Canadians will have opportunities to pay tribute to former prime minister Brian Mulroney before his state funeral in Montreal later this month, officials say.
Mulroney, 84, died in Florida “peacefully and surrounded by family” last Thursday, his daughter Caroline said.
He served as the country’s 18th prime minister, leading the nation from 1984 to 1993. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters last Friday Mulroney will be given a state funeral, and that Canadians will have opportunities to express their gratitude in the coming days.
Mulroney “was committed to this country, loved it with all his heart and served it for many, many years in many different ways,” Trudeau said.
“He shaped our past, but he shapes our present and he will impact our future as well. He was an extraordinary statesman and he will be deeply, deeply missed.”
Canadian officials confirmed on Tuesday that Mulroney’s state funeral will take place on March 23 in Montreal. Before then, his casket will lie-in-state in Ottawa, and lie-in-repose in Montreal.
A source close to the Mulroney family told Global News last Friday details about the repatriation of Mulroney’s body from Florida were not yet ready to be announced.
A Progressive Conservative, Mulroney will go down as one of Canada’s most prominent figures.
Born in Baie-Comeau, Que., in 1939, Mulroney would go on to build a political career marked by his leadership of the at-times fractious coalition of Western conservatives, Red Tories and Quebec nationalists.
That coalition made up the old centrist Progressive Conservative Party, and left a legacy of securing the original NAFTA trade deal with the U.S. and Mexico as well as of passing the goods and service tax into law.
He was also commended for his strong opposition to apartheid in South Africa, helping to lead the global sanctions that brought that regime to an end, and his environmental achievements including acid rain reductions and the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre told reporters last Thursday he spoke to Mulroney six weeks before he passed away, and said he took inspiration from his “humble beginnings” and the successes he enjoyed throughout his life.
“I know all Canadians join with me in saying that we will miss that deep, beautiful, rich voice and that big, friendly, Irish smile,” he said.
NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh last Friday called Mulroney’s death a “significant loss” to the country.
The House of Commons adjourned early on Thursday night upon news of Mulroney’s death.
Mulroney is survived by his wife, Mila, and four children. Caroline Mulroney is Ontario’s treasury board president and francophone affairs minister, and Ben Mulroney is a well-known TV personality. Both Mark and Nicholas Mulroney have careers in banking.
— with files from David Akin
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