Former prime minister Brian Mulroney will get a state funeral and send off on the national stage, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed on Friday.Speaking in Sudbury,ON, Trudeau told reporters that details on a public memorial will come and that Canadians “will have opportunities to express their gratitude in the coming days.”Earlier Global News quoted family sources that arrangements are being made to hold a funeral service in Montreal once his body is repatriated from Florida. No other details were available.Mulroney died Thursday in West Palm Beach, FL, surrounded by his family after unspecified health complications following a fall.If reports are correct, his would be the first state funeral since former NDP leader Ed Broadbent was laid to rest in Ottawa on January 28.Prior to that, former prime minister John Turner was buried in Toronto in 2020. Toronto also hosted the state funerals of former finance minister Jim Flaherty in 2014 and NDP leader Jack Layton in 2011..The last to be held in Montreal was Pierre Trudeau’s in October of 2000, which was attended by Fidel Castro, Prince Andrew and former US president Jimmy Carter.It’s not yet known which dignitaries will attend Mulroney’s, but tributes continued to pour in from around the world. .The flag atop the Peace Tower stayed at half mast and the House of Commons was empty after Parliament was abruptly cancelled Thursday while debating the Liberals’ pharmacare bill..Former prime minister Stephen Harper called Mulroney a “transformational” leader who championed the independence of European nations such as Ukraine after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.Tweeting from India, where he is meeting with officials on behalf of the Saskatchewan government, Harper offered condolences on behalf of his family. “Prime Minister Mulroney stood for freedom and democracy on the world stage, in his principled opposition to apartheid in South Africa, his enduring support for Israel, and his advocacy of independence for Ukraine and the other European nations long under the yoke of Soviet communism,” he said on Twitter (“X”)..Former prime minister Jean Chretien recalled a bitter rivalry but said he had respect for his accomplishments.“I was an opponent of him all my political career, but in politics, opposition is opposition,” Chrétien said. “It’s like playing hockey. You can fight on the ice and have a beer together after that. And we had a lot of things in common.”Former US President George W. Bush said Mulroney was “charming, fun and kind” in a Twitter (“X”) statement of his own. Mulroney eulogized his father, George H. W. Bush at his state funeral in 2018..“As Prime Minister of Canada, Brian helped end the Cold War, working closely with Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. He developed a very close friendship with my dad,” Bush said. ““May his ship sail on in fair winds and following seas."Mulroney’s death was also noted in the New York Times which credited him for leading Canada into NAFTA.“His popularity had much to do with his persona: With a liking for immaculately tailored dark blue double-breasted suits and always impeccably coifed, Mr. Mulroney was a skilled debater and orator and always ready with a crowd-pleasing joke to preface his speeches,” it said..Meanwhile, current President Joe Biden also issued an official White House statement recalling his days negotiating the acid rain and free trade treaties. He called Mulroney a “tireless advocate for Canada.”“I got to know the prime minister when I served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. I saw firsthand his commitment to the friendship between our two nations, as well as his abiding love for Canada and its people.“
Former prime minister Brian Mulroney will get a state funeral and send off on the national stage, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed on Friday.Speaking in Sudbury,ON, Trudeau told reporters that details on a public memorial will come and that Canadians “will have opportunities to express their gratitude in the coming days.”Earlier Global News quoted family sources that arrangements are being made to hold a funeral service in Montreal once his body is repatriated from Florida. No other details were available.Mulroney died Thursday in West Palm Beach, FL, surrounded by his family after unspecified health complications following a fall.If reports are correct, his would be the first state funeral since former NDP leader Ed Broadbent was laid to rest in Ottawa on January 28.Prior to that, former prime minister John Turner was buried in Toronto in 2020. Toronto also hosted the state funerals of former finance minister Jim Flaherty in 2014 and NDP leader Jack Layton in 2011..The last to be held in Montreal was Pierre Trudeau’s in October of 2000, which was attended by Fidel Castro, Prince Andrew and former US president Jimmy Carter.It’s not yet known which dignitaries will attend Mulroney’s, but tributes continued to pour in from around the world. .The flag atop the Peace Tower stayed at half mast and the House of Commons was empty after Parliament was abruptly cancelled Thursday while debating the Liberals’ pharmacare bill..Former prime minister Stephen Harper called Mulroney a “transformational” leader who championed the independence of European nations such as Ukraine after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.Tweeting from India, where he is meeting with officials on behalf of the Saskatchewan government, Harper offered condolences on behalf of his family. “Prime Minister Mulroney stood for freedom and democracy on the world stage, in his principled opposition to apartheid in South Africa, his enduring support for Israel, and his advocacy of independence for Ukraine and the other European nations long under the yoke of Soviet communism,” he said on Twitter (“X”)..Former prime minister Jean Chretien recalled a bitter rivalry but said he had respect for his accomplishments.“I was an opponent of him all my political career, but in politics, opposition is opposition,” Chrétien said. “It’s like playing hockey. You can fight on the ice and have a beer together after that. And we had a lot of things in common.”Former US President George W. Bush said Mulroney was “charming, fun and kind” in a Twitter (“X”) statement of his own. Mulroney eulogized his father, George H. W. Bush at his state funeral in 2018..“As Prime Minister of Canada, Brian helped end the Cold War, working closely with Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush. He developed a very close friendship with my dad,” Bush said. ““May his ship sail on in fair winds and following seas."Mulroney’s death was also noted in the New York Times which credited him for leading Canada into NAFTA.“His popularity had much to do with his persona: With a liking for immaculately tailored dark blue double-breasted suits and always impeccably coifed, Mr. Mulroney was a skilled debater and orator and always ready with a crowd-pleasing joke to preface his speeches,” it said..Meanwhile, current President Joe Biden also issued an official White House statement recalling his days negotiating the acid rain and free trade treaties. He called Mulroney a “tireless advocate for Canada.”“I got to know the prime minister when I served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. I saw firsthand his commitment to the friendship between our two nations, as well as his abiding love for Canada and its people.“
