Recalling Irish bonds and policy achievements forged from close relations between a prime minister and his American counterpart, Brian Mulroney reflected on the passing of Ronald Reagan, who died Saturday at the age of 93.

"We just hit it off," the former prime minister said in an interview with CTV's Question Period. "He was a delightful human being."

Although he admitted that he and Reagan often disagreed, Mulroney stressed that a prime minister must maintain friendly relations between Canadian and U.S. leaders -- a thinly veiled reference to the icy relations between Jean Chretien and current U.S. President George W. Bush.

“My concern was never to impair the relationship between the president and the prime minister, the personal relationship," he said.

"Because that would effectively destroy Canadian effectiveness and access to the White House and the administration. When that happens, believe me, a prime minister of Canada is in real bad shape."

Mulroney hailed Reagan as "a transformational president" who "made an enormous difference in our lives by leading the West to a victory in the Cold War and enabling all free peoples to watch the disintegration of the Soviet Union."

When asked of his fondest memory of Reagan, Mulroney had no doubts.

"In spite of the fact that it irritates the sensitive ears of some of our Canadian nationalists," he said with a smirk, "I like the St. Patrick's Day summit in 1985 in Quebec City," referring to the moment in which he and Reagan shared the stage and sang "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling".

"There was a great deal of symbolism for both of us."

The performance has long been held as a symbol of those wary of Mulroney's close ties to Reagan threatening Canadian interests.

But Mulroney praised Reagan as "really sensitive to Canada" and cited the Free-Trade Agreement as a landmark agreement that could not have been achieved without Reagan.

Mulroney said he spoke to Reagan's wife Nancy on Saturday, about a half hour before the former president died.

"It wasn't half an hour later that the television came on and said he had passed away . . . I felt very sad. We had had quite some time to prepare but it's an enormous loss," Mulroney said.

"He was a delightful host, he was thoughtful, he was generous, very funny, entertaining but he had his eye on the ball. He was a very strong and powerful leader who did an enormous amount of good for the world."

"He enters history as a strong and dramatic player and people are going to miss him forever."