Brian Mulroney was the Prime Minister (PM) of Canada for the Conservative Party from 1984 to 1993. During his tenure as PM he initiated a number of initiatives. Some succeeded while others failed. At the end of his tenure in office, polls revealed that he was the most disliked PM in Canadian history. Yet, it is likely that historians will view his time in office in a much more favourable light compared with most Canadians. .
The Prime Minister's first major initiative was the Meech Lake Accord, which attempted to bring Quebec into the constitution. When Pierre Trudeau was the PM, he revamped Canada's constitution from London, England and the monarchy and enshrined in it a Charter of Rights and Freedoms for all Canadians. However, Quebec was left out of the constitutional agreement because Rene Levesque, the Premier at the time, did not sign on since he felt that Quebec's ability to change the amending formula was lacking. Mulroney attempted to bring Quebec into the constitutional fold by having Quebec recognized as a distinct society in Canada. This would have given the province special right within the Canadian federation. The Meech lake Accord also proposed some changes to Canada's Senate.
In order for the Meech Lake Accord to be signed into law, the Premiers of Canada's provinces had to have the bill approved in their legislatures by a certain date. However, some provinces, notably Manitoba and Newfoundland, were unable to approve the Meech Lake Accord and, as a result, it failed to become law. Many Canadians didn't like the idea of recognizing Canada as a distinct society and the Accord was also vehemently opposed by former PM Trudeau as well as current PM Chretien. .
After the Meech lake Accord failed, many Quebeckers felt that the rest of Canada had rejected them. They came to resent English Canada and the popularity of the PQ party soared. The failure of the agreement also hurt Mulroney's popularity in most parts of Canada, with the exception of Quebec.
