Michael Wilson, the Mulroney-era Conservative finance minister who introduced the GST, is poised to become Canada's next ambassador to the United States.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper could appoint Wilson to the plum diplomatic posting by the end of the week, Radio-Canada has confirmed.

Wilson would replace Frank McKenna, who was named to the post less than a year ago.

Michael Wilson (CP File Photo)
Michael Wilson (CP File Photo)

The former New Brunswick premier resigned shortly after the Liberals who appointed him were ousted in the Jan. 23 federal election. He said the ambassadorship is traditionally held by someone with close ties to the governing party.

Wilson, 68, is a familiar face to the business and political communities south of the border.

Among other achievements, he helped negotiate the Canada-U.S. free trade agreement.

But he was best known among Canadians as the finance minister who introduced the controversial Goods and Services Tax in 1990 under then Progressive Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney.

Harper, who said Wilson was his MP as he grew up in the Etobicoke area of Toronto, has promised to cut the GST by two percentage points over five years.

Mulroney-era Tories rising in prominence

The move is another example of Harper giving key appointments to former Mulroney Tories.

Already, he has named then chief of staff Derek Burney, himself a former ambassador to the United States, to lead his transition team. Another Tory aide from the era, Senator Marjorie LeBreton, sits in Harper's cabinet as the Senate government House leader.

"The new prime minister has had to find a balance between people with experience and people who are new, and that's exactly what Brian Mulroney had to do in 1984," Barbara McDougall, a former employment and immigration minister, told CBC in an interview Wednesday.

McDougall served in Mulroney's cabinet with Wilson between 1986 and 1993, when the Progressive Conservatives went down to defeat at the hands of Jean Chretien's Liberals.

She said an appointment to the Canadian Embassy in Washington would give Wilson a chance to wrap up a troublesome file from the past: the softwood lumber trade dispute between Canada and the United States.

"In my opinion, he's going to have to close the circle on that if he wants the free-trade agreement to stand as an accomplishment he can be proud of," said McDougall.

Wilson held numerous portfolios

Wilson was born in Toronto and had had a successful career as a Bay Street investment executive by the time he ran as a Progressive Conservative candidate in 1979. He served as minister of state in the short-lived minority government of Joe Clark.

When the Tories held a leadership convention in 1983, Wilson threw his hat into the ring. He dropped off after the first ballot and backed Mulroney, who won.

Wilson was finance minister under Mulroney for seven years.

He also held other portfolios for a shorter time, including industry, international trade, and science and technology.

He didn't run in the 1993 election, returning to Bay Street to run his own financial services and consulting firm.

Wilson later joined the Royal Bank of Canada and currently serves as chairman of UBS Canada, an investment bank.

He also served as co-chair of the Conservative party's campaign before the recent election.