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The Secret Mulroney Tapes: Unguarded Confessions of a Prime Minister
The Secret Mulroney Tapes is an outrageous and intimate portrait of a Canadian prime minister, as told in his own words. There has never been a political book like this, and there will almost certainly never be another.
Peter C. Newman, the author of books about John Diefenbaker, Lester B. Pearson and Pierre Elliott Trudeau, as well as 2004’s number-one bestselling memoir, Here Be Telling Tales of People, Passion and Power , has done it again. He has written twenty-two books that have sold two million copies, and earned him the title of Canada’s “most cussed and discussed” political commentator. Here, his no-holds-barred profile of Canada’s most controversial – and most reviled – prime minister breaks new ground.
Compiled from years of candid, taped conversations with Mulroney and the people closest to him while he was in power, the sometimes uproarious and often disturbing interviews – 7,400 pages of transcripts totalling 1.8 million words – have been sealed until now. Stunningly indiscreet and savagely frank, Mulroney is the first prime minister to be so nakedly outspoken. Yet he is also revealed as a witty Irish charmer, ready with a quick line to raise a laugh, no matter how impudent or profane, a man as warm in private as he was defensive in the public eye.
Mulroney names the names and spills the beans about what really goes on in Ottawa, which he describes as a “sick” city that runs on “goddamned incest”: “They’re all married to one another. They’re shacked up with one another. Their wives are on the payroll of the CBC. It’s just awful.” Lucien Bouchard, his one-time soulmate, he calls “bitter and profane” and “extraordinarily vain.” He writes off his constitutional foe, former Newfoundland premier Clyde Wells, as an “unprincipled son of a bitch.” His disgust for the press is as monumental as his sense of being misunderstood, and in his eyes the Ottawa press corps are “a phony bunch of bastards” who don’t give him credit even when the world applauds him for being “one of the three men who played the most important role in the collapse of the Berlin Wall.”
Out of The Secret Mulroney Tapes emerges a startling picture of the politician whose reign shocked and appalled and yet also revolutionized this country. No other prime minister in Canadian history aroused a stronger emotional response than Brian Mulroney. This book provides Canadians with a unique insight into the bold politician who changed their country like no other.
Peter C. Newman, the author of books about John Diefenbaker, Lester B. Pearson and Pierre Elliott Trudeau, as well as 2004’s number-one bestselling memoir, Here Be Telling Tales of People, Passion and Power , has done it again. He has written twenty-two books that have sold two million copies, and earned him the title of Canada’s “most cussed and discussed” political commentator. Here, his no-holds-barred profile of Canada’s most controversial – and most reviled – prime minister breaks new ground.
Compiled from years of candid, taped conversations with Mulroney and the people closest to him while he was in power, the sometimes uproarious and often disturbing interviews – 7,400 pages of transcripts totalling 1.8 million words – have been sealed until now. Stunningly indiscreet and savagely frank, Mulroney is the first prime minister to be so nakedly outspoken. Yet he is also revealed as a witty Irish charmer, ready with a quick line to raise a laugh, no matter how impudent or profane, a man as warm in private as he was defensive in the public eye.
Mulroney names the names and spills the beans about what really goes on in Ottawa, which he describes as a “sick” city that runs on “goddamned incest”: “They’re all married to one another. They’re shacked up with one another. Their wives are on the payroll of the CBC. It’s just awful.” Lucien Bouchard, his one-time soulmate, he calls “bitter and profane” and “extraordinarily vain.” He writes off his constitutional foe, former Newfoundland premier Clyde Wells, as an “unprincipled son of a bitch.” His disgust for the press is as monumental as his sense of being misunderstood, and in his eyes the Ottawa press corps are “a phony bunch of bastards” who don’t give him credit even when the world applauds him for being “one of the three men who played the most important role in the collapse of the Berlin Wall.”
Out of The Secret Mulroney Tapes emerges a startling picture of the politician whose reign shocked and appalled and yet also revolutionized this country. No other prime minister in Canadian history aroused a stronger emotional response than Brian Mulroney. This book provides Canadians with a unique insight into the bold politician who changed their country like no other.
480 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
About the author
Peter C. Newman
56 books27 followersPeter Charles Newman (born Peta Karel Neuman), CC, journalist, author, newspaper and magazine editor (born 10 May 1929 in Vienna, Austria; died 7 September 2023 in Belleville, ON). Peter C. Newman was one of Canada’s most prominent journalists, biographers and non-fiction authors. After starting out with the Financial Post, he became editor-in-chief of both the Toronto Star and Maclean’s. His 35 books, which have collectively sold more than two million copies, helped make political reporting and business journalism more personalized and evocative. His no-holds-barred, insiders-tell-all accounts of Canada’s business and political elites earned him a reputation as Canada’s “most cussed and discussed” journalist. A recipient of numerous awards and honorary degrees, Newman was elected to the Canadian News Hall of Fame in 1992. He was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1978 and a Companion in 1990.
Early Life and Education
Originally named Peta Karel Neuman by his secularized Jewish parents, Peter C. Newman grew up in the Czech town of Breclav, where his father ran a large sugar beet refinery. As Newman wrote in 2018, “I lived the charmed life of a little rich boy in Moravia, Czechoslovakia — until age nine, that is, when the world as I knew it vanished.” Fleeing the Nazis, his family came to Canada as refugees in 1940.
Newman initially attended Hillfield School in Hamilton, Ontario, a prep school for the Royal Military College of Canada. But, envisaging a business career for his son, Newman's father, Oscar, enrolled him as a “war guest” boarder at Upper Canada College in 1944. There he met future members of the Canadian establishment whose lives he would later document.
After graduating, Newman joined the Canadian Navy Reserves. He was a reservist for decades and eventually reached the rank of captain. For many years, he was rarely seen in public without his signature black sailor cap.
Career Highlights
Once he mastered English, Newman began writing, first for the University of Toronto newspaper, then for the Financial Post in 1951. By 1953, he was Montreal editor of the Post. He held the position for three years before returning to Toronto to be assistant editor, then Ottawa columnist, at Maclean's magazine. In 1959, he published Flame of Power: Intimate Profiles of Canada's Greatest Businessmen. It profiles 11 of the first generation of Canada's business magnates. In 1963, Newman published his masterly and popular political chronicle of John Diefenbaker, Renegade in Power: The Diefenbaker Years (1963). According to the Writers’ Trust of Canada, the book “revolutionized Canadian political reporting with its controversial ‘insiders-tell-all’ approach.” Five years later, Newman published a similar but less successful study of Lester Pearson, The Distemper of Our Times (1968).
In 1969, Newman became editor-in-chief at the Toronto Star. During this period, he published some of his best journalism in Home Country: People, Places and Power Politics (1973). He then published popular studies on the lives of those who wielded financial power in the Canadian business establishment. These included his two-volume The Canadian Establishment (1975, 1981), The Bronfman Dynasty (1978; see also Bronfman Family), and The Establishment Man: A Portrait of Power (1982). A third book called Titans: How the New Canadian Establishment Seized Power was added to this series in 1998.
Newman was also editor of Maclean's from 1971 to 1982. He transformed the magazine from a monthly to a weekly news magazine — the first of its kind in Canada — with a Canadian slant on international and national events. In 1982, he resigned to work on a three-volume history of the Hudson's Bay Company.
Honours
Peter C. Newman received the Canadian Journalism Foundation's Lifetime Achievement Award and the Toronto Star's Excellence in Journalism award in 1998. He received a National Newspaper Award and in 1992 he was elected to the Canadia
Early Life and Education
Originally named Peta Karel Neuman by his secularized Jewish parents, Peter C. Newman grew up in the Czech town of Breclav, where his father ran a large sugar beet refinery. As Newman wrote in 2018, “I lived the charmed life of a little rich boy in Moravia, Czechoslovakia — until age nine, that is, when the world as I knew it vanished.” Fleeing the Nazis, his family came to Canada as refugees in 1940.
Newman initially attended Hillfield School in Hamilton, Ontario, a prep school for the Royal Military College of Canada. But, envisaging a business career for his son, Newman's father, Oscar, enrolled him as a “war guest” boarder at Upper Canada College in 1944. There he met future members of the Canadian establishment whose lives he would later document.
After graduating, Newman joined the Canadian Navy Reserves. He was a reservist for decades and eventually reached the rank of captain. For many years, he was rarely seen in public without his signature black sailor cap.
Career Highlights
Once he mastered English, Newman began writing, first for the University of Toronto newspaper, then for the Financial Post in 1951. By 1953, he was Montreal editor of the Post. He held the position for three years before returning to Toronto to be assistant editor, then Ottawa columnist, at Maclean's magazine. In 1959, he published Flame of Power: Intimate Profiles of Canada's Greatest Businessmen. It profiles 11 of the first generation of Canada's business magnates. In 1963, Newman published his masterly and popular political chronicle of John Diefenbaker, Renegade in Power: The Diefenbaker Years (1963). According to the Writers’ Trust of Canada, the book “revolutionized Canadian political reporting with its controversial ‘insiders-tell-all’ approach.” Five years later, Newman published a similar but less successful study of Lester Pearson, The Distemper of Our Times (1968).
In 1969, Newman became editor-in-chief at the Toronto Star. During this period, he published some of his best journalism in Home Country: People, Places and Power Politics (1973). He then published popular studies on the lives of those who wielded financial power in the Canadian business establishment. These included his two-volume The Canadian Establishment (1975, 1981), The Bronfman Dynasty (1978; see also Bronfman Family), and The Establishment Man: A Portrait of Power (1982). A third book called Titans: How the New Canadian Establishment Seized Power was added to this series in 1998.
Newman was also editor of Maclean's from 1971 to 1982. He transformed the magazine from a monthly to a weekly news magazine — the first of its kind in Canada — with a Canadian slant on international and national events. In 1982, he resigned to work on a three-volume history of the Hudson's Bay Company.
Honours
Peter C. Newman received the Canadian Journalism Foundation's Lifetime Achievement Award and the Toronto Star's Excellence in Journalism award in 1998. He received a National Newspaper Award and in 1992 he was elected to the Canadia
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 13, 2014
Too one-sided. Weren’t it for Newman’s lengthy introduction and his short analyses, rarely would there have been any objectivity. But the book’s purpose, as Newman has said repeatedly, is not to summarize Mulroney’s tenure but to provide an intimate look at Canada’s probably most hated PM.
One can understand the Mulroneys’ outrage when it comes to how the media reported on the PM’s tenure, considering how they turned a blind eye on Chrétien’s similar partisanship. Mulroney can be blamed for this as he had set expectancies too high during his first campaign, ruthlessly attacking Turner on patronage and promising to not resort to the same if elected.
But their contempt for Trudeau is so bitter, so blatant, a tiny little shy of obvious jealousy.
“Pierre Trudeau, this short little ugly man, all of a sudden became a sex symbol. And here’s Brian with this wonderful, deep voice, these beautiful blue eyes, this generous nature, this wonderful sense of humour. He’s so warm and here’s Trudeau, cold as a cucumber.”
That kind of comment is extremely inelegant and unworthy of a PM’s wife. Mulroney’s a little too vulgar, but this contrasts with his public image and gives him, arguably though, some sort of humane image.
The book’s considered unflattering as it brings to light Mulroney’s revisionist and narcissistic traits. He rationalizes wrongdoings, reformulates his statements, and boasts his achievements beyond their actual merit.
As a matter of fact, many of the Conservatives’ achievements didn’t originate from their caucus. Free-trade with the US was a Grit idea, it was suggested in royal commission by Liberal former cabinet minister Donald Macdonald. Mulroney was even opposed to it prior to the ’84 elections, thought it was ridiculous. Furthermore, Newman reveals, much to my astonishment, that the Conservatives’ took the Turner Grits’ ’84 budget and made it their own, and that “it became the cornerstone of the Conservatives’ economic policy.” So Mulroney’s most cherished achievements – except the GST – were actually Liberal plans.
Another area where Mulroney relentlessly attacked Trudeau and Liberals was how much they raised the national debt. “[…] Trudeau turned the balanced books he had inherited from his predecessor in 1968 into a $38.5 billion annual deficit and increased the national debt by 1,200 per cent, from $17 billion to more than $200 billion.” True, but Trudeau’s predecessors governed in prosperous times, the post-WWII economic boom, while during his terms in office the world was hit by the Bretton Woods collapse, two oil crises, a stock market crash, recession and stagflation. Mulroney and Trudeau critics never acknowledge these realities. And Mulroney’s record on fiscal responsibility is, however he might have boasted, way worse than his archenemy. “By 1986, Mulroney decided to forgo hopes of balancing budgets and went on a seven-years spending spree, trying to buy back his fading popularity. As finance minister from 1984 to 1991, Michael Wilson accumulated more public debt than all of his peacetime predecessors combined.”
The media portrayal of Mulroney might have been unfair, but it is him who has given himself promising airs of new, incorruptible politics, and has failed in delivering. It is him who has appointed the 12 cabinet ministers forced to resign amid scandals of corruption.
Mulroney’s legacy might be tainted by the failures of Meech Lake and Charlottetown, but at least he got Canada free-trade, NAFTA and the GST, and privatised a bunch of crown corporations, bettering Canada’s economic standing in the world, raising Canada’s competitiveness ranking from 11 to 4.
One can understand the Mulroneys’ outrage when it comes to how the media reported on the PM’s tenure, considering how they turned a blind eye on Chrétien’s similar partisanship. Mulroney can be blamed for this as he had set expectancies too high during his first campaign, ruthlessly attacking Turner on patronage and promising to not resort to the same if elected.
But their contempt for Trudeau is so bitter, so blatant, a tiny little shy of obvious jealousy.
“Pierre Trudeau, this short little ugly man, all of a sudden became a sex symbol. And here’s Brian with this wonderful, deep voice, these beautiful blue eyes, this generous nature, this wonderful sense of humour. He’s so warm and here’s Trudeau, cold as a cucumber.”
That kind of comment is extremely inelegant and unworthy of a PM’s wife. Mulroney’s a little too vulgar, but this contrasts with his public image and gives him, arguably though, some sort of humane image.
The book’s considered unflattering as it brings to light Mulroney’s revisionist and narcissistic traits. He rationalizes wrongdoings, reformulates his statements, and boasts his achievements beyond their actual merit.
As a matter of fact, many of the Conservatives’ achievements didn’t originate from their caucus. Free-trade with the US was a Grit idea, it was suggested in royal commission by Liberal former cabinet minister Donald Macdonald. Mulroney was even opposed to it prior to the ’84 elections, thought it was ridiculous. Furthermore, Newman reveals, much to my astonishment, that the Conservatives’ took the Turner Grits’ ’84 budget and made it their own, and that “it became the cornerstone of the Conservatives’ economic policy.” So Mulroney’s most cherished achievements – except the GST – were actually Liberal plans.
Another area where Mulroney relentlessly attacked Trudeau and Liberals was how much they raised the national debt. “[…] Trudeau turned the balanced books he had inherited from his predecessor in 1968 into a $38.5 billion annual deficit and increased the national debt by 1,200 per cent, from $17 billion to more than $200 billion.” True, but Trudeau’s predecessors governed in prosperous times, the post-WWII economic boom, while during his terms in office the world was hit by the Bretton Woods collapse, two oil crises, a stock market crash, recession and stagflation. Mulroney and Trudeau critics never acknowledge these realities. And Mulroney’s record on fiscal responsibility is, however he might have boasted, way worse than his archenemy. “By 1986, Mulroney decided to forgo hopes of balancing budgets and went on a seven-years spending spree, trying to buy back his fading popularity. As finance minister from 1984 to 1991, Michael Wilson accumulated more public debt than all of his peacetime predecessors combined.”
The media portrayal of Mulroney might have been unfair, but it is him who has given himself promising airs of new, incorruptible politics, and has failed in delivering. It is him who has appointed the 12 cabinet ministers forced to resign amid scandals of corruption.
Mulroney’s legacy might be tainted by the failures of Meech Lake and Charlottetown, but at least he got Canada free-trade, NAFTA and the GST, and privatised a bunch of crown corporations, bettering Canada’s economic standing in the world, raising Canada’s competitiveness ranking from 11 to 4.
May 5, 2020
Meh. This book really hasn't aged well, as all of the "revelations" brought forward by the author are now simply common knowledge (severe dislike for his predecessor and his arrogance towards the Canadian media). Nevertheless, it's an interesting glance at how Brian Mulroney really governed behind the scenes, and his insecurities regarding others' opinion of him led to occasional fits of rage. It tells a lot about the prime minister's sense of character and duty towards the office.
Peter Newman is a horrible author. He is more than willing to show an unfiltered Brian Mulroney, but when he writes passages of the former prime minister's tenure, he is extremely partisan and writes unnecessary garbage that makes the reader just skip many pages. He writes of his relationship with Brian Mulroney and ultimately wishes to draw sympathy for the man, but he is so self centred in his writing that it's hard to even want to connect to some level with the author. 15 years ago, when Peter Newman wrote this book, he clearly misunderstood that the book would be popular because it gave an unfiltered view of Brian Mulroney, and that the readers couldn't care less about the author's own personal partisan vomit. Fortunately, the book seems to have the way for Peter Newman to fade into nothingness and for better authors, who are more intelligent and academic, to take his place.
Peter Newman is a horrible author. He is more than willing to show an unfiltered Brian Mulroney, but when he writes passages of the former prime minister's tenure, he is extremely partisan and writes unnecessary garbage that makes the reader just skip many pages. He writes of his relationship with Brian Mulroney and ultimately wishes to draw sympathy for the man, but he is so self centred in his writing that it's hard to even want to connect to some level with the author. 15 years ago, when Peter Newman wrote this book, he clearly misunderstood that the book would be popular because it gave an unfiltered view of Brian Mulroney, and that the readers couldn't care less about the author's own personal partisan vomit. Fortunately, the book seems to have the way for Peter Newman to fade into nothingness and for better authors, who are more intelligent and academic, to take his place.
March 9, 2026
Books in Canada
Mulroney....whose ability to adapt his persona to different situations led the public to assume he wasn't a genuine sort of person, and whose inability to curb his compulsion to exaggerate made him an unintentional "pathological liar".
/////
The wilde Amazone
Proves what a crook he really was He believes he was the best Prime Minister of Canada ever.
Shows how even a Prime Minister can be corrupt and break the law with now penalties. Rather then being held to a higher standard Brian M. was swept under the rug as fast as he was swept out of office leaving a completely decimated Progressive Conservative party, not even being able to retain official party status! Oh yeah and then he had the nerve to blame Kim Campbell when it was all because of his failed policies.
Honest Shopper
May 27, 2020
I have to give this at least 3 stars for Newman's incredible access to the prime minister. I think I would have liked this better if the format was different. Each chapter starts with a bit of analysis, that is skewed favourably towards the prime minister, and then block quotes from the prime minister and those closest to him. I would've preferred more analysis and more objective analysis. However, I did enjoy reading some of the views and opinions. Would I recommend this to a friend? Depends on how interested someone is in politics. If you're only mildly interested in Canadian politics, pass on this. Otherwise, might be an interesting read.
June 21, 2020
A very intimate look into the Mulroney and his governments through the author’s unprecedented access to the former Prime Minister, and accompanied with contextual notes about both the times and the leader.
The author offers a supportive but not uncritical perspective of Mulroney and his peers through both his own commentary as well as the words of Mulroney’s contemporaries.
Rarely do you get such an unfiltered look into a leader’s psyche, rife with braggadocio and hyperbole but also a tremendous recall of issues from the perspective only a leader can have.
Great read.
The author offers a supportive but not uncritical perspective of Mulroney and his peers through both his own commentary as well as the words of Mulroney’s contemporaries.
Rarely do you get such an unfiltered look into a leader’s psyche, rife with braggadocio and hyperbole but also a tremendous recall of issues from the perspective only a leader can have.
Great read.
February 4, 2023
A puff piece that tries to disguise itself as being not a puff piece.
December 17, 2015
Newman's original title for a book on Mulroney's leadership was "Burden of Power." The Secret Mulroney Tapes smacks of being written in a bit of a hurry. There are a few overlaps in the content, and Newman's hyperbole sometimes goes over the top. While he made an effort to treat Mulroney fairly, the clear sense emerges within the book that Newman finds Mulroney less than attractive. Some of his editorial choices may have been intended to reveal how the stress of leadership can take a toll on a good person. Alternatively, the book also could be seen as revealing what type of personality characteristics are required to become a leader.
The book was primarily controversial because its unvarnished foul language and Mulroney's clear vindictiveness made Mulroney appear bitter, venal, and uncouth. Mulroney's camp was also frustrated as Newman's book came out a year before Mulroney's autobiography.
The book was primarily controversial because its unvarnished foul language and Mulroney's clear vindictiveness made Mulroney appear bitter, venal, and uncouth. Mulroney's camp was also frustrated as Newman's book came out a year before Mulroney's autobiography.
February 9, 2012
Canadian political voyeurism of our former Prime Minister. Mulroney could be equally charming and spitefully partisan. As with many Canadians, I had mixed feelings about him. Still, he was one man who could have taken on that other great political streetfighter, Jean Chretien, and landed serious blows.
This is starting to seem like a distant chapter in Canadian history; Meech Lake, NAFTA, the memorable 1983 convention where Mulroney ousted Joe Clark. Newman, a product of that political era, lets the tapes roll in all their splendid bile and profanity.
This is starting to seem like a distant chapter in Canadian history; Meech Lake, NAFTA, the memorable 1983 convention where Mulroney ousted Joe Clark. Newman, a product of that political era, lets the tapes roll in all their splendid bile and profanity.
December 29, 2016
Wow, a side of Brian Mulroney the Canadian public never saw. Newman got exclusive access to the PM during his period in office for his promise not to use any of the material until after he left office. Eventually Mulroney reneged on part of the bargain as he refused to hand over his personal notes and papers. However, Newman had hours of taped interviews from the period and they form the basis of the book.
An eye opener, to be sure
An eye opener, to be sure
December 26, 2011
A great book to read. Mulroney makes his biases perfectly clear and the portrait that emerges is not as negative as the dispute between the author and the subject would lead us to believe. I must read for anyone interested in Canadian politics.
April 2, 2013
A fast, amusing read that takes you back to the tedium of the 1980s and early 1990s when Mulroney was in power in Canada. Full of the bluster that made Canadians hate him, and a great deal of colourful language.
March 15, 2008
Mostly reminded me how much I'd like to kick Mulroney...
October 28, 2011
I tried very hard to read this but as an uneducated person who did not finish highschool the way it was written was impossible to understand.
August 14, 2012
This was trashy and gossipy, but I oddly enjoyed it and it made me warm to Mulroney in a way I hadn't expected.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews