coalition, and his lack of results regarding the Quebec situation caused Mulroney's popularity to decline severely during his second term.

The former prime minister appeared on tape and very formally acknowledged the various dignitaries and audience groups before delivering the shortest speech of the night: "Peter Newman: Go fuck yourself.

[170] The investigation pertained to "improper commissions" allegedly paid to German-Canadian businessman Karlheinz Schreiber (or to companies controlled by him), Brian Mulroney and former Newfoundland premier Frank Moores in exchange for three government contracts.

[174] The Oliphant Commission Report in 2010 stated that Mulroney accepted $225 000 from Schreiber, and former justice minister Allan Rock said he would have used a different litigation strategy in the libel case had he known about these payments.

[179] This distinguished him from other prominent PC politicians, such as former prime ministers Joe Clark and Kim Campbell, who became independents as they believed that the Conservative Party was too right-wing and drifting toward social conservatism.

His government had flirted with 10 percent approval ratings in the early 1990s when Mulroney's honesty and intentions were frequently questioned in the media, by Canadians in general and by his political colleagues.

In 2018, CAQ MNA and then Journal de Montreal journalist, Sylvain Lévesque, referred to Mulroney as a political influence when criticizing the relatability of progressive decisions made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.