Death of former finance minister Jim Flaherty 'terrible shock:' PM

CTV National News: Canada loses economic giant Jim Flaherty, the former finance minister who led Canada to safety in a time of economic crisis, has died at age 64. Robert Fife reports.

OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper is calling the death of former finance minister Jim Flaherty "an unexpected and terrible shock."

His family says he died peacefully in Ottawa. He was 64.

The House of Commons abruptly suspended its sitting before Question Period began as word of the death spread.

Opposition MPs flooded across the aisle to offer condolences to Flaherty's colleagues.

Some members wept.

A sombre Harper gathered his caucus to mourn the death of a man he called his partner and friend.

He says it is a very sad day for him, his government and the entire country.

Harper offered Flaherty's wife and three sons condolences "with the heaviest of hearts."

Jim Oliver, who took over from Flaherty as finance minister, says she's shocked and very saddened -- calling Jim Flaherty an honourable, dedicated and exceptional man who loved Canada.

Opposition Leader Tom Mulcair's voice quavered and he had to squeeze his eyes against tears as he recalled Flaherty as "a strong, tough character" and a "great Canadian."

The Ontario legislature, where Flaherty sat for a decade, held a moment's silence for Flaherty before recessing for the day.

Flaherty became federal finance minister in 2006 and held that post through cabinet shuffles, economic turmoil and a bout with a rare skin disease that had him on steroids.

He resigned less than a month ago after delivering his spring budget.

Ontario PCs reeling from loss of former colleague

Ontario's Progressive Conservatives are reeling from the sudden, unexpected death of their former colleague.

Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak says the loss is even more profound as Flaherty's wife, health critic Christine Elliott, is a member of their Tory family.

Hudak nearly came to tears as he spoke of the man he called his hero and a legend in politics who was one of the greatest finance ministers in Canada's history.

The Opposition leader says he's heartbroken that Flaherty died without him being able to say goodbye.

Former Conservative premier Ernie Eves says Flaherty's leadership during the dark days of the global recession made Canada an example to the rest of the world.

He says Flaherty was a humble and hard-working man who was probably one of the best finance ministers Canada has ever had.

Timeline of Flaherty's life

Dec. 30, 1949: James Michael (Jim) Flaherty is born in Lachine, Que. He goes on to earn a bachelor's degree from Princeton University and a law degree from York University's Osgoode Hall Law School, and then becomes a founding partner in the firm, Flaherty Dow Elliott.

1990: He unsuccessfully wades into provincial politics in Ontario, losing in the riding of Durham Centre.

1991: Triplet sons, Quinn, Galen and John, are born to Flaherty and his wife, Christine Elliott.

1995: Flaherty wins a seat in the Ontario legislature as the representative of Whitby-Ajax.

1997: He enters the Mike Harris cabinet as minister of labour, and would go on to serve as attorney general, finance minister, enterprise minister and deputy premier under Harris and his successor, Ernie Eves.

2002: Flaherty fights unsuccessfully to succeed Harris as Ontario Conservative leader, losing to Eves. In his leadership bid, he proposes a tax credit for parents to send their children to private schools and privatizing the Liquor Control Board of Ontario.

2006: Flaherty wins the federal riding of 2006 Whitby-Oshawa and becomes the finance minister of Prime Minister Stephen Harper's new Conservative minority government.

2006-2008: He institutes a series of tax cuts, including shaving two percentage points off the GST to fulfil a Conservative campaign promise, as well as a Registered Disability Savings Plan to help Canadians with disabilities and their families, and the Tax-Free Savings Account, which allows people to earn tax-free investment income.

January 2009: Flaherty's first budget after the global economic crisis contains a $40 billion stimulus package, as Canada plunges into deficit, which he subsequently vowed to erase by 2015.

March 2012: Flaherty uses his budget to abolish the penny, which he said took 1.6 cents to produce.

January 2013: Flaherty says publicly he is taking steroid medication for a skin condition in order to address months of speculation about what appeared to be a new phase of declining health.

July 2013: Flaherty takes sick during a G20 conference in Russia, and misses two days of meetings.

Feb. 11, 2014: Flaherty tables his final budget in a bid to erase the country's deficit by 2015. He comes close by presenting a budget that carried only a $2.9-billion deficit with a $3-billion contingency fund.

March 18, 2014: Flaherty abruptly resigns as finance minister. Flaherty declares that he is "on the road to a full recovery" and that his decision to leave politics was not related to his health.

April 10, 2014: Flaherty dies suddenly, and in the words of his family "peacefully," at his Ottawa home.