Canadian leaders send tributes

Canadian politicians past and present are offering their condolences following the death of George H.W. Bush, with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau saying the former U.S. president’s commitment to his country was clear.

“His exemplary spirit of service and commitment to country would mark each of his roles — including in Congress, as ambassador to the United Nations, as head of the Central Intelligence Agency, and in the White House,” Trudeau said of the former president in a written statement.

Bush, who served as president from 1989 to 1993, died on Friday night at the age of 94 — just eight months after the death of his wife, Barbara Bush.

“President Bush was a dedicated and thoughtful leader who stuck by his convictions and values,” Trudeau said. “He did much to strengthen relations between our two countries, championing the North American Free Trade Agreement and initiatives like the fight against acid rain.”

The country’s Conservatives have also offered up their sympathies for the late president. Former prime minister Brian Mulroney, whose nine years in power overlapped with Bush’s four, said in a written statement that he and his wife share in the Bush family’s grief.

“President Bush had become one of those statesmen about whom history’s judgment rises every year. It was my privilege to have worked with him on an array of world-changing policy achievements,” Mulroney said, listing German re-unification and NAFTA as examples.

Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer issued a statement commending Bush as a friend to Canada. “He was truly a gentleman of American politics and one of the world’s most principled defenders of freedom and democracy,” Scheer said.