Le 18 Septembre 2019, Mona et Victor Dahdaleh ont assisté à l’inauguration de la « Brian Mulroney Institute of Government » et de la « Mulroney Hall » à l’Université St Francis Xavier (Antigonish, Nouvelle-Écosse). Monsieur et Madame Victor Dadaleh étaient présents pour exprimer leur soutien pour la Fondation. L’ouverture officielle de ce nouvel établissement représente un pas en avant très prometteur pour le centre éducatif, l’alma mater de l’ancien premier ministre Mulroney. L’objectif principal de l’institut est de faire de l’université une référence pour l’enseignement des sciences du leadership et des administrations publiques, à la fois au niveau national et à l’international. Le nouveau bâtiment ultra-moderne enrichit le campus et représente un investissement notable pour les étudiants de l’université et le peuple canadien. Le nouvel institut va en outre améliorer le niveau de l’enseignement au Canada et attirer des étudiants internationaux. En 2018, la Fondation Victor Dahdaleh a annoncé son soutien pour ce projet, contribuant une partie du financement nécessaire pour sa réalisation, ainsi démontrant la poursuite de son appui de causes et initiatives dans le domaine de l’éducation à travers le monde. Le financement de bourses pour étudiants internationaux au Canada, de services universitaires et centres de recherche au Royaume-Uni et de la création d’un institut de recherche dédié à la Santé mondiale sont des exemples du soutien caritatif du monde de l’education et de l’enseignement par la Fondation.

1. STFX CELEBRATES GRAND OPENING
OF THE BRIAN MULRONEY INSTITUTE
OF GOVERNMENT AND MULRONEY
HALL
https://www.stfx.ca/about/news/Mulroney-Hall-Grand-Opening
September 18th, 2019
The Right Honourable Brian Mulroney
As the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney returned to StFX, his alma mater,
on September 18, 2019 to celebrate the grand opening of The Brian
Mulroney Institute of Government and Mulroney Hall, speaker after speaker
spoke about how transformative the $52-million state-of-the-art building
and its academic programs, including a unique institution for government
and leadership, is for the students of today and tomorrow.
“We are extremely grateful to Prime Minister Mulroney and his family for
making this vision a reality. It’s a project that entrenches StFX as a national
and international destination for leadership, receiving widespread support
both at home in Canada and from around the world,” StFX Interim
President Dr. Kevin Wamsley said during the opening ceremony.

2. “The Brian Mulroney Institute of Government and Mulroney Hall provide
new opportunities for the StFX community, a platform from which we can
deliver our academic mission in new and exciting ways.
“This project is an investment in people,” he said, and an investment in
scholarship, research and innovation. Already, the four-storey, 93,000
square foot glass-walled building, which took two years to construct, and
the academic contributions from the Brian Mulroney Institute of
Government have taken StFX to the next level, Dr. Wamsley said.
MULRONEY-04-MTSTFX.JPG
Dr. Kevin Wamsley
NEW OPPORTUNTIES
In an emotional and inspiring speech, Mr. Mulroney told the crowd it is a
special moment in his life to participate in this ceremony “marking the
opening not only of splendid new buildings at StFX, a place I love, but,
more importantly, the beginning of grand new opportunities for young
Canadians and others from around the globe to learn, lead and help build a
better world for us all.”
Mr. Mulroney personally raised $100 million to create the cornerstone of
StFX’s Xaverian Commons Project, and he expressed sincere thanks and
gratitude to the generosity of donors who made this day possible.

3. He also noted a highly impressive and generous new scholarship and
bursary program, some $16 million, will help many young students acquire
the education StFX founders dreamed of. Over 200 scholarships are
available annually, including awards specifically designed for marginalized
populations such as Aboriginal and African Nova Scotian communities.
MULRONEY-01-MTSTFX.JPG
Officially cutting the ribbon
EDUCATION KEY PATH
Mr. Mulroney became emotional when he recalled a long-ago conversation
with his father while growing up in Baie-Comeau. Times were not easy and
he told his father of a new apprenticeship program being launched at the
mill where his father worked as an electrician, where children of employees
could train as tradesmen.
“My father’s reply is engraved in my memory: ‘I know, Brian, that times are
tough and we could sure use the extra money you would bring in. But I
have learned one thing: the only way out of a paper mill town is through a
university door – and you are going to university.’ And that is how I wound
up at StFX.”
Mr. Mulroney says when he graduated from StFX, he had no money, no
connections and no influence. “But I had two things of far greater worth: a
degree from StFX and the values that had been inculcated into us by a
superb faculty and university leaders, here in Antigonish.”

4. He spoke of the transformative experience he had at StFX, a young man
who arrived on campus with “a cardboard suitcase,” wearing the only
blazer he owned.
“For me, arriving at StFX, in the fall of 1955 – 64 years ago this month – I
knew it opened the door to a wider world.”
POWER OF IDEAS
At StFX, he says, he learned about the power of ideas to transform our
country, from one century to the next. He learned that big ideas are about
leadership and fundamental change.
What was it about it StFX, then and now, that attracted many of the best
and the brightest, he asked? “For me, and thousands like me, that’s just
what StFX represented: Not a big city, but a big opportunity.
“And today is all about how the Brian Mulroney Institute of Government can
help StFX enhance its role in this vital area of opportunity and leadership
so as to better serve the citizens of our beloved nation and the wider
world.”
This institute, he said, is open to all and their ideas: “Liberals, Progressive
Conservatives, Conservatives, Greens, NDP and others, will find a home
here marked by fairness, objectivity and scholarship of the highest order.
“It was a high honour for me to be of some service to this special place.”
FOCUS ON STUDENTS
StFX Board of Governors Chair Mike Boyd, one of a number of people to
speak during the opening, remembered as a student meeting Mr. Mulroney,
back on campus for his 25th Homecoming only weeks after being named
Canada’s 18th prime minister.
“Then as now, he demonstrated his focus on students,” Mr. Boyd recalled.
“For us, it certainly was inspiring to see someone from a small school,
someone from our school, could achieve such success.”
In her remarks, the Hon. Caroline Mulroney, MPP, Minister of
Transportation and Minister of Francophone Affairs, Government of
Ontario, noted how StFX really opened the world for her father.

5. MULRONEY HALL OPENING 2.JPG
From light-hearted to serious, the grand opening ceremonies featured
many emotional moments
LEARN TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
“In many ways, StFX is where it all started for my dad,” she said, as she too
offered thanks to all who helped make this day possible and subsequently
for their role in helping shape the leaders of tomorrow.
“It’s here where my dad learned how to make a difference.”
MULRONEY OPENING CAROLINE MULRONEY.JPG

6. The Hon. Caroline Mulroney
She said it came to no one’s surprise that StFX was to be the home for her
father’s Prime Ministerial Library. But she said the family believed her dad’s
legacy required something more, something that would honour the Brian
Mulroneys of the future, providing young people with the skills and tools
they need, providing scholarships and bursaries, insightful faculty and real
world opportunity.
“When you have the tools you need, you can make a mark on the world in
a way you never thought possible.
“This is our hope for the Mulroney Institute,” she said as she noted how
proud and inspired her family is and how they can’t wait to see students roll
up their sleeves and get to work just a like a boy from a small town on the
north shore of the St. Lawrence did so many years ago.
MULRONEY-03-MTSTFX.JPG

7. Mila and the Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney share a moment in the replica of
Mr. Mulroney's Parliament Hill office from his nine-year tenure as
Canada's 18th Prime Minister
FOUNDATION TO BUILD ON
“How blessed are we that Mr. Mulroney chose Nova Scotia, StFX, and
Antigonish, to be home to this magnificent building and learning institution,”
Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil said in his remarks as he noted the
gift Mr. Mulroney has given to a province, and a country, a learning
foundation that all can build on.
“This magnificent institution could have been placed anywhere in this
country. You chose to put it here. We are deeply grateful. We will never
forget,” the Hon. Frank McKenna, fellow StFX graduate, former New
Brunswick premier, and an instrumental part of the fundraising campaign,
reiterated in his remarks.
MULRONEY OPENING FRANK MCKENNA.JPG

8. The Hon. Frank McKenna
Make no mistake, he said, that it is here today thanks to the massive
reservoir of respect for Brian Mulroney around the world.
Both he and Mr. McNeil spoke of Mr. Mulroney’s accomplishments and
contributions to the country.
Mr. Mulroney was accompanied to the opening by his wife Mila Mulroney
and their family. About 300 invited guests were in attendance.
Mulroney Hall is a focal point within StFX, connecting the lower and upper
campuses; the Joyce Family Atrium, the centrepiece of the building, will be
a gathering place for faculty and students; the facility’s classrooms are
fitted with the latest technology and a 300-seat auditorium provides a
venue for music, theatre and debate. In addition, Mulroney Hall features a
replica of Mr. Mulroney’s Parliament Hill office from his nine-year tenure as
Canada’s 18th Prime Minister, including his papers, speeches and letters
from world leaders.