‘It keeps me closer to him’: Mila Mulroney reflects on her new role as St. FX chancellor

Mila Mulroney says her new role at St. Francis Xavier University sounds like something her late husband would have orchestrated.

“Brian was a bit of a control freak,” she said playfully in an interview with CBC chief political corespondent Rosemary Barton.

“He was instrumental in this role. I think he’s watching from on high.”

The widow of Canada’s 18th prime minister was named the university’s chancellor last week, the place that she said helped shape his political views.

“St. FX has been a labour of love for our family. We’ve been married for 51 years, and I’ve spent a great deal of time on the campus watching it grow and change and develop and adjust to Canada and its changing landscape,” Mulroney said.

“So when they asked me, I was really honoured by the request. I gave it a little thought and decided that it’s a sense of continuity that I think my husband would have appreciated, and it keeps me in touch with him,” she said.

“It keeps me closer to him.”

Mila Mulroney received an honorary doctorate of law degree from St. FX, located in Antigonish, N.S., in 2004. The school is also home to the Brian Mulroney Institute of Government, which the university describes as the “pre-eminent centre for undergraduate education in the areas of government, public policy and research.”

The late prime minister attended St. Francis Xavier University in 1955, at just 16 years old, and graduated in 1959 with a bachelor of arts degree in political science. He later received an honorary doctorate of law in 1978.

‘If I keep busy, I’m doing very well’

Brian Mulroney died on Feb. 29 at the age of 84. Mila Mulroney said in the weeks after his death, there was an outpouring of support from people and an abundance of stories about her late husband.

“We heard stories we had not heard before. And the children and I, it kept us going,” she said.

“A lot of [people] wrote those stories down in the books as they were signing. And I have to tell you, I’m going to keep every single one of them. And if I can figure a way to get those books published, I think it’s inspirational.”

Since then, Mulroney said she’s coped by being surrounded by family and friends.

“If I keep busy, I’m doing very well,” she said.

“I think there are so many people grieving, and I’m not alone in my sadness. But I’m very fortunate. I mean, 16 grandchildren. There’s a birthday, there’s a celebration. There’s always something going on, you know?”