Former prime minister Brian Mulroney got a surprise phone call from a major party leader on his 70th birthday Friday.

It wasn't Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper but Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff.

Ignatieff called to wish Happy Birthday to Mulroney and to talk a little politics.

Ignatieff is making a major push in Quebec and his kindness to Mulroney will do him no harm in a province where the former PM is still popular.

Mulroney is a close adviser to Quebec Premier Jean Charest as well as the province's powerful business and media elite.

He is chairman of Quebecor, which owns the TVA televison network and the Journal de Montreal, and is best friends with Montreal billionaire Paul Desmarais Sr, who owns La Presse.

A family spokesperson said Mulroney was deeply touched by Ignatieff's phone call, calling it "a class act."

A public inquiry into Mulroney's dealings with former arms dealer Karlheinz Schreiber gets underway next week. The inquiry will determine whether Mulroney violated rules of conduct when he accepted $225,000 in cash from Schreiber after he stepped down as prime minister.

Mulroney has apologized for his lack of judgment in accepting the cash payments but insists he did legitimate work for the money.

The inquiry was set up by Harper under pressure from opposition MPs.

It led to a break with Mulroney and Harper, who has ordered his cabinet ministers not to talk to the former Tory leader.