Brian Mulroney supporting the merger at a time when former PC leaders Joe Clark, Jean Charest and Kim Campbell either opposed it or expressed ambivalence. Military historians Norman Hillmer and J.L. Granatstein ranked Mulroney eighth among Canada's prime ministers in their 1999 book "Prime Ministers: Ranking Canada's Leaders". On March 31, 2009 it was reported by various news outlets that a Conservative official claimed Mulroney was no longer a member of the party. They claimed his membership expired in 2006 and was not renewed. Additionally, Mulroney allegedly "called a senior party official two months ago to ask that his name be pulled
The Secret Mulroney Tapes said he was "devastated" and "betrayed" by Newman. He went further, saying "I was reckless in talking with Peter C. Newman... This was my mistake and I'm going to have to live with it." Mulroney also said that most of the time he was not aware that his conversations were being recorded. The reality states the contrary: "Senator Pat Carney also disputed comments made by Mr. Mulroney’s spokesman, Luc Lavoie, on Monday that many of the remarks were made in late-night conversations and the former prime minister was unaware he was being taped. Mr. Lavoie told reporters Mr. Mulroney felt