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Brian Mulroney Cartoons: My First Attempt at Satire

Posted on August 19, 2019November 29, 2022 by admin

In the spring of 1992, my father accepted a pastoral position in Calgary and our family moved from Manitoba to Alberta, heart of Reform Party country. I think I had an interest in politics before then, but it really ramped up when I arrived in Calgary at the height of Preston Manning mania. Ahh, yes, those were the days…

It was about this time when I started to dabble in political cartooning. I had always been a writer. As a young child I wrote poetry and short stories. However, there was a period, say 1992 and 1993, when I churned out literally hundreds of political cartoons, most of them focused on my arch enemy at the time: Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.

Recently, I discovered six notebooks full of these cartoons in an old desk. I honestly have not looked at them in decades. Examining them now I can see that most of them were not that funny and the artwork was not very good, but, hey, I was 12 and I’m quite certain this was my very first foray into satire.

These cartoons have remained unseen for twenty-seven years, but I present a few of them here for your perusal now. Enjoy!

A good Mennonite kid always has to weave in Biblical analogies:

“This time, though, God didn’t provide the ram.”

Well, that’s quite a trio!

“House of horrors”

He did have a  big chin….

“Mulroney slides”

This one is about as sophisticated as it gets….

“Stop. Time out!”

I actually think this one is kind of funny. Do you remember those “Tax this, Brian!” bumper stickers?

“Tax this, Brian!”

Ahh, yes, the classic angel and devil on the shoulder!

“Mulroney’s peer pressure.”

And then, as I page through these notebooks, I notice that they just stop, literally right in the middle of an unfinished Kim Campbell cartoon. My interest had waned or moved on to other things….

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