On the occasion of the state funeral of Brian Mulroney, which takes place this Saturday, March 23, The newspaper publishes a large tribute file which allows you to relive significant moments of his life.
Nicknamed the “little guy from Baie-Comeau,” Brian Mulroney has become the greatest ambassador of his hometown, but the city can in turn pride itself on having given rise to in this young English-speaker a deep attachment to the Quebec and its French language.
Brian Mulroney was born in 1939, into an English-speaking family who had moved to Baie-Comeau to find work. His father, Benedict, was an electrician at the paper company that founded the village. With his five brothers and sisters, he lived in a modest company house on Rue Champlain.
Portrait of the Mulroney family circa 1949. His mother, Mary Irene (née O’Shea), and his father, Benedict, surrounded by their children, Peggy and Olive (back), Barbara, on the mother’s lap, Doreen, Gary and Brian. Inset: his parents outside the family home on Rue Champlain, in 1948.
Photo provided by the Mulroney family
On this street, the Lachance and Goodfellow families mixed, in French or English. “For a while, we no longer knew what language we were speaking,” recalls his long-time friend, Walter Bisson. They learned French playing hockey in the winter and in the woods in the summer. But Claude Mineau, who grew up a few houses away from him, also remembers that not all English-speaking families had adopted French. as openly as the Mulroneys.
“There were square heads,” he says of the families on Champlain Street. “But the Mulroneys, they were very sociable.”
Even as a child, Brian, as all his friends call him, was a unifier. “It was easy to know him, he loved the world,” explains Mr. Bisson. As a teenager, the attraction of pretty French speakers was also not unrelated to his mastery of French,” he jokes.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY WALTER BISSON
But Claude Mineau, who grew up a few houses away from him, also remembers that not all English-speaking families adopted French as openly as the Mulroneys.
“There were square heads,” he said of the families on Champlain Street. But the Mulroneys, they were very sociable.
Even as a child, “Brian” as all his friends call him, was a unifier. “It was easy to know him, he loved the world,” explains Mr. Bisson. As a teenager, the attraction of pretty French speakers was also not unrelated to his mastery of French, he laughs.
Mr. Mulroney helps his father prepare for a big event. At the age of 25, he experienced the death of his father as a trauma, while he was finishing his law studies at Laval University.
Photo provided by the Mulroney family
“He always had the love of Baie-Comeau in his heart […] And he loved the mentality and way of life of French Canadians,” believes Walter Bisson, 87 years old.
Great dream
The young Brian Mulroney quickly also developed an interest in politics.
“He was a local star, very involved, very young. He won oratorical competitions,” relates Marc Lefebvre, about his ambitions in Ottawa.
In 1949, Brian Mulroney (left) and Walter Bisson (right) during a speaking competition, when he was 10 years old. The friendship between the two men lasted throughout their lives and they saw each other every time the former prime minister returned to the North Shore, like three years ago. Also in the photo, Gilberte Arsenault. PHOTOS PROVIDED BY WALTER BISSON
None of his childhood friends were surprised to see him reach the highest office in the country, despite his modest origins. He was also the first person from the working class to become prime minister.
“[Être premier ministre], he always had that in his head, even very young. He told me: “You’re going to see Walter, you’re going to see”,” said his old friend. Walter Bisson adds that even as a teenager, Brian Mulroney already saw the great things he dreamed of accomplishing to improve Canada and Quebec.
Brian Mulroney celebrating his first victory in the world of student politics at St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia. According to his friends, he showed his interest in politics very early and was already running for the post of prime minister in student elections like these.
Photo provided by the Mulroney family
In particular, he wanted Quebec to occupy a large place within the country, he said.
“[Brian Mulroney] showed that anything is possible in life, no matter where you come from. It’s something that he left to the people of Baie-Comeau,” said the current mayor, Michel Desbiens.
As a student, Brian Mulroney met Nova Scotia Premier Robert Stanfield in 1957 after winning a public speaking competition.
Photo Historical Society of the North Shore
Humble, warm
“I take my hat off to him,” proudly says Claude Mineau, 82 years old, who has carefully followed his friend’s journey. He even voted Conservative for him, while the Mineaus had always been Liberals, he said.
Brian Mulroney received his law degree from Laval University in 1964.
Photo Didier Debusschere
Even though Brian Mulroney rubbed shoulders with the greatest in the world, he remained faithful to his childhood friends, calling them a few times a year.
Claude Mineau remembers with affection an official visit to the factory where he worked as a machinist. He saw everyone “rushing together” to shake the Prime Minister’s hand.
Brian Mulroney celebrated his two electoral victories in Baie-Comeau, like this one, in 1988, at the city’s arena.
Photo provided by the Mulroney family
“But when he turned the corner and saw me, he took off running at me. He hugged me and said, “It’s my Mineau,” he remembers with a laugh.
“Brian, he spoke to everyone, whether it was the mill manager or a janitor, he had the same respect. He was simple, humble and very warm.”
Brian Mulroney did not hesitate to return to Baie-Comeau, where he grew up, like this time, in 1991, with his partner, Mila.
Archive photo
Unveiling of the bust of Brian Mulroney, May 3, 2019. [De g à dr. :Mary-Ellen Beaulieu, Brian Mulroney, Yves Montigny, Jeremy Giles, Luc Bourassa].
Photo Gérald Poirier, Société historique de la Côte-Nord