Honourable senators, earlier this month marked the fortieth anniversary of a truly significant turning point for Canada. On September 4, 1984, the Progressive Conservative Party, led by Brian Mulroney, won the biggest majority in Canadian electoral history, capturing 211 out of 282 seats, a sweep of the province of Quebec and an impressive 50% of the popular vote across our great country. Simply put, it was a landslide.

By the time Canadians voted in the 1984 election, they had suffered through many long years of the previous Trudeau government. A deficit of $39.5 billion stood at nearly 9% of GDP. The debt had increased by an incredible 1,100%. Short‑term interest rates had peaked at 22.75%. Program spending had soared to $1.23 for every dollar collected in taxes. High inflation, high deficits, rampant mismanagement at the hands of a tired and failing Liberal government, needing a new Conservative government to come in and fix what was broken. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it, colleagues?

There’s an old saying that history repeats itself. I will take this opportunity to note that the NDP allegedly ripped up their Supply and Confidence Agreement with Justin Trudeau on September 4, exactly 40 years to the day after Canadians gave the PC Party and Mr. Mulroney the most overwhelming victory our country has ever seen.

In 1984, fed-up voters were looking for change, and they found it in a young lawyer and businessman from Baie-Comeau, Quebec, and his impressive team of Conservatives. The decisive 1984 federal election result led to a series of policies that have stood the test of time and were eventually co-opted by even the fiercest of Mr. Mulroney’s critics, most notably, continental free trade and the GST.

On this special occasion, I extend best wishes to all members of the Mulroney team who played a part, big or small, in the resounding victory 40 years ago, particularly my good friend Jake Epp, who celebrated his eighty-fifth birthday earlier this month.

Jake Epp is a legend in Manitoba politics. He became the first Mennonite appointed to cabinet when he served in the short-lived Joe Clark government. He and Mr. Clark would later serve alongside each other in Prime Minister Mulroney’s cabinet.

In a speech he gave in Halifax in May 2002, Mr. Mulroney said:

. . . that is the test of governance, that is the measure of leadership. How you found the country, and how you left it.

Forty years ago this month, Mr. Mulroney gave Canada true leadership at a time it was desperately needed, and he left Canada in a much better place.