In an interview with The West Block‘s Mercedes Stephenson, former Canadian prime minister Jean Chrétien — who lost his wife of 63 years, Aline, in September — reflects on the difficult task of losing a loved one during the pandemic as well as on his personal memories of Prince Philip. “She is a very courageous and intelligent and dedicated person,” he says of Queen Elizabeth II. “So she would face the storm and it’s going to be difficult. I went through that — to lose your partner. For me, it was 63 years of marriage and five years of friendship. And this is even longer for the Queen and Prince Philip. But, you know, with the help of our family and so on, she would have faced the reality.”