Former Quebec premiers, citizens pay tribute to native son Brian Mulroney in Montreal
After two days of public tributes in Ottawa, it was Montrealers' turn on Thursday to pay respects to Brian Mulroney -- who was lauded by one citizen as "a little guy" from Quebec's North Shore who never forgot his roots, even as he rose to become prime minister.
Former premiers, old friends and members of the public gathered at St. Patrick's Basilica to remember Mulroney, who died Feb. 29 at age 84. Mourners who lined up in frigid cold remembered his achievements when it came to free trade, the fight against apartheid in South Africa and forging a strong relationship with the United States, but also his love for Quebec and his efforts to bring it closer to the rest of Canada.
Joan Gauthier, who hails from Sept-Iles, Que., near where Mulroney was born in Baie-Comeau, said Mulroney was a source of pride and inspiration for the region. "He's a little guy from the Cote-Nord who did a lot for our region, and I came to salute his departure," she said.
Lucien Bouchard, Quebec premier from 1996 to 2001 and a cabinet minister in Mulroney's Progressive Conservative government until a falling out over the Constitution, was one of the first to enter the basilica on Thursday morning and greet the Mulroney family.
"It's a page that is turning in history," Bouchard told reporters upon exiting the basilica. "It's not a happy moment, but we need to salute the life of a remarkable man."
Bouchard said he had reconciled with Mulroney after a long period of frosty relations, and it led to some cherished moments toward the end of Mulroney's life.
"Those were great times and sad at the same time because we lost so much time .... But we were young -- ego, strong convictions from a very legitimate question at stake. It's a lesson," he said. "Politics is necessary, but it's also necessary to deal with it in a human way."
"It's a page that is turning in history," Bouchard told reporters upon exiting the basilica. "It's not a happy moment but we need to salute the life of a remarkable man."
Mulroney's legacy includes the North American Free Trade Agreement, signed between Canada, the United States and Mexico during his time as prime minister, Bouchard said. He also lauded Mulroney's fight against South African apartheid and his support of Nelson Mandela, the jailed civil rights leader who would become president of the African country.
Bouchard said that he had reconciled with Mulroney after a long period of frosty relations. "A reopening did happen," he said.
"Those were great times and sad at the same time, because we lost so much time, and you can't help thinking that if we could go back, then maybe it would be a bit better to manage. But we were young -- ego, strong convictions from a very legitimate question at stake. It's a lesson. Politics is necessary but it's also necessary to deal with it in a human way."
Sentinels stand guard as former prime minister Brian Mulroney lies in repose at St. Patrick's Basilica in Montreal on Thursday, March 21, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
Earlier, Montreal Archbishop Christian Lepine led a procession into the church, with Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers in dress uniform carrying the casket draped in a Canadian flag and Mulroney's family walking behind. Inside the church, the family greeting line included Mulroney's wife Mila and their children Caroline, Ben, Nick and Mark, along with Mark's wife Vanessa and Caroline's husband Andrew Lapham.
Many who came to pay their respects remembered him not only as a prime minister but as a friend.
Daniel Colson, who knew Mulroney for 40 years, said his old friend didn't hesitate when he asked him to become chairman of a charity he had started for people living with mental illnesses in Quebec's Eastern Townships. "He was extremely hands on, very generous. He was a great guy," Colson said.
Even in the last year of his life, "in spite of his deteriorating health and the problems he was having health-wise, he never lost his sense of humour, never."
Denis Scherrer recalled babysitting Mulroney's son Ben while his father campaigned near a hotel where he worked in eastern Quebec.
Years later, he worked at private clubs where Mulroney was a member and hosted dinners for him, including one recently when he accidentally dumped an entire shaker's worth of pepper onto the former prime minister's plate. Mulroney and his wife were gracious enough to laugh, he said.
"He was always a man who, when you were in his presence, you felt important," he said outside the church.
Gilles Gaudreau, who founded a Conservative association in Quebec's Richelieu region, said Mulroney had tried to bring Canada and Quebec together. As prime minister, Mulroney twice tried to secure the province's support for the Constitution with the Meech Lake and Charlottetown accords, though he was ultimately unsuccessful.
"At the federal level there was nobody who did half of what he did to try so that Quebec was accepted in Canada, but Canada refused at each time," he said.
Visitation will continue Friday at the Catholic basilica in downtown Montreal. A state funeral is set for Saturday at the nearby Notre-Dame Basilica, with eulogies from Caroline Mulroney, former Quebec premier Jean Charest and hockey great Wayne Gretzky.
Brian Mulroney's casket left Ottawa on Wednesday after two days of lying in state that included visits from Canada's prime minister, other political dignitaries and members of the public.
Charest, Quebec premier between 2003 and 2012 and a member of Mulroney's Progressive Conservative cabinet before that, told reporters this is a time for Canadians to reflect on what Mulroney gave to the country during his time as prime minister from 1984 to 1993.
"These moments in the life of Canada are important," he said, "and I sincerely hope that a lot of Canadians will take a moment to stop and reflect and think about what we've built together and the very important role that Brian Mulroney has played."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 21, 2024.
IN DEPTH
Budget 2024 prioritizes housing while taxing highest earners, deficit projected at $39.8B
In an effort to level the playing field for young people, in the 2024 federal budget, the government is targeting Canada's highest earners with new taxes in order to help offset billions in new spending to enhance the country's housing supply and social supports.
'One of the greatest': Former prime minister Brian Mulroney commemorated at state funeral
Prominent Canadians, political leaders, and family members remembered former prime minister and Progressive Conservative titan Brian Mulroney as an ambitious and compassionate nation-builder at his state funeral on Saturday.
'Democracy requires constant vigilance' Trudeau testifies at inquiry into foreign election interference in Canada
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau testified Wednesday before the national public inquiry into foreign interference in Canada's electoral processes, following a day of testimony from top cabinet ministers about allegations of meddling in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections. Recap all the prime minister had to say.
As Poilievre sides with Smith on trans restrictions, former Conservative candidate says he's 'playing with fire'
Siding with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on her proposed restrictions on transgender youth, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre confirmed Wednesday that he is against trans and non-binary minors using puberty blockers.
Supports for passengers, farmers, artists: 7 bills from MPs and Senators to watch in 2024
When parliamentarians return to Ottawa in a few weeks to kick off the 2024 sitting, there are a few bills from MPs and senators that will be worth keeping an eye on, from a 'gutted' proposal to offer a carbon tax break to farmers, to an initiative aimed at improving Canada's DNA data bank.
Opinion
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
opinion Don Martin: The doctor Trudeau dumped has a prescription for better health care
Political columnist Don Martin sat down with former federal health minister Jane Philpott, who's on a crusade to help fix Canada's broken health care system, and who declined to take any shots at the prime minister who dumped her from caucus.
opinion Don Martin: Trudeau's seeking shelter from the housing storm he helped create
While Justin Trudeau's recent housing announcements are generally drawing praise from experts, political columnist Don Martin argues there shouldn’t be any standing ovations for a prime minister who helped caused the problem in the first place.
opinion Don Martin: Poilievre has the field to himself as he races across the country to big crowds
It came to pass on Thursday evening that the confidentially predictable failure of the Official Opposition non-confidence motion went down with 204 Liberal, BQ and NDP nays to 116 Conservative yeas. But forcing Canada into a federal election campaign was never the point.
opinion Don Martin: How a beer break may have doomed the carbon tax hike
When the Liberal government chopped a planned beer excise tax hike to two per cent from 4.5 per cent and froze future increases until after the next election, says political columnist Don Martin, it almost guaranteed a similar carbon tax move in the offing.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'The world is too messy for bureaucratic hurdles': Canada still bars Afghanistan aid
Ottawa has plans to finally stop blocking Canadian development aid to Afghanistan this year.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Local Spotlight
DonAir force takes over at Oilers playoff games
As if a 4-0 Edmonton Oilers lead in Game 1 of their playoff series with the Los Angeles Kings wasn't good enough, what was announced at Rogers Place during the next TV timeout nearly blew the roof off the downtown arena.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fergus, Ont. man feels nickel-and-dimed for $0.05 property tax bill
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
Twins from Toronto were Canada's top two female finishers at this year's Boston Marathon
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
Mystery surrounds giant custom Canucks jerseys worn by Lions Gate Bridge statues
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
'I'm committed': Oilers fan won't cut hair until Stanley Cup comes to Edmonton
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
'It's not my father's body!' Wrong man sent home after death on family vacation in Cuba
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
'Once is too many times': Education assistants facing rising violence in classrooms
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
What is capital gains tax? How is it going to affect the economy and the younger generations?
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”