When TIME'S editors decided to feature Canada's Brian Mulroney and the landslide victory of his Progressive Conservative Party on the magazine's cover this week, they did not have to look far for expertise on the subject. Three of TIME'S former Canadian bureau chiefs are now based in New York City: Chief of Correspondents Richard Duncan (Ottawa, 1968-71), Deputy Chief William Mader (Ottawa, 1973-76) and Senior Editor Henry Muller (Vancouver, 1971-73). Their continuing interest in the U.S.'s northern neighbor helped give impetus to our full-length story on the state of Canada and its politics.

Part of the reporting assignment fell to another onetime Canadian bureau chief, Gavin Scott. He joined TIME as a correspondent in his home town of Montreal in 1959 and then served in Ottawa for 1 1/2 years before moving on to Buenos Aires, Madrid, Boston, Beirut, Saigon and San Francisco. Scott's current beat is South America, which he covers from Rio de Janeiro, but he was on vacation in the village of Georgeville, Quebec, last month when it became apparent that Mulroney could win big. Scott quickly revved up and did some intensive pulse-taking of government officials, diplomats and back-room pols. Says Scott: "Working on the story revived some friendships with people across the country, some of whom I hadn't seen in 20 years. There are plenty of new faces in Ottawa, yet Canada's capital has a cozy familiarity about it. Sometimes no place is more interesting than your own front yard."

Correspondent Marcia Gauger, who also reported the cover stories, visited Ottawa for the first time a year ago to cover the Conservative convention that elected Mulroney as party leader. During the eight weeks of this summer's campaign, she crisscrossed Canada to follow the major candidates. She picked up Liberal Prime Minister John Turner in British Columbia in July as he kicked off his campaign, then flew across Canada to catch up with Mulroney in his home town of Baie Comeau, on the north shore of the St. Lawrence River. "It was windy and barren country," she says. "Even the pine trees were sparsely needled. We bused to Baie de la Trinite and visited a crab factory, where Mulroney chatted with the foreman and we reporters sampled the product. Delicious!"

Gauger had found it difficult to corner Mulroney for a long conversation, but on the flight back to Ottawa the day after his victory, the Prime Minister-elect granted the interview published with our story. Meanwhile, Associate Editor Jim Kelly flew to Montreal and Quebec to observe the campaign, and met Mulroney and his wife before sitting down to write the cover story. The result, overseen by Senior Editor Donald Morrison, is an analysis of what Canada's change of course means to that nation -and to the U.S.