(Winnipeg) Relatives, friends and colleagues paid tribute on Saturday to former Liberal minister Jim Carr, who died this week at the age of 71.
A memorial service was held in Winnipeg. Hundreds of people attended, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, members of his cabinet, Indigenous leaders and even political opponents.
He inspired me to keep doing the hard things in the hard times. And this week, I found out it wasn’t just me. It was also everyone’s. It was a gift he had.
Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada
The Prime Minister presented the Canadian flag that flew on the Parliament pole on the day of Mr. Carr’s death to his family.
Mr. Carr was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba in 1988. He served for four years. He then served as Chair of the Manitoba Business Council before running federally in 2015. He served as the Member of Parliament for Winnipeg South Center until his death. He was appointed Minister of Natural Resources, then Minister of International Trade Diversification between 2015 and 2019.
Prior to the ceremony, Manitoba’s former Progressive Conservative premier Gary Filmon said Carr enjoyed working with everyone, regardless of political stripe.
“Even during the Meech Lake Accord debates, he was someone who wanted a positive solution. He had a wonderful outlook on life and what was good for Canada. »
Kevin Lamoureux, a fellow Liberal, recalled that Mr. Carr was respected by all parties. This was demonstrated during the passage of a private member’s bill championed by the former minister.
After his speech, members of the Bloc Québécois came to shake his hand. They had opposed the bill, but they had respected its arguments.
Kevin Lamoureux
In 2019, the day after his re-election as an MP, he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a blood cancer, and he underwent a stem cell transplant in 2020.
His son Ben delivered the eulogy. He said his father’s willingness to listen to others was so strong that he once chatted for two hours with Jehovah’s Witnesses who rang his doorbell.
He also read his father’s speech to the House of Commons on Wednesday. Death did not give him the chance.
“Never stop learning, keep an open mind. Only speak when you have had time to choose your words well, ”said Ben Carr, quoting his father.