Mr. Mulroney is our most underrated PM. As Sheik mentioned, the visible 7% GST replaced an invisible federal manufacturing sales tax. Since taxpayers have a right to know when and how much tax they are paying, the GST is more honest. Also, if you've ever owned or run a business which carries alot of inventory, the input tax credits are a big help to the cash flow, it sure beats having a disbursed FST sitting on the shelves waiting to be recouped at the consumer level.
When we look at the record of the Chrétien/Martin Liberals, what have they done?
They kept the GST. They kept and strengthened free trade. They maintained the flattened tax brackets introduced by the Mulroney conservatives.
What did they campaign for in 1993? In 1993, the Liberals promised to cancel the helicopter contract for our armed forces and promised to cancel the Toronto Airport deal. Both of these cancellations blew up in their face.
The only important matters on which the Chrétien/Martin Liberals differed from the Mulroney PCs are the consitution and attitude towards the USA. Mulroney tried hard with Meech and Charlottetown and failed. Chrétien/Martin almost lost the Quebec referendum in 1995. Neither government's performance has been stellar. I preferred Mulroney's approach, but I believe that Chrétien/Martin have been more effective. OTOH on foreign policy Mulroney wins hands down. Liberal foreign policy has been one disaster after another.