weakness than to his own intrinsic strength. But behind the "jutting jaw, the smile that seems a little too self-satisfied, and the artful rhetoric is a man of mesmerizing personal charm, astonishing political cunning, and overreaching ambition."

Although there were many factors why Brian Mulroney was

elected as prime minister in 1988, the two major issues that were an advantage for him were: his image in the public's eye and the 1988 Free Trade Agreement with the United States. Canada's ability to compete on a world market was of primary importance to Brian Mulroney, one that he felt had been eroded by years of Liberal social spending. Canadian economic success could only be secured by access to foreign markets; this Mulroney achieved through the 1988 Free Trade Agreement with the United States.

Martin Brian Mulroney was born in Baie-Comeau, Quebec in 1939, the son of an electrician. At fourteen, the young Mulroney went to St. Thomas, a Catholic high school in Chatham, New Brunswick. In 1955, he attended St. Frands Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, studying arts and commerce befo

One of his first challenges as a lawyer was working on Laurent Picard's Commission of Inquiry on the St. Lawrence Ports, where he gained experience as a negotiator in labour relations. Mulroney first came into prominence as a lawyer when he was a commissioner in the Cliche Commission of Inquiry into the Quebec construction industry, set up by Quebec Premier Robert Bourassa in 1974. The commission uncovered unprecedented corruption and violence in the construction industry. As a result of this high-profile report, Mulroney became well-known in Quebec.

He had been involved in politics since his university days, when he joined the Conservative party and campaigned for the Nova Scotia Tories in 1956. Mulroney also participated in campus politics and served as prime minister of St. Francis Xavier's model parliament. While at Laval, he was elected Vice-President of the Conservative Students' Federation and by 1961 he was a student advisor to Diefenbaker. As a lawyer in Montreal, he continued working for the Conservatives behind the scenes, producing pamphlets, raising money and seeking out candidates.

The significant partisan advantages that free trade offered the Conservative government also made the option of "comprehensive negotiations attractive." Mulroney was determined to offer a clear alternative to the centralizing, interventionist policies of the Trudeau Liberals and to build a lasting power base for his party. A policy that was market oriented and had broad appeal in Western Canada and Quebec served both ends.

Furthermore, Brian Mulroney's decision in signing the 1988 Free Trade Agreement with the United States had made a big difference for Brian Mulroney, as a president, and Canada as a country. For Canadians, free trade was much more than a trade agreement with the United States. It was a major political event in

It can also serve as an industrial policy to bring about restructing and adjustments in the economy. "And it was primarily as an industrial poicy, loosely defined, that free trade was advocated as the principal long-term solution to Canada's economic problems by the Macdonald R

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Approximate Word count = 1435
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)