Mulroney Endorses Harper

Former Tory prime minister Brian Mulroney has given his first speech to the new Conservative Party.

In a 45-minute speech delivered in Moncton yesterday, Mulroney praised the party's new leader Stephen Harper as the leader who can take the Conservatives back to power.

"This is the kind of party Stephen Harper is leading: a moderate, successful Conservative party," he told about 600 people who had paid $500 per plate.

"I tell you, that in this room and every room like this across Canada, if we rise together in solidarity and support, the Conservative Party will live again!"

Mulroney was a public supporter of the effort to merge the Tories and the Canadian Alliance and believed to support Belinda Stronach in the leadership race.

Asked by reporters if Mulroney's association with the party might hurt, Harper indicated that Mulroney's image is changing, particularly in light of the sponsorship scandal.