title: Pushing Daisies

text: The show contains original music composed and arranged by Jim Dooley. The first six minutes of the series pilot, "Pie-lette" were composed by Blake Neely. Dooley describes the musical score as having an "Amélie" type of sound (Yann Tiersen), which is a "wide-angled, adult fairy tale, with a narrator and this super-real world." It was announced on Jim Dooley's website that the soundtrack of the first season was originally to be released by Varèse Sarabande on October 21, 2008, but was delayed until December 23, 2008, with the album available in the iTunes Store on December 10, 2008. A soundtrack for the second season was released on April 5, 2011, also composed by Jim Dooley and released by Varèse Sarabande.


title: Pushing Daisies

text: Both Kristin Chenoweth and Ellen Greene have backgrounds in musical theater, and have performed musical numbers in some episodes. In "Dummy", Chenoweth sang "Hopelessly Devoted to You" from the movie musical "Grease". In "Pigeon", Chenoweth and Greene harmonized on the They Might Be Giants hit, "Birdhouse in Your Soul". Also in "Smell of Success", Greene sang "Morning Has Broken". Chenoweth asked to sing "Eternal Flame" in an episode, which Bryan Fuller agreed to accommodate. The song was sung in "Comfort Food". She performed a cover of Lionel Richie's "Hello" in "Window Dressed to Kill".


title: Pushing Daisies

text: The show's official website included a comic book that was distributed at the 2007 San Diego Comic-Con International, with new mysteries and background information not seen on the televised episodes. The book also contained recaps of aired episodes.


title: Pushing Daisies

text: When the show struggled in the ratings during its second season, Bryan Fuller said that, should ABC not pick up additional episodes, he would release comic books and maybe a movie based on the show to wrap up outstanding stories for fans. Warner Bros. gave Fuller permission to produce comic books of the series.


title: Pushing Daisies

text: Fuller stated that the "third season" comic book series would be twelve issues long, with a fresh take on the zombie genre starring all of the characters from the show. It was to have been published by DC Comics' WildStorm imprint. On October 13, 2009, "Entertainment Weekly" reported that Bryan Fuller had turned in the script for the first comic issue, featuring recurring character Oscar Vibenius, and continued to work with the show's writers on the next three comic scripts. In January 2010, a rumor leaked that the comic series could potentially become a graphic novel instead.


title: Pushing Daisies

text: On September 23, 2010, "Entertainment Weekly" reported the first issue of "season 3" was expected in early 2011. Further, Fuller stated that he and the show's composer Jim Dooley had talked about giving the audience a multimedia experience with a "Pushing Daisies" comic soundtrack, to be released officially or streamed for free online when the comic book was published. Fuller stated that Dooley had started composing musical cues, and that the cast had agreed to sing on the soundtrack, though licensing fees for the actors may have prevented such performances from being included.


title: Pushing Daisies

text: In late 2010, DC Comics shut down its WildStorm imprint. On April 23, 2011, Fuller confirmed that release of the comic had been postponed by the loss of its publisher. At the same time, Fuller released the first page of the uncolored version of the comic book.


title: Pushing Daisies

text: On April 1, 2011, at WonderCon in San Francisco, Bryan Fuller was quoted as saying "I am really emboldened by what Starz is doing with "Torchwood" and I would love to do a "Pushing Daisies" mini-series on Starz", Fuller said. "This would be a great way to wrap up the show properly. [We could] do six great episodes or even a "Pushing Daisies" movie. But I kind of like the idea of a Starz mini-series since they really embraced "Torchwood"."


title: Pushing Daisies

text: After his success on Kickstarter for raising money for a "Veronica Mars" movie in March 2013, "Veronica Mars" creator Rob Thomas said that Bryan Fuller approached him to "talk to [me] about how this thing works" in relation to continuing "Pushing Daisies". Fuller later commented that a Kickstarter campaign would be harder for "Pushing Daisies" due to the budget differences. He said that $12–15 million would be required.


title: Pushing Daisies

text: In the wake of Roseanne Barr's dismissal from the ABC Network in May 2018, Fuller pitched a "Pushing Daisies" revival on Twitter to take the spot left by the now-canceled "Roseanne" on its schedule.


title: Pushing Daisies

text: On July 16, 2012, when asked about a potential stage adaptation of the show by TVLine's Michael Ausiello, Fuller responded, "Perhaps!" and continued with, "I can’t really say until it's confirmed, but perhaps. We're working on something that is definitely a 'Pushing Daisies' revival, and the idea would be to have as many cast [members] as we can to participate in it." In February 2014, Fuller revealed he had discussions with Warner Bros. studios and director Barry Sonnenfeld about reviving the series as either a film or a Broadway musical starring Kristin Chenoweth.


title: Pushing Daisies

text: Both seasons of "Pushing Daisies" received critical acclaim. On the review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the overall series holds a 96% rating. The first season received a rating of 92% based on 25 reviews with an average rating of 8.4 out of 10. The site's critical consensus reads, "A gloriously strange fairy tale, "Pushing Daisies" oddball charms are brought to life with warmth and whimsy in large part thanks to the chemistry of its charismatic leads." Meanwhile, the second season received a rating of 100% based on 21 reviews with an average rating of 7.9 out of 10. The site's critical consensus reads, ""Pushing Daisies" tawdry quirks continue to bloom in a deliciously inventive second season that rises to the high bar set by its predecessor." On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the overall series received a score of 85 out of 100. The first season garnered a score of 86 out of 100, based on 30 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim." Meanwhile, the second season garnered a score of 83 out of 100, based on 14 reviews, also indicating "universal acclaim."


title: Pushing Daisies

text: Critics responded well to the series, comparing the style and direction to that of director Tim Burton. The pilot, before it officially aired, was well received by critics who were able to screen it. "TV Guide"'s Michael Ausiello claimed that "ABC has found its next "Lost"!" upon review and the series has been touted as "the fall show with the most spring buzz" by many, including the trade publication "Variety". "New York Magazine" also provided a rave review, calling it "funny, imaginative and smart" while claiming it "boasts "Gilmore Girls"-speed wit." Television Without Pity declared it "one of the most original, most genuinely entertaining shows on TV. It's filled with tongue-tying turns of phrase, fabulous set design and a fantastic cast." "Time" magazine's James Poniewozik named it one of the Top 10 New TV Series of 2007, ranking it at #5.


title: Pushing Daisies

text: In 2008, the series received 12 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, including 2 wins. Barry Sonnenfeld won for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for "Pie-lette". James Dooley won for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series for "Pigeon". Other notable nominations included Lee Pace for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, Kristin Chenoweth for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, and Bryan Fuller for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for "Pie-lette". The series also received 3 Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy, Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy (Lee Pace), and Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy (Anna Friel). Barry Sonnenfeld also won the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Comedy Series for "Pie-lette".


title: Pushing Daisies

text: In 2009, the series received 5 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, including 4 wins. Kristin Chenoweth won for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series while the series won 3 Creative Arts Emmy Awards.


title: Pushing Daisies

text: The heavily promoted pilot episode ("Pie-lette") attracted 13 million viewers in the United States. It was the most-watched new series and 14th in overall viewership for the week.


title: Pushing Daisies

text: "Pushing Daisies" premiered in syndication on Chiller on March 5, 2013. In 2015, "Pushing Daisies" was added to The CW's streaming service CW Seed. The CW is partly owned by Warner Bros. who owns the distribution rights. "Pushing Daisies" became available to stream on HBO Max in January 2021.


title: Nicolette Larson

text: Nicolette Larson (July 17, 1952 – December 16, 1997) was an American singer. She is perhaps best known for her work in the late 1970s with Neil Young and her 1978 hit single of Young's "Lotta Love", which hit No. 1 on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart and No. 8 on the pop singles chart. It was followed by four more adult contemporary hits, two of which were also minor pop hits.


title: Nicolette Larson

text: By 1985, she shifted her focus to country music, charting six times on the US country singles chart. Her only top-40 country hit was "That's How You Know When Love's Right", a duet with Steve Wariner. She died in 1997 of cerebral edema and liver failure.


title: Nicolette Larson

text: Nicolette Larson was born in Helena, Montana. Her father's employment with the U.S. Treasury Department necessitated frequent relocation for the family. She graduated from high school in Kansas City, Missouri, where she attended the University of Missouri for three semesters and worked at waitressing and office jobs before beginning to pursue the musical career she had dreamed of since singing along to the radio as a child.


title: Nicolette Larson

text: Larson eventually settled in San Francisco, California, where she worked in a record store; her volunteer work as support staff for the Golden Gate Country Bluegrass Festival brought encouragement for her vocal ambitions. She began performing in Bay Area showcases, making her professional debut opening for Eric Andersen at a club in Vancouver, British Columbia. In 1975, Larson auditioned for Hoyt Axton, who was producing Commander Cody. This led to Larson's performing with Hoyt Axton and The Banana Band, who were opening for Joan Baez on the 1975 "Diamonds and Rust" tour. She gained her first recording credit on Commander Cody's 1975 album, "Tales From the Ozone", and also provided background vocals for Commander Cody albums in 1977 and 1978. Other early career singing credits were for Hoyt Axton and Guy Clark in 1976 and in 1977 for Mary Kay Place, Rodney Crowell, Billy Joe Shaver, Jesse Colin Young, Jesse Winchester, and Gary Stewart.


title: Nicolette Larson

text: Larson and Guthrie Thomas both worked with Hoyt Axton and recorded their first professional recording session together on Axton's "Southbound" album for A&M Records. As newcomers to the recording industry, they were listed on the back cover of the album as "Street Singers", entirely separate from the highly paid, well-respected artists who also appeared on the album.


title: Nicolette Larson

text: Larson's work with Emmylou Harris – the album "Luxury Liner" (1977) prominently showcased Larson on the song "Hello Stranger" – led to her meeting Harris's associate and friend Linda Ronstadt, who became friends with Larson. In 1977, Larson was at Ronstadt's Malibu home when neighbor Neil Young phoned to ask Ronstadt if she could recommend a female vocal accompanist. Ronstadt suggested Larson; she was the third person that day to mention Larson to Young. Young came over to meet Larson, who recalled, "Neil ran down all the songs he had just written, about twenty of them. We sang harmonies with him and he was jazzed."


title: Nicolette Larson

text: The following week Ronstadt and Larson cut their vocals for Young's "American Stars 'n Bars" album at Young's La Honda ranch – the two women were billed on the album as the Bullets – and, in November 1977, Young invited Larson to Nashville to sing on his "Comes a Time" album. This led to Larson's being signed to Warner Brothers, an affiliate of Young's home label Reprise.


title: Nicolette Larson

text: Larson continued her background singing career into 1978, accruing credit on recordings by Marcia Ball, Rodney Crowell, Emmylou Harris ("Quarter Moon in a Ten Cent Town"), and Norton Buffalo. She also contributed vocals to the Doobie Brothers' "Minute by Minute". That album's producer, Ted Templeman, then produced Larson's debut album, "Nicolette".


title: Nicolette Larson

text: Larson's work with Commander Cody had led to her being signed to the C&W division of Warner Bros. Records. However her debut album "Nicolette", released September 29, 1978, was an eclectic mix of rock, C&W and R&B.


title: Nicolette Larson

text: Despite the release of her album so late in the year, Larson was acclaimed Female Vocalist of 1978 by "Rolling Stone", which wrote no one else could sound as if she were having so much fun on an album. "Nicolette" reached No. 15 on Billboard's album chart aided by the hit single "Lotta Love", a Neil Young composition. Larson's "Lotta Love" hit #1 on the Easy Listening/Adult Contemporary chart and went Top 10 Pop in February 1979, the same week the single off "Comes a Time": "Four Strong Winds," a duet with an unbilled (on the single) Larson, debuted on the Hot 100 on its way to a No. 61 peak. ("Sail Away", a track featuring Larson, from the "Comes a Time" sessions or shortly afterwards, was included on the otherwise live Neil Young album "Rust Never Sleeps," released in 1979.)


title: Nicolette Larson

text: Warner Brothers also issued the limited edition (5,000 copies) promo-only "Live at the Roxy" album comprising a December 20, 1978 concert given by Larson at the Sunset Boulevard nightclub. Larson was also featured on the "No Nukes" album recorded in September 1979 at Madison Square Garden, backed by the Doobie Brothers in her performance of "Lotta Love"; Larson can be seen in the "No Nukes" film but her performance was not included.


title: Nicolette Larson

text: Larson would be unable to consolidate the commercial success augured by her debut: the second single off "Nicolette", "Rhumba Girl" just missed becoming a major hit for Larson at No. 48. Her second album, "In the Nick of Time," released November 1979, failed to showcase Larson's voice attractively. Don Shewey in "Rolling Stone" wrote:Larson's rough-edged, down-home tone is definitely appealing – especially when she backs up the likes of Neil Young and Steve Goodman [whose "High and Outside" album featured a duet with Larson: "The One That Got Away"] – but as a soloist, her limited vocal resources are "severely taxed" – "It's symptomatic of Nicolette Larson's problems as a performer that the finest singing on "In the Nick of Time" is by Michael McDonald. 'Let Me Go, Love'...McDonald's entrancing vocal presence...so overshadows Larson's that she seems to be playing second fiddle rather than sharing the lead. Elsewhere, Larson is dwarfed by Ted Templeman's typically luxurious production".


title: Nicolette Larson

text: Released as the album's lead single, "Let Me Go Love" reached only No. 35 in February 1980. That year Larson was heard on the airwaves via guest appearances on "Say You'll Be Mine" by Christopher Cross and the Dirt Band's "Make a Little Magic". Larson had enough residual popularity from her debut for "In the Nick of Time" to become a moderate success. Because she had no major hit, Larson's 1981 and 1982 album releases, "Radioland" (her last album produced by Templeman) and "All Dressed Up and No Place to Go", were unsuccessful, even though both releases showed Larson back in strong vocal form. Larson received some adult-contemporary radio airplay with her remake of "I Only Want to Be With You" (No. 53), perhaps the least effective track on "All Dressed Up and No Place to Go". The album was produced by Andrew Gold.


title: Nicolette Larson

text: Larson had continued her background singing career accruing credits on releases by Tom Johnston, Linda Ronstadt ("Mad Love"), Graham Nash, John Stewart, Albert Hammond, and Rita Coolidge. Larson again backed the Doobie Brothers on their "One Step Closer" album; she can be heard on the hit "Real Love." A song Larson co-wrote with John McFee and Patrick Simmons titled "Can't Let It Get Away" was a 1981 single release for the Doobie Brothers in Japan. The song was also featured on the Doobie Brothers' "Farewell Tour" album (1983).


title: Nicolette Larson

text: Larson contributed a harmony vocal on the track "Could This Be Magic" on the Van Halen album "Women and Children First" (1980), to thank Eddie Van Halen for playing guitar on the "Nicolette" album track "Can't Get Away From You," against David Lee Roth's wishes.


title: Nicolette Larson

text: Larson's recording of the Burt Bacharach/Carole Bayer Sager song "Fool Me Again" was featured on the bestselling soundtrack album for the 1981 film "Arthur," despite not being heard in the film. Larson was also featured on the soundtrack album for "National Lampoon's Vacation" (1983) with the track "Summer Hearts".


title: Nicolette Larson

text: Larson's appearance in a touring production of the C&W musical "Pump Boys and Dinettes" garnered enough positive reaction for MCA Nashville to sign her in 1983. The Nashville music community was so enthused about Larson's C&W cross-over that in 1984 the Academy of Country Music named her the Best New Female Vocalist before she had any MCA Nashville releases. Larson's MCA debut "...Say When" was not released until 1985 (by which point country pop was no longer in style and neotraditionalists had taken over the country scene). The C&W career it ushered in for Larson proved anticlimactic with only one of her six MCA single releases becoming a significant hit: her duet with Steve Wariner titled "That's How You Know When Love's Right," taken from the April 1986 album release "Rose of My Heart." The record reached No. 9 C&W. Larson's MCA albums, produced by Emory Gordy Jr. and Tony Brown, attracted little critical attention. Her final mainstream album release was "Shadows of Love", a 1988 recording made for the Italian CGD label and produced by Carlo Stretti and Ernesto Taberelli. It was her only album for a non-US label. In 1990 Larson participated in the Festival di Sanremo, duetting with Grazia Di Michele on the song "Me and My Father".


title: Nicolette Larson

text: In 1992 Larson reunited professionally with Neil Young to sing on his "Harvest Moon" album. In 1993 she was featured on Young's "Unplugged". She also provided vocal accompaniment on "The Little Drummer Boy" and "Greensleeves", two of the tracks Young contributed to "Seven Gates: A Christmas Album by Ben Keith and Friends" (1994). Larson's final album was the self-produced "Sleep, Baby, Sleep", consisting of music for children, released on Sony Wonder in 1994.


title: Nicolette Larson

text: Larson also contributed to the seasonal albums "Tennessee Christmas " (1987) with "One Bright Star", "Acoustic Christmas" (1988) with "Christmas Is a Time for Giving," and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" (1989) with "Nothing But a Child" and "One Bright Star". In 1988, Larson contributed to the soundtracks of the films "They Call Me Renegade" and "Twins" with the tracks "Let Me Be the One" and "I'd Die for This Dance", respectively; the latter was performed live onscreen by Larson, accompanied by Jeff Beck.


title: Nicolette Larson

text: While it was recorded in 1978, "Live at the Roxy" was given its first full release in 2006, nine years after Larson's death. It was released by Rhino. Also in 2006, Rhino Entertainment released the album "A Tribute to Nicolette Larson: Lotta Love Concert". Two "Lotta Love" concerts were held on February 20 and 21, 1998, in Santa Monica, CA, to benefit the UCLA Children's Hospital.


title: Nicolette Larson

text: Through her early work in the 1970s with Emmylou Harris, Larson met guitarist and songwriter Hank DeVito. Larson and DeVito later married and divorced. She also dated Neil Young during the "Comes a Time" sessions. In the early 1980s, Larson was engaged to Andrew Gold, but their relationship ended shortly after the completion of Larson's 1982 album "All Dressed Up and No Place to Go," which Gold had produced. In the late 1980s, she briefly dated "Weird Al" Yankovic. In 1990, Larson married drummer Russ Kunkel, and the two remained married until her death in 1997. The couple's daughter, Elsie May Larson-Kunkel, was born in 1990.


title: Nicolette Larson

text: Larson died on December 16, 1997, in Los Angeles, California, as a result of complications arising from cerebral edema triggered by liver failure. According to her friend Astrid Young, Neil Young's half-sister, Larson had been showing symptoms of depression, and her fatal seizure "was in no small way related to her chronic use of Valium and Tylenol PM." Larson was buried at Forest Lawn – Hollywood Hills Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. Two benefit concerts were held in Larson's honor in February 1998. Tribute concerts were held on the 10th anniversary of her death in December 2007 and also the following year.


title: Arif Mohammad Khan

text: Arif Mohammad Khan (born 18 November 1951) is an Indian politician representing the BJP. He currently serving as the Governor of Kerala & the Chancellor of all State Universities in Kerala. He is a former Union Minister. He has held several portfolios ranging from energy to civil aviation.


title: Arif Mohammad Khan

text: Arif Mohammad Khan was born on 18 November 1951 in Bulandshahr. He was educated at Jamia Millia School, Delhi, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh and at Shia College, Lucknow University.


title: Arif Mohammad Khan

text: Khan started his political career as a student leader. He was the President of Aligarh Muslim University Students' Union in the year 1972-73 and also its honorary Secretary a year earlier (1971–72). He contested the first legislative assembly election from Siyana constituency of Bulandshahar on Bharatiya Kranti Dal party's banner but was defeated. He became a member of the legislative assembly of UP in 1977 at the age of 26.


title: Arif Mohammad Khan

text: Khan joined the Indian National Congress party and was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1980 from Kanpur and 1984 from Bahraich. In 1986, he quit the Indian National Congress due to differences over the passage of Muslim Personal Law Bill which was piloted by Rajiv Gandhi in the Lok Sabha. He was against the legislation to enable Muslim men to avoid giving their divorced wife or wives any maintenance after the iddah period as per the Qur'an and resigned because of differences with Rajiv Gandhi on this issue. Khan joined the Janata Dal and was re-elected to the Lok Sabha in 1989. During the Janata Dal rule Khan served as union Minister of Civil aviation and Energy. He left the Janata Dal to join the Bahujan Samaj Party and again entered the Lok Sabha in 1998 from Bahraich. Khan held ministerial responsibilities from 1984 to 1990. In 2004, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha election as a BJP candidate that year from Kaiserganj constituency. Later BJP appointed Arif as the new Governer of Kerala.


title: Arif Mohammad Khan

text: Journalist Sanjay Kapoor, in his book "Bad Money, Bad Politics" has revealed that, Khan received an amount of 7 crores of Hawala money. As per the CBI Chargesheet, he was paid this amount of money when he was Union Minister but he was later acquitted in the case.


title: Arif Mohammad Khan

text: Arif Mohammad Khan has always supported reformation within Muslims. He resigned from position of Minister of state protesting against Rajiv Gandhi Congress Government stand on Shah Bano case in 1986. He defended Supreme Court judgment on Shah Bano case in Parliament. Khan opposed triple talaq in India and said that it should be punishable with 3 years in jail. Khan has asserted that Muslim men are still allowed to be polygamous and can also give a divorce easily by paying paltry sums.


title: Arif Mohammad Khan

text: Khan welcomed the Karnataka High Court's judgement upholding that the hijab is not an essential garment according to Islam during the 2022 Karnataka hijab row, stating that enforcing the wearing of a hijab is a conspiracy to push back Muslim females into the four walls of their homes and reduce their career prospects - he gave an example of imagining a female IPS officer who is responsible for controlling law and order in a district, who cannot do so wearing a hijab.


title: Arif Mohammad Khan

text: On being asked for a reaction about the murder of Kanhaiya Lal in Udaipur by reporters, Khan responded that madrasas teach that blasphemy should be punished by beheading and demanded that what is taught there should be examined.


title: Arif Mohammad Khan

text: Khan has been deeply involved in writing since his student days. He is the author of the best selling book of the year 2010 "Text and Context: Quran and Contemporary Challenges", published by Rupa & Co. Now Arif Mohammad Khan is actively involved in writing articles and columns related to Islam and Sufism. He has advocated abolishing of All India Muslim Personal Law Board. Arif Mohammad Khan also supported the Supreme Court of India's judgment in Shah Bano case to make the right to maintenance of a divorced Muslim wife absolute.


title: Arif Mohammad Khan

text: Khan was appointed the Governor of Kerala on 1 September 2019 by the order of the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind. He took charge as Governor on 6 September 2019 from P. Sathasivam. The latest political controversy regarding the appointment of Vice chancellors of universities of Kerala has put him in the spotlight.


title: Paris Is Burning (film)

text: Paris Is Burning is a 1990 documentary film directed by Jennie Livingston. Filmed in the mid-to-late 1980s, it chronicles the ball culture of New York City and the African-American, Latino, gay, and transgender communities involved in it.


title: Paris Is Burning (film)

text: Critics consider the film to be an invaluable documentary of the end of the "Golden Age" of New York City drag balls, and a thoughtful exploration of race, class, gender, and sexuality in America.


title: Paris Is Burning (film)

text: In 2016, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".


title: Paris Is Burning (film)

text: The title takes its name from the Paris Is Burning ball held annually by artist Paris Dupree who appears in the film.


title: Paris Is Burning (film)

text: The film explores the elaborately-structured ball competitions in which contestants, adhering to a very specific "category" or theme, must "walk", much like a fashion model parades a runway. Contestants are judged on criteria including their dance talent, the beauty of their clothing, and the "realness" of their drag - i.e., their ability to pass as a member of the group or sex they are portraying. For example, the category "banjee realness" comprises gay men portraying macho archetypes such as sailors, soldiers, and street hoodlums. "Banjee boys" are judged by their ability to pass as their straight counterparts in the outside world.


title: Paris Is Burning (film)

text: Most of the film alternates between footage of balls and interviews with prominent members of the scene, including Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, Angie Xtravaganza, and Willi Ninja. Many of the contestants vying for trophies are representatives of "houses" that serve as intentional families, social groups, and performance teams. Houses and ball contestants who consistently win trophies for their walks eventually earn "legendary" status.


title: Paris Is Burning (film)

text: Jennie Livingston, who moved to New York after graduating from Yale to work in film, spent six years making "Paris Is Burning", and interviewed key figures in the ball world. Many of them contribute monologues that shed light on gender roles, gay and ball subcultures, and their own life stories. The film explains how words such as "house", "mother", "shade", "reading" and "legendary" gain new meaning when used in novel ways to describe the gay and drag subculture. The "houses" serve as surrogate families for young ball-walkers who face rejection from their biological families for their gender expression and sexual orientation.


title: Paris Is Burning (film)

text: The film also explores how its subjects deal with issues such as AIDS, racism, poverty, violence and homophobia. Some, such as Venus Xtravaganza, become sex workers to support themselves. Near the end of the film, Angie Xtravaganza, Venus's "house mother", reacts to news that Venus is found strangled to death and speculates that a disgruntled client killed her. Others shoplift clothing so they can "walk" in the balls. Several are disowned by transphobic and homophobic parents, leaving them vulnerable to homelessness. Some subjects save money for sex reassignment surgery, while a few have extensive surgery; others receive breast implants without undergoing vaginoplasty.


title: Paris Is Burning (film)

text: According to Livingston, the documentary is a multi-leveled exploration of an African-American and Latino subculture that serves as a microcosm of fame, race, and wealth in the larger US culture. Through candid one-on-one interviews, the film offers insight into the lives and struggles of its subjects and the strength, pride, and humor they display to survive in a "rich, white world."


title: Paris Is Burning (film)

text: Drag is presented as a complex performance of gender, class, and race, and a way to express one's identity, desires and aspirations. The African-American and Latino community depicted in the film includes a diverse range of sexual identities and gender presentations, from "butch queens" (gay cisgender men) to transgender women, to drag queens, to butch women.


title: Paris Is Burning (film)

text: The film also documents the origins of "voguing", a dance style in which competing ball-walkers pose and freeze in glamorous positions as if being photographed for the cover of "Vogue".


title: Paris Is Burning (film)

text: However, Livingston maintained in 1991 that the film was not just about dance: This is a film that is important for anyone to see, whether they're gay or not. It's about how we're all influenced by the media; how we strive to meet the demands of the media by trying to look like "Vogue" models or by owning a big car. And it's about survival. It's about people who have a lot of prejudices against them and who have learned to survive with wit, dignity and energy.


title: Paris Is Burning (film)

text: Livingston studied photography and painting at Yale University. After moving to New York, she worked for the "Staten Island Advance", a local newspaper. She left for one summer to study film at New York University in Greenwich Village. She was photographing in that neighborhood's Washington Square Park, where she met two young men and was intrigued by their dancing and the unusual slang they were using. She asked what they were doing, and they told her that they were voguing. She attended her first ball, a mini-ball at the Gay Community Center on 13th Street, which she filmed as an assignment for her class at NYU.


title: Paris Is Burning (film)

text: At that mini-ball, Livingston encountered Venus Xtravaganza for the first time. Later, she spent time with Willi Ninja to learn about ball culture and voguing. She also researched African-American history, literature, and culture, and she also studied queer culture and the nature of subcultures. She conducted audio interviews with several ball participants: Venus and Danni Xtravaganza, Dorian Corey, Junior Labeija, Octavia St. Laurent and others. The main self-funded shoot was the Paris is Burning ball in 1986.


title: Paris Is Burning (film)

text: From that footage, Livingston worked with editor Jonathan Oppenheim to edit a trailer, which was then used to obtained funding from some grants, including awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, the Paul Robeson Fund, and the Jerome Foundation. Finally, Madison Davis Lacy, the head of public TV station WNYC, saw the material and contributed $125,000 to the production. The producers still needed to raise additional funds to edit the film, which came primarily from executive producer Nigel Finch at the BBC-2 show "Arena".


title: Paris Is Burning (film)

text: There was some followup production in 1989: to tell the story of voguing's entry into mainstream culture, and to tell the stories of Willi's international success as a dancer and of Venus Xtravaganza's murder, which remains unsolved to this day. The filmmakers also did an additional interview with Dorian Corey, talking about "executive realness", "shade", and "reading".


title: Paris Is Burning (film)

text: The documentary took seven years to complete due to production costs and difficulties obtaining funding. Livingston edited the final cut down to 78 minutes from over 75 hours of footage, all shot on expensive 16mm film. After the film's completion, the producers still needed to raise funds to get permission to use the music played in the ballrooms. It cost almost as much to clear the music as it did to shoot and edit the entire film. The production team had to rely on 10 separate funding sources throughout the course of the project.


title: Paris Is Burning (film)

text: The film received overwhelmingly positive reviews from a number of mainstream and independent presses, remarkable at that time for a film on the LGBT community, given the enormous legal and cultural obstacles that they faced then. The film holds a score of 98% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 54 reviews, with an average rating of 7.83/10. The website's critical consensus reads, ""Paris Is Burning" dives into '80s transgender subculture, with the understated camera allowing this world to flourish and the people to speak (and dance) for themselves."


title: Paris Is Burning (film)

text: Terrence Rafferty of "The New Yorker" said the film was "a beautiful piece of work—lively, intelligent, exploratory …. Everything about "Paris Is Burning" signifies so blatantly and so promiscuously that our formulations – our neatly paired theses and antitheses – multiply faster than we can keep track of them. What's wonderful about the picture is that Livingston is smart enough not to reduce her subjects to the sum of their possible meanings..."


title: Paris Is Burning (film)

text: Filmmaker Michelle Parkerson, writing for "The Black Film Review", called the film "a politically astute, historically important document of our precarious times.”


title: Paris Is Burning (film)

text: Essex Hemphill, the poet well known for his role in Marlon Riggs’s classic film "Tongues Untied", reviewed the film for "The Guardian", celebrating how the documentary created a forum for the people in it to speak in their own voices, and writing: “Houses of silk and gabardine are built. Houses of dream and fantasy. Houses that bear the names of their legendary founders…Houses rise and fall. Legends come and go. To pose is to reach for power while simultaneously holding real powerlessness at bay."


title: Paris Is Burning (film)

text: Writing for "Z Magazine," feminist writer bell hooks criticized the film for depicting the ritual of the balls as a spectacle to "pleasure" white spectators. Other authors such as Judith Butler and Phillip Harper have focused on the drag queens' desire to perform and present "realness". Realness can be described as the ability to appropriate an authentic gender expression. When performing under certain categories at the ball, such as school girl or executive, the queens are rewarded for appearing as close to the "real thing" as possible. A main goal amongst the contestants is to perform conventional gender roles while at the same time trying to challenge them.


title: Paris Is Burning (film)

text: Hooks also questions the political efficacy of the drag balls themselves, citing her own experiments with drag, and suggesting that the balls themselves lack political, artistic, and social significance. Hooks criticizes the production and questions gay men performing drag, suggesting that it is inherently misogynistic and degrading towards women. Butler responds to hooks' previous opinion that drag is misogynistic, stating in her book, "Bodies that Matter: On the Discursive Limits of "Sex"":


title: Paris Is Burning (film)

text: The problem with the analysis of drag as only misogyny is, of course, that it figures male-to-female transsexuality, cross-dressing, and drag as male homosexual activities — which they are not always — and it further diagnoses male homosexuality as rooted in misogyny.


title: Paris Is Burning (film)

text: Both hooks and Harper criticize the filmmaker, Jennie Livingston, who is Jewish, gender-nonconforming, and queer, for remaining visibly absent from the film. Although the viewers are able to hear Livingston a few times during the production, the director's physical absence while orchestrating the viewer's perspective, creates what hooks calls an "Imperial Oversee(r)".


title: Paris Is Burning (film)

text: In the years following the film's release, people have continued to speak and write about "Paris Is Burning." In 2003, the New York Times reported that more than two decades after its release, "Paris Is Burning" remains a commonly cited and frequently used organizing tool for LGBT youth; a way for scholars and students to examine issues of race, class, and gender; a way for younger ball participants to meet their cultural ancestors; and a portrait of several remarkable Americans, almost all of whom have died since the film's production.


title: Paris Is Burning (film)

text: In 2013, UC Irvine scholar Lucas Hilderbrand wrote a history of the film, a book detailing its production, reception, and influence, "Paris Is Burning, A Queer Film Classic" (Arsenal Pulp Press). In 2007, writer Wesley Morris, in a print-only section for children for "The New York Times," wrote "12 Films to See Before You Turn 13". The piece recommended kids see films like "Princess Mononoke," "The Wiz," and "Do the Right Thing." About "Paris Is Burning," Morris says "seeing [Livingston's] documentary as soon as possible means you can spend the rest of your life having its sense of humanity amuse, surprise, and devastate you, over and over."


title: Paris Is Burning (film)

text: The film received funding from the National Endowment for the Arts during the period when the organization was under fire for funding controversial artists including Robert Mapplethorpe and Andres Serrano. Aware that publicity surrounding her project could result in revoked funding, Livingston avoided releasing many details about the project outside of her small circle of producers and collaborators.


title: Paris Is Burning (film)

text: Although there had been no agreement to do so, the producers planned to distribute approximately $55,000 (1/5 of the sale price of the film to Miramax) among 13 of the participants. While Dorian Corey and Willi Ninja were very happy to be paid for a film they'd understood was an unpaid work of nonfiction, several other film participants felt they were not properly compensated and thus retained an attorney, planning to sue for a share of the film's profits in 1991. When their attorney saw they had all signed standard model releases generated by WNYC Television, they did not sue and accepted payment. Paris Dupree had planned to sue for $40 million.


title: Paris Is Burning (film)

text: Livingston has consistently downplayed the financial controversy in interviews and forums. She has expressed that documentaries are works of nonfiction and journalism, and that it has never been standard practice to pay their subjects. She states that she paid the principals as a matter of respect at a time when this was not commonly done, and she argues that they received considerably more than they would have received if they had been actors in an independently-made drama feature.


title: Paris Is Burning (film)

text: Upon its release, the documentary received exceptionally good reviews from critics and won several awards including a Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize, a Berlin International Film Festival Teddy Bear, an audience award from the Toronto International Film Festival, a GLAAD Media Award, a Women in Film Crystal Award, a Best Documentary award from the Los Angeles, New York, and National Film Critics' Circles, and it also was named as one of 1991's best films by the "Los Angeles Times", "The Washington Post", National Public Radio, "Time" magazine, and others.


title: Paris Is Burning (film)

text: In spite of the many positive reactions and film awards earned, "Paris Is Burning" did not receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature that year. This generated accusations that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was homophobic and transphobic (even though it awarded such LGBT films as "" two years prior and "The Times of Harvey Milk"), which in turn led to changes on how documentaries are nominated for the Academy Awards.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Martin Brian Mulroney ( ; born March 20, 1939) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Canada from 1984 to 1993.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Born in the eastern Quebec city of Baie-Comeau, Mulroney studied political science and law. He then moved to Montreal and gained prominence as a labour lawyer. After placing third in the 1976 Progressive Conservative leadership election, he was appointed president of the Iron Ore Company of Canada in 1977. He held that post until 1983, when he successfully became leader of the Progressive Conservatives. He then led the party to a landslide victory in the 1984 federal election, winning the second-largest percentage of seats in Canadian history (at 74.8 percent) and receiving over 50 percent of the popular vote. Mulroney later won a second majority government in 1988.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Mulroney's tenure as prime minister was marked by the introduction of major economic reforms, such as the Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement, the goods and services tax (GST) that was created to replace the manufacturers' sales tax, and the privatization of 23 of 61 Crown corporations including Air Canada and Petro-Canada. Mulroney sought Quebec's endorsement of the constitutional amendments twice by first introducing the Meech Lake Accord (proposed recognizing Quebec as a distinct society and extending provincial powers) and then the Charlottetown Accord (proposed extensively changing the constitution, including recognition of Quebec as a distinct society); both failed to be ratified. The Meech Lake Accord's demise sparked a revival of Quebec separatism, leading to the rise of the Bloc Québécois. In foreign policy, Mulroney strengthened Canada's ties with the United States and opposed the apartheid regime in South Africa, leading an effort within the Commonwealth to sanction the country. Mulroney's tenure was marked by the Air India Flight 182 bombing, the largest mass killing in Canadian history, though his response to the attack came under criticism. Mulroney made environmental protection a key focus of his government, securing a treaty with the United States on acid rain and moving Canada to become the first industrialized country to ratify the Convention on Biological Diversity. His government added significant new national parks (Bruce Peninsula and South Moresby) and passed the "Canadian Environmental Assessment Act" and the "Canadian Environmental Protection Act".


title: Brian Mulroney

text: The unpopularity of the GST and the controversy surrounding its passage in the Senate, combined with the early 1990s recession, the collapse of the Charlottetown Accord, and growing Western alienation that triggered the rise of the Reform Party, caused a stark decline in Mulroney's popularity, which induced him to resign and hand over power to his cabinet minister, Kim Campbell, in June 1993. In the election later that year, the Progressive Conservatives collapsed, being reduced from a majority government of 156 seats to two, largely as a result of the emergence of the Bloc and Reform parties. In his retirement, Mulroney serves as an international business consultant and sits on the board of directors of multiple corporations. Although he places average or above-average in rankings of Canadian prime ministers, his legacy remains controversial. He has been criticized for his role in the resurgence of Quebec nationalism and accused of corruption in the Airbus affair, a scandal that would only gain prominence several years after he left office.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Mulroney was born on March 20, 1939, in Baie-Comeau, Quebec, a remote and isolated town in the eastern part of the province. He is the son of Irish Canadian Catholic parents, Mary Irene (née O'Shea) and Benedict Martin Mulroney, who was a paper mill electrician. As there was no English-language Catholic high school in Baie-Comeau, Mulroney completed his high school education at a Roman Catholic boarding school in Chatham, New Brunswick, operated by St. Thomas University. In 2001, St. Thomas University named its newest academic building in his honour. Benedict Mulroney worked overtime and ran a repair business to earn extra money for his children's education, and he encouraged his oldest son to attend university.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Mulroney would frequently tell stories about newspaper publisher Robert R. McCormick, whose company had founded Baie-Comeau. Mulroney would sing Irish songs for McCormick, and the publisher would slip him $50. Mulroney grew up speaking English and French fluently.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: On May 26, 1973, Mulroney married Mila Pivnički, the daughter of a Serbian-Canadian doctor, Dimitrije Mita Pivnički, from Sarajevo. Many PC campaign buttons featured both Mulroney's face and hers, and Ontario Premier Bill Davis commented to Brian, "Mila will get you more votes for you than you will for yourself."


title: Brian Mulroney

text: The Mulroneys have four children: Caroline, Benedict (Ben), Mark and Nicolas. His only daughter, Caroline, unsuccessfully ran for the 2018 Ontario PC leadership race and represents the party in the provincial legislature as the member for York—Simcoe. She is the Ontario's minister of transportation and minister of Francophone affairs. Ben was the host of CTV morning show "Your Morning" from June 2016 to October 2021. Mark and Nicolas both work in the financial industry in Toronto.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Mulroney is the grandfather of Lewis H. Lapham III, twins Pierce Lapham and Elizabeth Theodora Lapham, and Miranda Brooke Lapham from daughter Caroline; and twins Brian Gerald Alexander and John Benedict Dimitri and Isabel Veronica (known as Ivy) by son Ben and his wife Jessica. Brian and John served as page boys and train bearers at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on May 19, 2018, which their parents also attended, and their sister was one of the bridesmaids.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Mulroney entered St. Francis Xavier University in the fall of 1955 as a 16-year-old freshman. His political life began when he was recruited to the campus Progressive Conservative group by Lowell Murray and others, early in his first year. Murray, who was appointed to the Senate of Canada in 1979, became Mulroney's close friend, mentor, and adviser. Mulroney made other important, lasting friendships with Gerald Doucet, Fred Doucet, Sam Wakim, and Patrick MacAdam. Mulroney enthusiastically embraced political organization and assisted the local PC candidate in his successful 1956 Nova Scotia provincial election campaign; the PCs, led provincially by Robert Stanfield, won a surprise victory.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Mulroney became a youth delegate and attended the 1956 leadership convention in Ottawa. While initially undecided, Mulroney was captivated by John Diefenbaker's powerful oratory and easy approachability. Mulroney joined the Youth for Diefenbaker committee, which was led by Ted Rogers, a future scion of Canadian business. Mulroney struck an early friendship with Diefenbaker (who won the leadership) and received telephone calls from him.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Mulroney won several public speaking contests at St. Francis Xavier University, was a star member of the school's debating team and never lost an interuniversity debate. He was also very active in campus politics, serving with distinction in several Model Parliaments, and was campus prime minister in a Maritimes-wide Model Parliament in 1958.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Mulroney assisted with the 1958 national election campaign at the local level in Nova Scotia, a campaign that led to the largest majority in history of the Canadian House of Commons. After graduating from St. Francis Xavier with a degree in political science in 1959, Mulroney at first pursued a law degree from Dalhousie Law School in Halifax. It was around this time that Mulroney also cultivated friendships with the Tory premier of Nova Scotia, Robert Stanfield, and his chief adviser Dalton Camp. In his role as an advance man, Mulroney assisted with Stanfield's successful 1960 re-election campaign. Mulroney neglected his studies, fell seriously ill during the winter term, was hospitalized, and, despite getting extensions for several courses because of his illness, left his program at Dalhousie after the first year. He then applied to Université Laval in Quebec City and restarted first-year law there the next year.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: In Quebec City, Mulroney befriended future Quebec Premier Daniel Johnson Sr, and frequented the provincial legislature, making connections with politicians, aides, and journalists. At Laval, Mulroney built a network of friends, including Lucien Bouchard, Bernard Roy, Michel Cogger, Michael Meighen, and Jean Bazin, that would play a prominent role in Canadian politics for years to come.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Mulroney secured a temporary appointment in Ottawa during the summer of 1962, as the executive assistant to Alvin Hamilton, minister of agriculture. Then a federal election was called. Hamilton took Mulroney with him on the campaign trail, where the young organizer gained valuable experience.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: After graduating from Laval in 1964, Mulroney joined the Montreal law firm now known as Norton Rose Fulbright, which at the time was the largest law firm in the Commonwealth of Nations. Mulroney twice failed his bar exams, but the firm kept him due to his charming personality. After ultimately passing his bar exams, Mulroney was admitted to the Quebec bar in 1965 and became a labour lawyer, which was then a new and exciting field of law in Quebec. Mulroney's superb political skills of conciliation and negotiation, with opponents often polarized and at odds, proved ideal for this field. He was noted for ending several strikes along the Montreal waterfront where he met fellow lawyer W. David Angus of Stikeman Elliott, who would later become a valuable fundraiser for his campaigns. In addition, he met fellow then Stikeman Elliott lawyer Stanley Hartt, who later played a vital role assisting him during his political career as Mulroney's Chief of Staff.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: In 1966, Dalton Camp, who by then was president of the Progressive Conservative Party, ran for re-election in what many believed to be a referendum on Diefenbaker's leadership. Diefenbaker had reached his 70th birthday in 1965. Mulroney joined with most of his generation in supporting Camp and opposing Diefenbaker, but due to his past friendship with Diefenbaker, he attempted to stay out of the spotlight. With Camp's narrow victory, Diefenbaker called for a 1967 leadership convention in Toronto. Mulroney joined with Joe Clark and others in supporting former Justice minister E. Davie Fulton. Once Fulton dropped off the ballot, Mulroney helped in swinging most of his organization over to Robert Stanfield, who won. Mulroney, then 28, would soon become a chief adviser to the new leader in Quebec.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Mulroney's professional reputation was further enhanced when he ended a strike that was considered impossible to resolve at the Montreal newspaper "La Presse". In doing so, Mulroney and the paper's owner, Canadian business mogul Paul Desmarais, became friends. After his initial difficulties, Mulroney's reputation in his firm steadily increased, and he was made a partner in 1971.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Mulroney's big break came during the Cliche Commission in 1974, which was set up by Quebec premier Robert Bourassa to investigate the situation at the James Bay Project, Canada's largest hydroelectric project. Violence and dirty tactics had broken out as part of a union accreditation struggle. To ensure the commission was non-partisan, Bourassa, the Liberal premier, placed Robert Cliche, a former leader of the provincial New Democratic Party in charge. Cliche asked Mulroney, a Progressive Conservative and a former student of his, to join the commission. Mulroney asked Lucien Bouchard to join as counsel. The committee's proceedings, which showed Mafia infiltration of the unions, made Mulroney well known in Quebec, as the hearings were extensively covered in the media. The Cliche Commission's report was largely adopted by the Bourassa government. A notable incident included the revelation that the controversy may have involved the office of the Premier of Quebec, when it emerged that Paul Desrochers, Bourassa's special executive assistant had met with the union boss André Desjardins, known as the "King of Construction", to ask for his help with winning a by-election in exchange guaranteeing that only companies employing workers from his union would work on the James Bay project. Although Bouchard favoured calling in Robert Bourassa as a witness, Mulroney refused, deeming it a violation of 'executive privilege'. Mulroney and Bourassa would later cultivate a friendship that would turn out to be extremely beneficial when Mulroney ran for re-election in 1988.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: The Stanfield-led Progressive Conservatives lost the 1974 election to the Pierre Trudeau-led Liberals, leading to Stanfield's resignation as leader. Mulroney, despite never having run for elected office, entered the contest to replace him. Mulroney and provincial rival Claude Wagner were both seen as potentially able to improve the party's standing in Quebec, which had supported the federal Liberals for decades. Mulroney had played the lead role in recruiting Wagner to the PC party a few years earlier, and the two wound up as rivals for Quebec delegates, most of whom were snared by Wagner, who even blocked Mulroney from becoming a voting delegate at the convention. In the leadership race, Mulroney spent an estimated $500,000, far more than the other candidates, and earned himself the nickname 'Cadillac candidate'. At the 1976 leadership convention, Mulroney placed second on the first ballot behind Wagner. However, his expensive campaign, slick image, lack of parliamentary experience, and vague policy positions did not endear him to many delegates, and he was unable to build upon his base support, being overtaken by eventual winner Joe Clark on the second ballot. Mulroney was the only one of the eleven leadership candidates who did not provide full financial disclosure on his campaign expenses, and his campaign finished deeply in debt.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Mulroney took the job of executive vice president of the Iron Ore Company of Canada, a joint subsidiary of three major U.S. steel corporations. Mulroney earned a salary well into the six-figure range. In 1977, he was appointed company president. Drawing upon his labour law experience, he instituted improved labour relations, and, with commodity prices on the rise, company profits soared during the next several years. In 1983 Mulroney successfully negotiated the closing of the Schefferville mine, winning a generous settlement for the affected workers. In the wake of his loss in the 1976 leadership race, Mulroney battled alcohol abuse and depression for several years; he credits his loyal wife Mila with helping him recover. In 1979, he permanently became a teetotaler. During his IOC term, he made liberal use of the company's executive jet, frequently flying business associates and friends on fishing trips. Mulroney also maintained and expanded his extensive political networking among business leaders and conservatives across the country. As his business reputation grew, he was invited onto several corporate boards. He declined an offer to run in a Quebec by-election as a federal Liberal.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Joe Clark led the Progressive Conservative party to a minority government in the 1979 federal election which ended 16 years of continuous Liberal rule. However, the government fell after a successful no-confidence motion over his minority government's budget in December 1979. The PCs subsequently lost the federal election held two months later to Trudeau and the Liberals. Many Tories were also annoyed with Clark over his slowness in dispensing patronage appointments after he became prime minister in June 1979. By late 1982, Joe Clark's leadership of the Progressive Conservatives was being questioned in many party circles and among many Tory members of Parliament, despite his solid national lead over Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in opinion polls, which stretched to 19 percent in summer 1982.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Mulroney, while publicly endorsing Clark at a press conference in 1982, organized behind the scenes to defeat him at the party's leadership review. Clark's key Quebec organizer Rodrigue Pageau was in fact a double agent, working for Mulroney, undermining Clark's support. When Clark received an endorsement by only 66.9 per cent of delegates at the party convention in January 1983 in Winnipeg, he resigned and ran to regain his post at the 1983 leadership convention. Despite still not being a member of Parliament, Mulroney ran against him, campaigning more shrewdly than he had done seven years before. Mulroney had been criticized in 1976 for lacking policy depth and substance, a weakness he addressed by making several major speeches across the country in the early 1980s, which were collected into a book, "Where I Stand", published in 1983.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Mulroney also avoided most of the flash of his earlier campaign, for which he had been criticized. Mulroney was elected party leader on June 11, 1983, beating Clark on the fourth ballot, attracting broad support from the many factions of the party and especially from representatives of his native Quebec. Patrick Martin noted that a poll of delegates on the final ballot showed that Mulroney had won a bare majority of Clark's home province of Alberta, and that Clark had won a bare majority in Mulroney's home province of Quebec. However it was Mulroney's strong showing amongst Ontario delegates (65 percent to 35 percent) that seemed to account for most of his margin of victory. A New York Times article from 1984, argued that Mulroney was elected from "the right-wing elements" within the party. Tasha Kheiridden, writing in La Presse argued that "Brian Mulroney's injuries to Joe Clark in 1983 took more than 15 years to heal, as various factions continued to compete for leadership roles in the field and youth wings."


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Two months later, Mulroney entered Parliament as the MP for Central Nova in Nova Scotia, winning a by-election in what was then considered a safe Tory seat, after Elmer MacKay stood aside in his favour. This is a common practice in most parliamentary systems.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Throughout his political career, Mulroney's fluency in English and French, with Quebec roots in both cultures, gave him an advantage that eventually proved decisive.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: By the start of 1984, as Mulroney began learning the realities of parliamentary life in the House of Commons, the Tories took a substantial lead in opinion polling. It was almost taken for granted that Trudeau would be heavily defeated by Mulroney in the general election due no later than 1985. Trudeau announced his retirement in February and was succeeded as Liberal leader and prime minister by his former finance minister, John Turner, in June. The Liberals then surged in the polls, to take a lead, after trailing by more than 20 percentage points. Only four days after being sworn in as prime minister, Turner called a general election for September. But the Liberal election campaign machinery was in disarray, leading to a weak campaign.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: In the early days of the campaign, Mulroney made several gaffes regarding patronage, including the reference to Ambassador Bryce Mackasey as "there's no whore like an old whore". However, most of the campaign is best remembered for Mulroney's attacks on a raft of Liberal patronage appointments. In his final days in office, Trudeau had controversially appointed a flurry of Senators, judges, and executives on various governmental and crown corporation boards, widely seen as a way to offer 'plum jobs' to loyal members of the Liberal Party. Upon assuming office, Turner, who had been out of politics for nine years while he earned a lucrative salary as a Toronto lawyer, showed that his political instincts had diminished. He had been under pressure to advise Governor General Jeanne Sauvé to cancel the appointments—which convention would then have required Sauvé to do. However, Turner chose not to do so, and instead proceeded to appoint several more Liberals to prominent political offices per a signed, legal agreement with Trudeau.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Ironically, Turner had planned to attack Mulroney over the patronage machine that the latter had set up in anticipation of victory. In a televised leaders' debate, Turner launched what appeared to be the start of a blistering attack on Mulroney by comparing his patronage machine to that of the old Union Nationale in Quebec. However, Mulroney successfully turned the tables by pointing to the recent raft of Liberal patronage appointments. He demanded that Turner apologize to the country for making "these horrible appointments." Turner replied that "I had no option" except to let the appointments stand. Mulroney famously responded:


title: Brian Mulroney

text: You had an option, sir. You could have said, 'I am not going to do it. This is wrong for Canada, and I am not going to ask Canadians to pay the price.' You had an option, sir—to say 'no'—and you chose to say 'yes' to the old attitudes and the old stories of the Liberal Party. That, sir, if I may say respectfully, is not good enough for Canadians.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Turner froze and wilted under this withering riposte from Mulroney. He could repeat only, "I had no option." A visibly angry Mulroney called this "an avowal of failure" and "a confession of non-leadership." The exchange led most papers the next day, with most of them paraphrasing Mulroney's counterattack as "You had an option, sir—you could have said 'no.'" Many observers believe that at this point, Mulroney assured himself of becoming prime minister.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: On September 4, Mulroney and the Tories won the second largest majority government (in terms of percentage of seats) in Canadian history, winning 74.8 percent of seats in the House of Commons (behind the Tories' 1958 landslide in which they won 78.5 percent of seats). They took 211 seats, three more than their previous record in 1958 and the highest number of seats ever won by any party in Canadian history. The Liberals won only 40 seats, which, at the time was their worst performance ever and the worst defeat for a governing party at the federal level in Canadian history. The Conservatives won just over half of the popular vote (compared to 53.4 percent in 1958) and led in every province, emerging as a national party for the first time since 1958. Especially important was the Tories' performance in Mulroney's home province, Quebec. The Tories had only won the most seats in that province once since 1896 – the 1958 Tory landslide. However, largely due to anger at Trudeau, and Mulroney's promise of a new deal for Quebec, the province swung over dramatically to support him. The Tories had only won one seat out of 75 in 1980 but took 58 seats in 1984. Mulroney yielded Central Nova back to MacKay and instead ran in the eastern Quebec riding of Manicouagan, which included Baie-Comeau.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: In 1984, the Canadian Press named Mulroney "Newsmaker of the Year" for the second straight year, making him only the second prime minister to have received the honour both before becoming prime minister and when prime minister (the other being Lester Pearson).


title: Brian Mulroney

text: The first Conservative majority victory in 26 years—and only the second in 54 years—initially seemed to give Mulroney a very formidable position. The Tories had won just over half the popular vote, and no other party crossed the 50-seat mark. He had wide discretion to take Canada in virtually any direction he wanted. However, his position was far more precarious than his parliamentary majority would suggest. Mulroney's support was based on a grand coalition of socially conservative populists from the West, Quebec nationalists, and fiscal conservatives from Ontario and Atlantic Canada. Such diverse interests became difficult for him to juggle.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Most of Mulroney's ministers had little government experience, resulting in conflicts of interest and embarrassing scandals. Many Tories expected patronage appointments due to the long time out of government. Mulroney included a large number of Westerners in his Cabinet (including Clark as minister of external affairs). However, he was not completely successful, even aside from economic and constitutional policy. For example, he moved CF-18 servicing from Manitoba to Quebec in 1986, even though the Manitoba bid was lower and the company was better rated. Mulroney also received death threats for exerting pressure on Manitoba over French language rights.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Despite Mulroney referring to social programs as a "sacred trust" when he was Opposition leader in 1983, he began to reduce expenditures on the programs when he came into office. In terms of old age security, Mulroney's government gradually reduced its benefits at middle income levels and above. The government also reduced the range of workers covered by the benefits from unemployment insurance. In 1990, the government limited cost-sharing under the Canada Assistance Plan in three provinces in response to their concerns that unemployed workers would apply for cost-shared provincial social assistance (as a result of rising unemployment). Mulroney's government cut spending for unemployment insurance; in Spring 1993, the government lowered benefits for unemployed Canadians and eliminated benefits for the unemployed who failed to prove the reason they left their job. Mulroney's government limited baby bonus payments to only lower income Canadians.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: In 1985, Mulroney's government introduced a four-year plan to restructure family benefits, in order to combat the government debt and deficit. Starting in 1986, family allowances were partially indexed to the cost of living. For three years from 1986 to 1988, the refundable child tax credits were increased to $549 per year. Starting in 1989, the tax credits were partially indexed in the same manner as family allowances. That same year, as part of the government's program to target social benefits to low or middle income Canadians, universal family allowances ended as high income parents were required to repay all of their benefit at tax-filing time. This system maintained and increased a tax deduction for child care expenses, benefiting high-income families the most. In 1992, the government replaced family allowances with a new Child Tax Benefit that included the family allowance, the Refundable Child Tax Credit, and a non-refundable child tax credit. The new benefit paid a maximum of $85 per month per child up to the age of 18 and was tax-free. It was income-tested on the net family income reported in the preceding year's income tax returns.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Mulroney's government reduced the federal work force by 1 percent each year from 1986 to 1991, resulting in the laying off of 11,000 federal employees. Mulroney's government transferred the costs of universal health care and higher education to the provinces, breaking tradition of the two levels of government splitting the costs. As a result, some provinces had to drop insurance coverage for certain medical procedures and drugs. Mulroney's government eliminated subsidies to government-owned passenger rail and postal services, resulting in the closing of post offices in some small towns and the elimination of certain train routes. The government also introduced fees for forwarding misdirected letters. Under Mulroney, military spending growth was reduced to 1.5 percent per year and foreign aid growth was reduced to 3 percent per year. Mulroney also put spending limits on medicare.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: One of Mulroney's priorities was to lower the deficit, which had increased from $667 million under Prime Minister Lester Pearson (1968–1969) to $37.2 billion under Trudeau (1984–1985). By 1988, Mulroney's government cut the deficit to $28 billion, though it would never decrease beyond that point and the deficit would instead increase. In the Progressive Conservatives' final year in office, the deficit was at $38.5 billion in fiscal year 1993–1994, about the same level that it was when Pierre Trudeau left office. As a percent of GDP the deficit was reduced from 8.3 percent to 5.6 percent during Mulroney's tenure.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: The worldwide recession of the early 1990s significantly damaged the government's financial situation. Mulroney's inability to improve the government's finances, as well as his use of tax increases to deal with it, were major factors in alienating the western conservative portion of his power base – this contrasted with his tax cuts earlier as part of his 'pro-business' plan which had increased the deficit. At the same time, the Bank of Canada began to raise interest rates in order to meet a zero inflation target; the experiment was regarded as a failure that exacerbated the effect of the recession in Canada. Annual budget deficits ballooned to record levels, reaching $42 billion in his last year of office. These deficits grew the national debt dangerously close to the psychological benchmark of 100 percent of GDP, further weakening the Canadian dollar and damaging Canada's international credit rating.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Mulroney's government slashed spending, de-indexed personal income tax brackets, and eliminated open corporate tax loopholes. The government also increased taxes on alcohol, tobacco and gasoline. In 1988, Mulroney's government reduced the corporate income tax from 36 percent to 28 percent.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Mulroney's government passed a major tax reform bill, Bill C-139, which was made effective on January 1, 1988. It included reforms for personal and corporate income taxes. The bill expanded the tax base for personal and corporate income; lowered rates applicable to taxable income; supplanted exemptions with credits; and removed certain deductions for personal income tax. The bill replaced the 1987 rate schedule of 10 brackets (with rates ranging from 6 to 34 percent) with a schedule of only three brackets (with rates of 17 percent, 26 percent, and 29 percent). The bill also limited the lifetime capital gains exemption to $100,000; lowered capital cost allowances; established limitations on deductible business expenses; and cut the dividend tax credit.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: In August 1989, Mulroney's government announced the introduction of a nine percent national sales tax, the goods and services tax (GST), to replace the hidden 13.5 percent manufacturers sales tax (MST). The government argued the MST damaged the Canadian economy's competitiveness as it only applied to domestically-manufactured goods, as opposed to the new GST which applied to both domestic and imported goods. The GST did not apply to basic groceries, prescription drugs, health and dental care, educational services, day care, and legal aid. Following public backlash, Mulroney's government changed the tax's rate to seven percent. Although the government argued the tax was not a tax increase, but a tax shift, the highly visible nature of the tax was extremely unpopular, and many polls showed that as many as 80 percent of Canadians were opposed to the tax. Two Progressive Conservative MPs from Alberta, David Kilgour and Alex Kindy, left the party in protest of the tax. The Senate with a Liberal majority refused to pass the GST. Mulroney used Section 26 (the Deadlock Clause), a little known Constitutional provision, allowing him in an emergency situation to ask the Queen to appoint eight new Senators. On September 27, 1990, at the Queen's approval, Mulroney added the eight new Senators, thus giving the Tories their first majority in the Senate in nearly 50 years. In December 1990, the GST was passed in the Senate and was made effective on January 1, 1991. Mulroney's use of an "emergency" clause in the constitution was controversial and contributed to his decline in popularity.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Mulroney's government privatized many of Canada's crown corporations. In 1984, the Government of Canada held 61 crown corporations. Under Mulroney, it sold off 23 of them, including Air Canada, which was completely privatized by 1989, although the "Air Canada Public Participation Act" continued to make certain requirements of the airline. Mulroney's government also privatized Connaught Laboratories in 1984 through two public issues (one in 1984 and one in 1987) and Petro-Canada in 1991.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: On June 1, 1985, Mulroney's government negotiated the Western Accord on Energy with the governments of the oil-producing provinces. It permitted the full deregulation of oil prices and allowed the market forces of international and local supply and demand to determine prices. This accord abolished the National Energy Program, which was a policy of Trudeau's Liberal government that was highly unpopular in the Western provinces.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: The environment was a key focus of Mulroney's government. His government added eight new national parks (including Bruce Peninsula and South Moresby), and passed the "Canadian Environmental Assessment Act" and "Canadian Environmental Protection Act".


title: Brian Mulroney

text: In 1987, Mulroney hosted an international climate conference in Montreal, Quebec. There, 46 nations signed the Montreal Protocol to limit the use and production of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs); this agreement came after the discovery that CFCs were burning a hole through the ozone layer.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Mulroney secured the U.S.–Canada Air Quality Agreement, an environmental treaty on acid rain, with United States President George H. W. Bush in 1991. Both nations committed to reducing the emissions for the air pollutants (sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide) that caused acid rain through a cap-and-trade system. Negotiations began in 1986 when Mulroney first discussed the issue with then-president Ronald Reagan. Mulroney repeatedly pressed the issue in public meetings with Reagan in 1987 and 1988.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Under Mulroney, Canada became the first industrialized country to ratify the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Conference experts claimed that Canada's signing of the treaty motivated the United Kingdom and Germany to pledge their support and thus avoid the convention's defeat. The conference also introduced the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which sought to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to an environmentally-friendly level; Canada was the first Group of Seven (G7) nation to sign the treaty. At the convention, Mulroney pledged $260 million from Canada towards advancing sustainable development for developing nations; this included an offer to forgive $145 million in debts owed to Canada by Latin American nations on the condition that the sum of money be used for sustainable development and social programs. At the end of the conference, Mulroney stated, "I leave this conference believing we have a better chance of saving the world than we had when we came here."


title: Brian Mulroney

text: By 1992, Newfoundland and Labrador cod of breeding age dropped to one percent of its estimated peak. Concerned about the overfishing of cod stocks off the coast of the province, Mulroney's government in the summer of that year imposed a moratorium on cod fishing; they initially set the ban for a minimum of two years, but later expanded it indefinitely. This resulted in the layoff of 30,000–40,000 workers. Mulroney's government introduced the Northern Cod Adjustment and Recovery Program (NCARP) that provided unemployment insurance payments and retraining to workers; most of the workers viewed this as insufficient. In the first decade of the ban, Newfoundland and Labrador's population fell by 10 percent as people left to search for work.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: On September 22, 1988, Mulroney issued an official apology on behalf of the Canadian government for Japanese Canadian internment during World War II. Mulroney's government provided a 300 million dollar compensation package which included $21,000 to each of the remaining 13,000 survivors, $12 million for a Japanese community fund, and $24 million to create a Canadian race relations foundation.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Mulroney argues he set up the Deschênes Commission of inquiry on Nazi war criminals soon after he was first elected in 1984, even though it was controversial among “communities where Nazi criminals posed as respectable citizens.”


title: Brian Mulroney

text: On issues of abortion, Mulroney declared he was opposed to "abortion on demand", but gave no details on what that meant legally. In Spring 1988, the Mulroney government offered a compromise solution that would give easy access to abortion in the early stages of pregnancy and criminalize late-term ones. The law in the House of Commons was defeated 147 to 76 in a free vote, voted against by both MPs who opposed easy access to abortions and those who opposed adding any abortion rules to the Criminal Code. Some pro-life social conservatives who played a role in Mulroney's 1984 landslide were disappointed by this move, as they were in favour of outlawing abortion completely, regardless of the circumstance. In 1989, the government introduced a much stricter bill. If enacted, it would ban all abortions unless a doctor ruled the woman's life or health would be threatened. Anyone found in violation of the law could be imprisoned for up to two years. In another free vote, the House of Commons passed the new bill by nine votes. A few months later, the bill failed in the Senate on a tie vote. Under the rules of the Senate, a tie meant the measure was defeated. This was the last time the federal government attempted to enact abortion laws. Today, abortion in Canada remains completely legal at all stages of pregnancy, regardless of the reason.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: In 1991, "Frank" magazine ran a satirical advertisement for a contest inviting young Tories to "Deflower Caroline Mulroney". Her father was incensed and threatened physical harm toward those responsible before joining several women's groups in denouncing the ad as an incitement to rape on national television. Frank's editor Michael Bate, called the spoof, intended to mock her unpopular father for bringing her to public adult oriented events, "clumsy" but had no regrets. Bate also shared sympathy towards her father's reaction over the spoof.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: A major undertaking by Mulroney's government was an attempt to resolve the divisive issue of national unity. In 1981, Quebec Premier René Lévesque, leader of the Quebec nationalist Parti Québécois government, had been the only provincial premier not to agree to the package of constitutional amendments which patriated the Constitution of Canada. In the 1985 Quebec provincial election, the Parti Québécois government suffered a landslide defeat to the Liberals led by Robert Bourassa. Some believed that the new Quebec government's moderate stances on nationalism would allow the province to formally endorse the constitution. Mulroney wanted Quebec to endorse the constitution and wanted to include Quebec in a new agreement with the rest of Canada. In August 1986, Mulroney met with provincial premiers in Edmonton, Alberta, where the ministers agreed to the "Edmonton Declaration". It stated that a "Quebec Round" of constitutional talks based on Bourassa's five conditions that would have to be met for Quebec's endorsement of the constitution (recognition of Quebec's distinct character (as primarily Catholic and French-speaking); a veto for Quebec in constitutional matters; input from Quebec into the appointment of Supreme Court justices; entrenchment of Quebec's role in immigration; and a limit on the federal spending power) would occur before further reforms would be undertaken.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Mulroney called a First Ministers' conference with the ten provincial premiers for April 30, 1987, at Willson House, located on the shores of Meech Lake, Quebec, in the Gatineau Hills. During the conference, Mulroney negotiated the Meech Lake Accord, a package of constitutional amendments designed to satisfy Quebec's demand for recognition as a "distinct society" within Canada. The Accord also devolved some powers to the provinces such as giving provinces a role in nominating people to serve in some federal institutions (e.g. the Senate and Supreme Court of Canada); allowing provinces to withdraw from federally-financed social programs on the conditions that the province establish its own program that meets national standards; giving constitutional status to federal–provincial immigration agreements; and mandating annual First Ministers' conferences (the Accord also required that Senate reform and fisheries be discussed at the conferences), which made the federal–provincial consultative process constitutional. At a final roll call at 4:45 a.m. on June 3, 1987, hours before the signing ceremony, Mulroney knowingly breached convention by taking the vote in reverse order around the table instead of the traditional order of a province's entry into confederation. At the symbolic signing ceremony, the premiers signed the Accord. The agreement would have changed the constitution's amending formula. It therefore needed to be ratified by the federal parliament and the legislatures of all ten provinces. As well, other parts of the Accord were made under the general amendment provision. That meant that there was a three year deadline for those amendments to pass. On June 23, 1987, Quebec became the first province to approve of the Accord, triggering the three year time limit provided for by the Section 39(2) of the "Constitution Act, 1982"; this meant that June 22, 1990, would be the last possible day the Accord could pass.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Opinion polls showed that a majority of Canadians supported the Accord. Some believed the Accord would weaken Quebec separatism. Critics believed the Accord would weaken the federal government's authority and some from English Canada argued the "distinct society" clause would give Quebec special status and not make it equal to the other nine provinces. Mulroney told the "Toronto Star", "You can have the old style of warring federalism, or you can have genuine co-operative federalism, on which we're trying to build a new country." As criticism grew, support for the Accord declined. However, it was still popular in Quebec; some feared the Accord's failure would spark a backlash in the province and damage national unity.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: A commission headed by Mulroney's former cabinet minister, Jean Charest, recommended a companion accord that would address the concerns of other provinces, assert that the distinct society clause would be subject to the "Charter", and would feature greater protections for minority language rights in the provinces. Mulroney's environment minister and Quebec lieutenant, Lucien Bouchard, viewed the companion accord as a betrayal of Meech and subsequently praised the Parti Québécois in a telegram. Mulroney reportedly demanded Bouchard clarify the remark or resign, and Bouchard supplied a lengthy letter of resignation on May 22, 1990. Mulroney, however, claims he fired Bouchard. Bouchard left the Progressive Conservatives soon afterwards. After the failure of the Accord, Bouchard convinced several other Tories and Liberals to join him to form the Bloc Québécois, a pro-sovereigntist party.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: In early June 1990, all premiers finally agreed to ratify the Accord provided there be further constitutional discussions revolving around an elected Senate, the amending formula, equality, and Indigenous issues. Around that time, New Brunswick agreed to ratify the agreement. Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador remained the only provinces to have not ratified it; they only had a few weeks left. Unanimous support from every member of the Manitoba Legislative Assembly was required to bypass the necessary public consultations in the assembly and proceed with ratification. On June 12, 1990, Member of the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba Elijah Harper announced his opposition to the Accord, on the grounds that Indigenous groups had not been consulted. Harper's opposition prevented the amendment from proceeding, and thus the Accord failed to pass in the legislature. This allowed the premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, Clyde Wells (who revoked the province's previous assent though reluctantly agreed to ratify the Accord in June 1990), to excuse himself from bringing the Accord to a vote in the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly. The Accord failed to be ratified as Manitoba and Newfoundland and Labrador did not approve of it by the June 23, 1990, deadline.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Following the Meech Lake failure, Mulroney sought a second attempt to get Quebec's endorsement of the constitution. He appointed his foreign minister, Joe Clark, as the first minister responsible for constitutional affairs on April 21, 1991. Clark was responsible for establishing a new accord to end the constitutional deadlock with Quebec. Mulroney's government appointed two Quebec bodies (the Allaire Committee and the Belanger-Campeau Committee) and two national bodies (the Beaudoin-Edwards Committee and the Spicer Commission) to engage in discussions regarding constitutional reform. These bodies generated various reports, including the federal document titled "Shaping Canada’s Future Together". The Mulroney government then held five national conferences to discuss the proposals in the document. The conferences led to another federal report titled "A Renewed Canada". After, negotations between the federal, provincial, and territorial governments occurred. Unlike the Meech Lake Accord, Indigenous peoples were included in the discussions. Quebec was included in the final stages. The negotiations culminated in the Charlottetown Accord, which was unveiled in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, on August 28, 1992.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: The Accord gave provinces jurisdiction over foresty, mining, cultural affairs, and other areas; required the federal government to negotiate policy with the provinces in certain areas such as telecommunications, labour and training, regional development, and immigration; abolished disallowance (which gives the federal Cabinet power to overrule provincial legislation within one year of it being passed); and required provincial consent for the federal government gaining power over provincial infrastructure projects. The Accord allowed provinces to create their own social programs and mandated the federal government to compensate provinces as long as the provincial social programs met national standards. It also mandated the federal government to compensate provinces that withdrew from any constitutional amendment that transferred provincial powers to the federal government; the compensation would allow provinces to fund their own programs. In addition, the Accord addressed Indigenous self-government and contained the "Canada Clause" that determines Canadian values including egalitarianism, multiculturalism, and recognition of Quebec as a distinct society. Finally, the Accord entrenched the structure and appointment process for the Supreme Court of Canada in the constitution; changed the Senate into a Triple-E Senate with reduced powers (such as requiring a majority of all senators and a majority of Francophone senators in certain votes); increased the number of seats in the House of Commons; guaranteed Quebec at least a quarter of the Commons' seats; and increased the number of matters that require unanimous approval for a constitutional amendment.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: The Accord was supported by the federal government and all ten provincial governments. Although it could have been ratified as a constitutional amendment, Mulroney's government insisted on holding a national referendum to avoid a repetition of the criticism that the Meech Leek Accord was agreed upon without public approval. On October 26, 1992, two referendums, one national (without Quebec) and one in Quebec, were held asking if Canadians agreed with the Charlottetown Accord. Nationally, 54.3 percent opposed the Accord. In Quebec, 56.7 percent opposed it. Many saw the Accord's defeat as a protest against Mulroney's government, which was heavily unpopular due to the failure of the previous Meech Lake Accord, the introduction of the GST, and the early 1990s recession.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: As prime minister, Mulroney strengthened Canada's relations with the United States, moving away from Pierre Trudeau's Third Option policy of reducing American influence on Canada. Mulroney established a close relationship with U.S. President Ronald Reagan. On March 17 and 18, 1985, the "Shamrock Summit" between Mulroney and Reagan was held in Quebec City. The summit gained its name from the two leaders' Irish background and because the meeting started on St. Patrick's Day. In the summit, Mulroney and Reagan sang "When Irish Eyes are Smiling"; this signified the camaraderie between the two leaders and a turning point in Canada–United States relations.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: The Air India Flight 182 bombing, which originated in Montreal, occurred on June 23, 1985. This was the largest terrorist act before September 11, 2001, with the majority of the 329 victims being Canadian citizens. Mulroney sent a letter of condolence to Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, sparking an uproar in Canada, since he did not call families of the actual victims to offer condolences. Furthermore, there were several warnings from the Indian government to the Mulroney government about terrorist threats towards Air India flights. Questions remain as to why these warnings were not taken more seriously and whether the events leading to the bombing could have been prevented.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: In November 1984, Mulroney sent his newly-appointed Canadian ambassador to the United Nations, Stephen Lewis, to the Headquarters of the United Nations in New York City to persuade the General Assembly to take action against the ongoing Ethiopian famine. Days later, the UN and Red Cross launched an effort to save seven million starving Ethiopians and 22 million others in Africa. The Mulroney government's efforts to aid Ethiopia differed Canada from the United States and the United Kingdom, two Western nations which avoided taking action against the famine due to Ethiopia's Marxist regime. Mulroney's foreign affairs minister, Joe Clark, became the first senior Western official to visit Ethiopia during the famine, ahead of UN officials. Mulroney's government spent tens of millions of dollars to match private donations to combat the famine. Canada contributed to over 10 percent of international aid to Ethiopia. After the famine, Mulroney's government increased aid and development funding to Africa.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Mulroney supported the United Nations coalition during the 1991 Gulf War and when the UN authorized full use of force in the operation, Canada sent a CF-18 squadron with support personnel and a field hospital to deal with casualties from the ground war as well as a company of The Royal Canadian Regiment to safeguard these ground elements. The Canadian Forces code-named Canada's participation Operation Friction. In August Mulroney sent the destroyers HMCS "Terra Nova" and HMCS "Athabaskan" to enforce the trade blockade against Iraq. The supply ship HMCS "Protecteur" was also sent to aid the gathering coalition forces. When the air war began, Canada's planes were integrated into the coalition force and provided air cover and attacked ground targets. This was the first time since the fighting on Cyprus in 1974 that Canadian forces participated directly in combat operations.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: On December 2, 1991, Canada became the first Western nation to recognize Ukraine as an independent country, next day after the landslide referendum in favour of independence in Ukraine.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Mulroney's government opposed the apartheid regime in South Africa. Beginning in 1985, Mulroney led an effort within the Commonwealth to sanction the South African government with the goal of pressuring them to end apartheid and release anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela from prison. This put Mulroney at odds with British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who opposed apartheid but believed the sanctions would hurt Britain (which had economic ties with South Africa) and that the measures would hurt South Africans and cause job losses. United States President Ronald Reagan also opposed sanctions, believing that Mandela and other leaders of the African National Congress were communists. At an October 23, 1985, United Nations General Assembly meeting, Mulroney stated, "if there is no progress in the dismantling of apartheid, [Canada]'s relations with South Africa may have to be severed completely"; he restored this line in his speech after he originally removed it at the advice of External Affairs. After an August 1986 meeting in London, Canada, along with other Commonwealth nations, implemented 11 new sanctions on South Africa including bans on new air links, new investment, promotion of tourism, and imports of South African coal, metals and agricultural goods.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: The day after Mandela was released on February 11, 1990, he spoke with Mulroney through the telephone, thanking him for his efforts to end apartheid. Mandela made the Parliament of Canada his first legislature in the world to make a speech. On June 18 of that year, Mandela spoke in the House of Commons of Canada, where he thanked Mulroney and Canadians. The two remained in contact after they left politics; during his annual business trips to South Africa, Mulroney visited Mandela.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Critics noted that Mulroney had originally professed opposition to free trade during the 1983 leadership campaign though the 1985 report of the MacDonald Commission suggested free trade as an idea to him. Negotiations between Canada and the United States for a free trade treaty started in May 1986. In October 1987, a deal was reached; the Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement (CUSFTA) stated that all tariffs between the two countries would be eliminated by 1998. This deal was achieved not least because of Mulroney's close relationship with U.S. President Ronald Reagan. This agreement was controversial; while Mulroney used his massive majority in the House of Commons to pass the bill, the Liberal-dominated Senate demanded an election before proceeding to a ratification vote. This induced Mulroney to ask Governor General Jeanne Sauvé on October 1 to dissolve Parliament and call an election for November 21.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: The trade deal was the main issue of the election, with the Liberals and New Democratic Party (NDP) opposing it; Liberal leader John Turner (who was preparing for his second campaign after Mulroney defeated him in 1984) believed that the agreement would "Americanize" Canada and cost many Canadian jobs. A week after the October 25 debate, the Liberals were six points ahead of the PCs. To combat this Liberal surge, the PCs began running a more negative campaign, capitalizing on the perceived lack of public confidence in Turner, his perceived inability to lead the Liberal Party, and arguing that he only opposed free trade because of political opportunism. The Progressive Conservatives' poll numbers began to rebound and they were reelected with a greatly reduced majority, winning 169 out of 295 seats and 43 percent of the popular vote. Mulroney became the first and only federal Canadian Conservative party leader since John A. Macdonald to lead his party to a second majority government. The trade deal gained the support of Quebec Premier Robert Bourassa, which helped the PCs maintain their standing in Quebec. In this election, Mulroney transferred to another eastern Quebec seat, Charlevoix, after an electoral redistribution saw its boundary shift to include Baie-Comeau.


title: Brian Mulroney

text: Also on November 21, Mulroney made a controversial Order in Council which allowed the establishment of the AMEX Bank of Canada (owned by American Express), despite Finance Minister Michael Wilson rejecting AMEX's application to open a Canadian bank in 1986. The Amex Bank of Canada started operating on July 1, 1990. Toronto-Dominion Bank chairman Richard Thomson accused Mulroney's government of favouritism towards Amex as its Chief Executive Officer, James Robinson, supported free trade.