State funeral for Brian Mulroney to be held on March 23
Posted March 5, 2024 10:05 am.
Last Updated March 5, 2024 1:24 pm.
A state funeral for former prime minister Brian Mulroney will be held in Montreal on Saturday, March 23.
Mulroney, Canada’s 18th prime minister, died at a hospital in Florida on Feb. 29 after a recent fall at his Palm Beach home. He was 84 years old.
In a release on Tuesday, the prime minister’s office says ahead of the funeral, Mulroney’s casket will lie-in-state in Ottawa and lie-in-repose in Montreal.
The funeral’s specific location and details about public viewings have yet to be released but are expected to be provided at a later date.
Parliamentarians will pay tribute to Mulroney in the House of Commons on March 18.
State funerals are public events held to honour former governors general and prime ministers, as well as current cabinet ministers. The prime minister can hold them for other eminent Canadians as well.
Mulroney served as Prime Minister from 1984 to 1993. He was known for his environmental and economic policies, including a treaty on reducing acid rain, and the NAFTA free trade deal.
“Brian Mulroney never stopped working for Canada. He was a champion of the values that unite us as Canadians and will forever be remembered as a force for the common good,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said.
The House of Commons was scheduled to sit before a two-week break, but MPs agreed to suspend until March 18.
With files from John Marchesan
