“I had my first meeting with South African bishop and apartheid opponent Desmond Tutu. Tutu is a small, athletic man with intelligent, lively eyes, elaborate manners, and a delightful sense of humour, and our friendship now stretches over twenty years of meetings from Ottawa and Montreal to London and Cape Town,” Mulroney recalled in his 2007 Memoirs. “That day, however, was all business, as I sought his advice on what role Canada might play in the seemingly stalled efforts to free Nelson Mandela, legalize his African National Congress (ANC), and end apartheid in South Africa. ‘Do you think a middle power like Canada could have an effective impact on the situation?’ I asked him. Tutu was vigorous in his response. ‘I think Canada can have an important, even a lead, role in translating morality into political action,’ he said as our conversation flowed, until we had taken up twice the allotted time marked in our schedules.”

Mulroney’s account continued: “As we concluded our meeting, Tutu told me he feared that because of so many other causes and demands on the world’s attention, the fight for justice in South Africa would be forgotten. I told him that wouldn’t be the case as long as I served as prime minister of Canada. ‘Desmond,’ I pledged as he left, ‘tell your colleagues and friends that they can count on Canada.’”