EXPERT ADVISORY
Political scientist, leadership expert and first director of Mulroney Institute Don Abelson available to discuss former PM’s legacy
As one of Canada’s most consequential prime ministers, Brian Mulroney was both admired and excoriated, Abelson says
Newswise — Hamilton, ON, March 1, 2024 – McMaster political scientist Don Abelson, who worked closely with Brian Mulroney for nearly five years as the inaugural director of the Brian Mulroney Institute of Government at St. Francis Xavier University, is available to discuss the former PM’s legacy.
Mulroney died Thursday (Feb. 29) at age 84, having led back-to-back majority Conservative governments from 1984 to 1993, and is considered one of Canada’s most consequential prime ministers.
“When it came to Mulroney, few people could remain agnostic,” Abelson says. “They either admired him as one of Canada’s last prime ministers who could elevate the country’s standing in world affairs or excoriated him for his involvement in the Airbus scandal and his willingness to immerse himself in the world of big business.”
Abelson served at St Francis Xavier before joining the faculty at McMaster in September 2023 as Academic Director of the Wilson College of Leadership and Civic Engagement and professor of political science.
“Never willing to retreat from positions he held on key domestic and foreign policy issues, Mulroney’s record will be evaluated and re-evaluated by scholars in due course,” Abelson says. “While there is little doubt that he made great strides in advancing and managing Canada-US relations, he always regretted the failure of the Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords.”
To arrange an interview with Don Abelson please contact him at [email protected] or (519) 319-1970.
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