Gathering to say goodbye
Brian Mulroney’s Montreal funeral a stirring final tribute
Shortly before I travelled to Montreal to attend the state funeral of the Right Hon. Brian Mulroney, I received an email from the Government of Canada instructing invited guests to arrive at Terminal 1, Port of Montreal, by 8:30 a.m. to be transported by shuttle bus to the Notre-Dame Basilica in Old Montreal where the service was being held.
As I stepped on to the bus, Lucien Bouchard, former premier of Quebec was seated on the left of the aisle, and Bob Rae, former Ontario premier and leader of the federal Liberal party was to the right.
Ideologically, the two leaders should have switched sides, but at least they were there.
As the bus pulled away, I could hear several former politicians who had held elected office at the provincial and/or federal levels reminisce about their glory days, something my students in the political science courses I have taught over the years would have found fascinating.
But this was a just a glimpse of the many dignitaries from the political class in Canada and abroad who would be in attendance to pay tribute to, and say goodbye, to the 18th prime minister of Canada.
Seated in Pew 64 on the balcony, with an ideal view of both the magnificent alter at the back of the church and the large wooden doors facing the front where Mulroney’s casket draped in a Canadian flag would enter this solemn space at 11 a.m. on Saturday, March 23, I had more than an hour before the funeral began to observe who would turn out.
In addition to Rae and Bouchard, who hadn’t spoken to Mulroney in decades because of the feud that erupted between them when Bouchard left the Conservative party in 1990 to eventually form the Bloc Québécois, there were plenty of political dignitaries on hand.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered a stirring tribute to Mulroney, whom he held in high regard.
After all, it was Mulroney who went to bat for Trudeau when the latter was having difficulty renegotiating the NAFTA with former U.S. president Donald Trump, a favour Trudeau never forgot.
A few rows behind Trudeau, who was seated beside Gov. Gen. Mary Simon and her husband, was former PM Joe Clark and his wife, Maureen McTeer.
Stephen Harper, Jean Chrétien, Elizabeth May, Jagmeet Singh, Pierre Poilievre and several current and former premiers were also on hand, including Doug Ford, François Legault, Frank McKenna, Jean Charest and Wab Kinew.
And although few may have noticed, former British prime minister John Major, and Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, a close friend of Mila Mulroney, was among the more than 1,000 people in the church.
Noticeably absent was former president George W. Bush, whose father was eulogized by Mulroney in 2018.
U.S. Secretary of State James Baker had intended to deliver remarks live streamed from his home in Houston, but because of recent back surgery had a letter he penned read at the funeral by Tim McBride.
Had Mulroney been able to witness the dignified, refined, heartwarming and beautiful service that Mila, his wife of 51 years, had arranged, he would have been thrilled.
And as much as it would have saddened him to watch Mila, their four children and 16 grandchildren grieve for him, he would have liked nothing more than to listen to, and weigh in, on the political discourse taking place among these and other politicians.
But despite the high-level positions these and other people held, their primary purpose on Saturday morning was not to catch up — that could wait — but to think about and reflect on what Mulroney had meant to them.
In the many years since Mulroney left office, he often remarked that while politics stops at the water’s edge, the many friendships one makes along the way must always be protected and revered.
Of the key themes that emerged in the many tributes to Mulroney were how much he loved his family, cared about and nurtured his expansive network of friends, and how he was always the first to make a phone call to those who needed to be consoled.
Mulroney’s political opponents might never be convinced that he was deserving of such a grand sendoff and of course, they are entitled to their opinions.
But they are not entitled to their facts.
Few other Canadian prime ministers transformed the country at home and abroad in ways that Mulroney did.
“In the fullness of time,” as he often said, “history will judge what my government achieved.”
One thing is for certain, the legacy he has left is one of which his family and millions of supporters can be deeply proud.