MULRONEY, Martin Brian -
March 20, 1939 - February 29, 2024
Brian Mulroney, an electrician’s son who served two terms as Canada’s prime minister, from 1984 to 1993, died February 29, 2024, in Palm Beach, Florida, with his family by his side.
He was 84
His daughter Caroline Mulroney announced the death in a post on the social media platform X.
A spokesperson for her office said Mr. Mulroney was hospitalized after a fall at his home in Palm Beach.
Mr. Mulroney had a heart procedure following treatment for prostate cancer last year.
Martin Brian Mulroney was born in Baie-Comeau, Quebec, a paper mill town on the northern shore of the St. Lawrence River, on March 20, 1939.
His parents traced their roots to Ireland but raised their children as loyal Quebecois, with Mr. Mulroney and his siblings slipping seamlessly between English and French.
Mr. Mulroney attended a Catholic boarding school in New Brunswick and, in 1959, graduated from St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia. While studying political science, he took on local organizing roles for conservatives.
He obtained a law degree in 1964 from Université Laval in Quebec City and joined a powerful Montreal law firm now known as Norton Rose Fulbright.
Mr. Mulroney and his wife had four children, Ben, Caroline, Mark and Nicolas.
His daughter entered provincial politics in Ontario. His son Ben is a well-known Canadian television personality.
He is remembered for being the leader to usher in new trade relations with the United States, first with the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement and later the first version of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
He was also passionate about environmental causes, leading a global treaty to protect the ozone layer and signing a pact with the U.S. to reduce the pollution that causes acid rain.
South Africa remembers him for helping champion an end to apartheid as a leader within the Commonwealth group of nations.
And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted Mulroney was the first western leader to recognize an independent Ukraine.
State funerals are public events held to honour former governors general and prime ministers, as well as current cabinet ministers. The prime minister can hold them for other eminent Canadians as well.
But most importantly to him, he was a loving husband, father and grandfather who would move mountains to ensure the well-being and happiness of his loved ones.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests those who wish to express sympathy consider making a donation to the Brian Mulroney Institute of Government at St. Francis Xavier University or to the Université Laval's Carrefour international Brian-Mulroney.
The Right Honourable Brian Mulroney will lie-in-state at the Sir John A. Macdonald Building (144 Wellington Street), in Ottawa, on Tuesday, March 19 and Wednesday, March 20, 2024. On the morning of March 19, dignitaries, including the Governor General of Canada and Prime Minister of Canada, will be invited to express their sympathies to the Mulroney family.
Members of the public will be able to visit and pay their respects from 12:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. on March 19, and from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on March 20. Books of condolences will be available to sign on site. Security screening will be required prior to entering the building. To expedite the screening process, we recommend individuals refrain from bringing bags or other items.
The Right Honourable Brian Mulroney will lie-in-repose at Saint Patrick’s Basilica (460 René-Lévesque Blvd West), in Montréal, on Thursday, March 21 and Friday, March 22, 2024. On the morning of March 21, dignitaries and family guests will be invited to express their sympathies to the Mulroney family.
Members of the public will be able to visit and pay their respects from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. on March 21, and from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on March 22. Books of condolences will be available to sign on site. Security screening will be required prior to entering the basilica. To expedite the screening process, we recommend individuals refrain from bringing bags or other items.
The funeral ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 23, 2024, at the Notre-Dame Basilica of Montréal (110 Notre-Dame Street West), in Montréal. Prior to the ceremony, a funeral cortege, including a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) mounted escort, a Canadian Armed Forces escort and guard of honour, the Royal Canadian Air Force Band, RCMP pallbearers, and honorary pallbearers, will make its way to the Notre-Dame Basilica of Montréal.
The ceremony will feature religious components led by His Grace Christian Lépine, Archbishop of Montréal, and The Very Reverend Miguel Castellanos, PSS, rector of Notre-Dame Basilica. This will include prayers, readings, hymns and a communion.
Eulogies will be offered by Caroline Mulroney, the Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, Pierre Karl Péladeau, Wayne Gretzky, James Baker and Jean Charest. During the ceremony, musical interludes will be performed by members of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM) and the OSM Chorus, led by internationally renowned conductor Rafael Payare. Canadian artists including The Tenors, Marc Hervieux, Marie-Josée Lord, and Elizabeth Theodora Lapham, granddaughter of the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney, will also perform. Some of the performances will be accompanied by Scott Price on the piano. A 19-gun salute will be conducted at the end of the ceremony from the Clock Tower Pier in the Old Port of Montréal.
Guests invited to the ceremony will include family, friends, current and former government representatives and dignitaries, as well as representatives of organizations to which the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney had a close connection.
Canadians are invited to visit the Government of Canada's commemorative webpage (https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/commemoration/brian-mulroney.html) to learn more about the state funeral events that will be held from March 19 to 23, 2024, in Ottawa and Montréal.
Messages may also be shared in the online book of condolences (https://www.canada.ca/en/canadian-heritage/commemoration/brian-mulroney/book.html).
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