678 Mulroney, Brian The Eighties in America
States and Canada would be eliminated by 1998.
This agreement was followed by a Canadian-U.S.
agreement on acid rain, which was finalized in 1991.
Mulroney’s government also worked to reduce Can-
ada’s national debt by cutting spending. However,
many of his proposed cuts were blocked by the Sen-
ate, which was under the control of the Liberal Party.
Mulroney succeeded, however, in privatizing some
of Canada’s crown corporations, business enterprises
owned by the national government. The govern-
ment was able to sell twenty-three of its sixty-one
corporations, including the national airline Air Can-
ada. Mulroney proposed a national sales tax, the
Goods and Services Tax (GST), in 1989. After bitter
debate in the House of Commons and the Senate,
the tax became law in 1991.
The Mulroney government labored to resolve
questions of national unity. In 1982, Quebec was
the only province that did not ratify the new Cana-
dian constitution. In response, Mulroney negotiated
the Meech Lake Accord in 1987. This agreement
with provincial governments would have recognized
Quebec’s demand to be declared a “distinct society”
within Canada. It also sought to grant all the prov-
inces additional powers. Mulroney’s efforts at greater
unification were unsuccessful, however, as the Meech
Lake Accord was not ratified. The provincial gov-
ernments of Manitoba and Newfoundland refused
to sign it before the ratification deadline in June,
1990.Impact Mulroney changed politics in Canada while
strengthening trade relations with the United States.
His government’s policies on free trade and the
Goods and Services Tax were not reversed by subse-
quent governments, becoming enshrined in Cana-
dian law. Some observers blame Mulroney’s less
popular policies for shattering the Progressive Con-
servative Party: The party remained unable to reach
a majority throughout the 1990’s.Prime Minister Brian Mulroney (center) greets German Chancellor Helmut Kohl during arrival ceremonies for the Economic Summit in
Toronto in 1988.(AP/Wide World Photos)