MP remembered as ‘eternal optimist’
Sudden death of longtime conservative activist has Parliament ‘in shock’
Longtime Conservative MP Gord Brown was remembered Wednesday as a “consummate team player,” a “quintessential happy warrior,” and doting dad and loving husband who represented his eastern Ontario riding for 14 years. Brown, the MP for Leeds— Grenville—Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes, died Wednesday morning of an apparent heart attack. He was 57.
In a statement in the House of Commons, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said the party was “shocked and saddened” by Brown’s sudden passing.
“He was an eternal optimist, who was always quick with a compliment or a supportive word,” Scheer told MPs, calling Brown a lifelong conservative activist. Brown’s chair in the Commons was draped with a blue hockey jersey and a framed photo and bouquet of flowers adorned his desk.
“We’re all in shock today,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. “Gord was a great guy. He was a thoughtful, engaging individual who brought out the best in anyone who worked with him,” Trudeau said.
Conservative MPs were visibly upset leaving caucus, some unable to hold back tears, hugging one another for support after receiving the news. MP Tony Clement (Parry Sound— Muskoka) was near tears as he reflected on the death of a colleague he first met in 1981 when they were both young Progressive Conservatives.
“He was always there for all of us,” Clement said, pausing to collect himself. “I’ll miss him every minute of every day.”
He said Brown’s death is “another lesson” about political life. “It’s a death trap for people sometimes. It takes years off your life,” Clement said.
Brown and his wife, Claudine, had two sons, Chance and Tristan. Both Liberal MP Wayne Easter and NDP MP Brian Masse, who gave tribute to Brown for their respective parties, extended condolences to Brown’s family.
“Gord was always respectful of everyone, and thoughtfully considered the viewpoints of others, even though he might not agree,” said Easter, who worked with Brown on a Canada-U.S. interparliamentary committee.
“When you live on the border, you get to become a fierce patriot. And that’s what Gord was,” Masse said. “And for his passion for tourism, for the environment, and for our Canada, we will always be grateful.”
Brown was first elected to parliament in 2004 as the MP for Leeds—Grenville in the newlyestablished Conservative Party of Canada. In his time in Ottawa, he served on a number of Commons committees, and chaired the committee on Canadian heritage in 2014.
More recently, he had been serving on the newly formed parliamentary committee tasked with providing oversight into national security agencies.