Mulroney was born in 1939, the son of an electrician, in the paper mill town of Baie Comeau, Quebec. Mulroney attended a very strict military type all boys' school until the age of 16 when he entered Saint Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. There he earned an honor degree in political science. While at St. FX he was active in on campus politics. During his first year he became a member of the youth wing of the P.C. Party of Nova Scotia. Before he graduated he was to become the Prime Minister of St. FX's famous mock Parliament, a position that had been held for years by Liberal students. After graduation he studied law at Dalhousie in Halifax and later at Laval University in Quebec, from which he graduated in 1962. It was during these years in Quebec that Mulroney became known as the life of the party. He frequented most Montreal nightclubs and was quite a lady's man. Mulroney also became a slightly more than social drinker. After becoming a lawyer in 1965 he joined a prestigious law firm known

As Prime Minister, Mulroney presided over an economic upswing. Unemployment, however, remained very high. Although U.S. President Ronald Reagan was uncompromising on environmental issues such as the reduction of industrial pollution Mulroney pressed ahead. Later negotiating a free-trade treaty with the United States under which all tariffs between the two countries would be eliminated by 1998. However, the benefits of free trade were undone by a combination of an overvalued Canadian dollar, a new goods and services tax (1991), and a severe recession. In 1993 the Canadian government signed a further agreement with the United States and Mexico to create a free-trade zone. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) came into effect January 1, 1994.

In mid-1983 Clark's leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party was being questioned, forcing him to call a national party convention and leadership review. Brian Mulroney was again a candidate, and he campaigned more shrewdly than he had done seven years before. He actually had been paying people to ruin Clarks chances of getting the nomination again. He had suffered through one dark period in his life he resolved there would be no more. He was elected party leader on June 11, 1983, after attracting broad support from among the many factions of the party, especially from representatives of his native Quebec. After a by-election in the riding of Central Nova Mulroney entered the House of Commons on August 28, 1983. Despite inexperience, he was an effective leader of the opposition against the well-respected Liberal Prime Minister, Pierre Elliot Trudeau.

During the election campaign, the depressed state of the Canadian economy and Canada's somewhat tense relations with the United States (stemming from economic protectionism on both sides and from environmental issues) were problems that Mulroney promised to deal with if his party were returned to power. With unemployment at more than 11 percent, Mulroney also pledged to make job creation his first aim.

Although Mulroney had not yet held public office, he ran for election as Conservative leader at the party's 1976 national convention. He waged a vigorous and expensive campaign but lost to Joe Clark after being critisized as the Cadillac Cantidate for spending so much money. Following this failure, Mulroney became very depressed and bitter. This was a very bleak time

Some common words found in the essay are:
Company Canada, Quebec Liberal, Brian Mulroney, Ronald Reagan, African Apartheid, Alcoholics Anonomous, English French, Minister Trudeau, Quebec Mulroney, Conservative Party, prime minister, conservative party, progressive conservative party, progressive conservative, ore company canada, english french, national party, distinct societies, canadian history, quebec mulroney, iron ore company, environmental issues, distinct society,
Approximate Word count = 1612
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)