Politicians, dignitaries and members of the public will pay their respects to former prime minister Brian Mulroney as he lies in state for two days in Ottawa.
Mulroney’s casket will be brought to the Sir John A. Macdonald building across from Parliament Hill Tuesday, ahead of his state funeral this weekend.
Mulroney died last month in Florida at 84 years old.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Governor General Mary Simon are set to offer their condolences to the Mulroney family, who arrived in Ottawa a day earlier to hear tributes to their father in Parliament.
MPs remembered the former Progressive Conservative leader as “one of the lions of Canadian politics.”
The public can pay their respects in Ottawa between 12:30 and 6 p.m. Eastern time Tuesday, or 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, and sign a book of condolences.
Mulroney’s casket will then make its way to Montreal on Wednesday afternoon, where he will lie in repose at St. Patrick’s Basilica.
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A state funeral is scheduled for Saturday morning at Notre Dame Basilica, with eulogies from his daughter Ontario MPP Caroline Mulroney, former Quebec premier Jean Charest and hockey legend Wayne Gretzky.
Leaders of all political stripes offered tributes and reflections of Mulroney on Monday.
“It is not just his booming baritone that will forever echo in this chamber, but his values and his leadership,” Trudeau said. “His principles helped shape this nation and the world for the better.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre also honoured Mulroney in the House of Commons, celebrating his “down to earth spirit” that he said came from his small-town Quebec roots.
“[His] modest Irish working-class upbringing taught him the value of work, family, neighbourhood, loyalty,” Poilievre said.
Mulroney’s sons thanked parliamentarians for their “touching” recollections.
“For us sitting up in the gallery and hearing everybody speak so positively, probably not what he was used to, but he would have loved it. And we did as well,” said Mark Mulroney, the late politician’s third-born child.
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