Brian Mulroney, former Canadian prime minister who forged closer ties with US, dies at 84

By ROB GILLIES and CHARMAINE NORONHA
Associated Press

TORONTO (AP) — Former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney has died at 84. He forged close ties with two Republican U.S. presidents through a sweeping free trade agreement that was once vilified but is now celebrated. A family spokesman said Mulroney died Thursday at a Florida hospital where he had been treated after a recent fall. Mulroney became prime minister after his party’s 1984 election victory that gave Canada its first Conservative majority government in 26 years. Mulroney entered the job with widespread support but left almost a decade later with the lowest approval rating in Canadian history. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau mourned him as an extraordinary statesman who “had the courage to do big things.”