It is difficult to point to another prime minister whose economic, political and cultural legacies still affect Canada to this day

We live in Brian Mulroney’s Canada, as this country remains largely defined by his greatest triumphs and his most devastating defeats.

As prime minister, Mulroney boldly and bravely attempted to settle two of Canada’s most existential questions: our relationship with the United States, and Quebec’s place within Confederation.

His success in signing the Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement and paving the way for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) propelled Canada to new heights of prosperity and economic security. The failure of the Meech Lake and Charlottetown accords helped destroy his Progressive Conservative party, and lead to the near-breakup of Canada.

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When he left office in 1993, Mulroney was unpopular and shunned. But by the time he died on Thursday, a consensus had formed between Conservatives and Liberals that Mulroney had been one of Canada’s great prime ministers.

There is a tendency for Liberals to speak warmly of mostly harmless Conservative politicians who lacked electoral success, like Robert Stanfield and Kim Campbell, while the conservative base tends to dismiss them. On the other hand, Conservative politicians who consistently beat the Liberals on election day, like Stephen Harper, are lauded by their former supporters and treated like boogeymen by the Liberals.

Mulroney was a rare example of a Conservative who trounced the Liberals, set up his own party for self-destruction and still managed to command tremendous respect from both sides of the aisle when he departed this earth.

Mulroney grew up in the small, working-class town........

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