Former Canadian prime minister and Conservative stalwart Brian Mulroney
has died at age 84.

The former Tory leader died peacefully, surrounded by family, his family
announced "with great sadness"(opens in a new tab) late Thursday.

The House of Commons adjourned its proceedings on Thursday after learning
of Mulroney's passing, and reaction from political figures poured in(opens
in a new tab) from across Canada.

Born to a working class family in Baie-Comeau, Que., as a university
student studying political science Mulroney became an adviser to
Conservative prime minister John Diefenbaker.

He worked behind the scenes in conservative politics for years and earned
a law degree before finally running to become the next federal Progressive
Conservative leader in 1976, only to lose to Joe Clark.

Defeated but not discouraged, Mulroney joined corporate Canada as a senior
executive, but continued plotting a campaign to oust Clark.

His pursuits for power culminated in 1983, when he won the leadership of
the Progressive Conservative Party.

"Together we're going to build a brand new party and a brand new country,"
he vowed at the time. He was then elected as MP for Central Nova, N.S.,
promising to push for more jobs in the riding.

Mulroney went on to run a commanding 1984 federal campaign, winning a
majority with the largest number of seats in Canadian history, after
delivering what may be his most memorable political line.

When then-Liberal prime minister John Turner's honouring of Pierre
Trudeau's controversial patronage appointments came up during an election
debate, Mulroney stated: "You had an option, sir."

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