State funerals in Canada

The remains of John A. Macdonald lying in state in the Senate Chamber, 1891

State funerals in Canada are public events held to commemorate former governors general, prime ministers, other members of the cabinet who died in office, and, at the cabinet's discretion, other eminent Canadians. With ceremonial, military, and religious elements incorporated, state funerals are offered and executed by the governor general-in-council, who provides a dignified manner for the Canadian people to mourn a national public figure. Provincial and territorial governments may also perform state funerals for citizens in their particular jurisdictions. However, most state funerals are federal affairs.

As Canada shares the person of its monarch with the other Commonwealth realms, funerals for Canada's sovereigns, as well as for their consorts, typically take place in the monarch's oldest and most populous realm, the United Kingdom. In Canada, a commemoration service is conducted by the federal crown-in-council and sometimes by provincial crowns, as well.

Process

State funerals are not required by any law and the family of the deceased may opt not to have such an event take place. Should the family agree to a state funeral, the Department of Canadian Heritage (DCH) will work in close consultation with them, as well as with other government departments and elements of the private sector, the degree of involvement depending on the size and complexity of the event. Similarly, the timeline varies on a case-by-case basis, most lasting between five and six days, during which the national flag is flown at half-mast on the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill in Ottawa and at other federal crown-owned installations across the country.

The funeral train of John A. Macdonald, pulled by Canadian Pacific no.283, carrying his remains on 10 June 1891 from Ottawa to Kingston, Ontario

A formal statement issued by the governor general-in-council is typically broadcast by the media to notify the general public of an upcoming state funeral, while the DCH issues invitations according to the order of precedence, with foreign heads of state and government included.[1]

Meanwhile, in the days leading up to the funeral, the body is transported from the place of death to Ottawa, whereupon the casket is met by a guard of honour—drawn from the Governor General's Foot Guards for a former governor general and from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for a former prime minister, other ministers, or honoured individuals—and escorted by it to the Centre Block of the parliament buildings. There, the remains lie in state for a period of two days, with four members of the accordant guard of honour maintaining a constant vigil; for the remains of governors general, this takes place in the Senate chamber, in the Hall of Honour for those of prime ministers, and in other rooms for other individuals. On both days, designated hours are set for public viewing. The coffin is then escorted from the Centre Block to a waiting hearse as a gun salute is fired; 21 guns for a governor general, 19 guns for a prime minister, and 15 guns for others. The casket is then either transported to another location in the country for further memorials or to the place of burial.

Jack Layton's casket being moved from the Centre Block of the parliament buildings after lying in state

State funeral memorial services are typically held in churches. The choice of host church is dependent on the religious faith of the deceased. However, since 1968, all state funerals held in Ottawa have included a service at the Anglican Church of Canada's Christ Church Cathedral; its five state funerals are the most of any venue. Three other churches have hosted two state funerals: All Saints Anglican Church, Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica, and St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, all in Ottawa. The state funeral of Jack Layton, held in 2011 at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto, is the only Canadian state funeral to have been held outside of a church.

Similar to a state funeral is a commemoration ceremony, which is a religious and/or memorial service to mark the passing of Canada's monarch (see Monarchy of Canada#Commemorative ceremonies) or a royal consort (both of whom typically have their state funerals in the United Kingdom), an individual from a family that did not wish a state funeral, or a foreign dignitary. For instance, a commemoration ceremony was held in Ottawa in 2002 for the death of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, the consort of King George VI. A service was held in 2013 for Nelson Mandela, the former President of South Africa. Nevertheless, these commemorations may be classified as state funerals by the Canadian government.[2] Provinces will also conduct their own commemoration ceremonies for the passing of the country's sovereign or a royal consort.

Not all who lie in state at parliament, nor all for whom flags are flown at half-mast, receive a state funeral. The exception was made for the funeral of Retired Sergeant Ernest Smith, the last living Canadian recipient of the Victoria Cross from the Second World War.

In planning a state funeral, the government makes “every effort to accommodate the wishes of the family” and the family may decline the honour. A state funeral was offered for assassinated Quebec cabinet minister Pierre Laporte in 1970 but his widow declined.[3] A state funeral was also offered for Chief Justice Bora Laskin by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau but his family declined, saying that Laskin “liked things very simple.” Instead, Laskin was honoured with a lying in state on Parliament Hill.[4][5]

History

The funeral procession of Thomas D'Arcy McGee in Montreal, 1868

The first state funeral in Canada was held for Thomas D'Arcy McGee after his assassination in April 1868.[6] The first Governor General of Canada to receive a state funeral was the Lord Tweedsmuir in 1940, who died in office. Sir John A. Macdonald, Canada's first prime minister was also the first to receive a state funeral. Jack Layton was the first Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition who was not also a former prime minister to be honoured with a state funeral;[2] after lying in state in the foyer of the House of Commons, the funeral service took place at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto.

Every prime minister of Canada has been accorded a state funeral except for two. Following the death of Canada's second prime minister, Alexander Mackenzie, flags were flown at half-mast across the country and parliament adjourned following speeches commemorating the former prime minister but while a state funeral was suggested, it was not ordered. Mackenzie's funeral occurred at the Jarvis Street Baptist Church with representatives of the federal cabinet in attendance as well as Opposition leader Wilfrid Laurier and almost all members of the Ontario legislature.[7][8][9]

Former Prime Minister R. B. Bennett did not have a state funeral as he had moved to England after leaving Canadian politics. He was buried in England in St. Michael's Churchyard, Mickleham in "a simple private service".[10]

Ceremonies for monarchs

To mark the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, the federal crown-in-council arranged for gun salutes to take place on Parliament Hill, in the national capital, as well as at armouries across the country. The day of her funeral in the United Kingdom, 2 February, was declared a national day of mourning.[11] When King Edward VII died in 1910, his funeral date, 20 May, was set as a national holiday, during which military parades and tributes were held across the country.[11]

The death of King George V was officially recognized on the day of his funeral in the UK, 28 January 1936, by a royal proclamation from Governor General the Lord Tweedsmuir, urging Canadians to attend church services and drape public buildings in black crepe. Between the King's death and his funeral, courthouses were closed.[11] As George's successor, Edward VIII, abdicated his position as king of Canada by the end of 1936, no ceremonies marked his death in 1972. At the time, Queen Elizabeth II, received messages of condolence from Governor General, Roland Michener, and Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau, and the federal parliament passed a motion expressing sympathy. None made mention of the Duke’s previous role as Canada's king, only his time as Prince of Wales.[11] Prime Minister Louis St Laurent laid a wreath at the Centre Block, in Ottawa, on 15 February 1952, the day of the burial of George VI. The day was an official holiday only in some provinces, while, in others, it was left to municipalities to decide how to commemorate the King.[11]

The military parade held in Ottawa before the national commemoration ceremony for the death of Queen Elizabeth II

When Queen Elizabeth II died on 8 September 2022, after a 70 year reign as Queen of Canada, the country immediately entered a period of official mourning. A federal holiday was declared for the funeral,[12][13] while the provinces made a variety of arrangements for holidays.[18]

A national commemoration ceremony for Elizabeth II took place at Christ Church Cathedral in Ottawa on 19 September, preceded by a parade of the Canadian Armed Forces and Royal Canadian Mounted Police through downtown Ottawa, as well as a 96-gun salute.[19] Commemoration services took place in several provinces on the same day: in Alberta,[20] British Columbia,[21] Manitoba,[22] New Brunswick,[23] Newfoundland and Labrador,[24] Nova Scotia,[25] Prince Edward Island,[26] and Saskatchewan.[27] In Ontario, a memorial service was held in Toronto on 20 September.[28] On the advice of his cabinet, the Lieutenant Governor of Quebec did not authorize any official service of remembrance.[29]

List of state funerals in Canada

Canadian state funerals
State position Name Date of funeral Place of funeral Venue Sources
Minister Thomas D'Arcy McGee[note 1] 1868 Ottawa, Ontario St Patrick's Basilica [30][31][32]
Prime minister John A. Macdonald 1891 Ottawa, Ontario St Alban's Anglican Church [33][34]
Prime minister John Abbott 1893 Montreal, Quebec Christ Church Cathedral [35]
Prime minister John Sparrow David Thompson 1895 Halifax, Nova Scotia St Mary's Basilica [36][37]
Prime minister Charles Tupper 1915 Halifax, Nova Scotia St Paul's Anglican Church [38]
Prime minister Mackenzie Bowell 1917 Belleville, Ontario Bridge Street Methodist Church [39]
Prime minister Wilfrid Laurier 1919 Ottawa, Ontario Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica [40][41][42]
Minister James Robb 1929 Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec Valleyfield United Church [43]
Minister George Eulas Foster [note 1] 1932 Ottawa, Ontario Chalmers United Church [44]
Prime minister Robert Borden 1937 Ottawa, Ontario All Saints Anglican Church [45]
Minister George Halsey Perley[note 1] 1938 Ottawa, Ontario All Saints Anglican Church [46]
Governor general The Lord Tweedsmuir 1940 Ottawa, Ontario St Andrew's Presbyterian Church
Minister Ernest Lapointe 1941 Quebec City, Quebec Saint-Roch Church [47][48]
Minister Raoul Dandurand 1942 Montreal, Quebec Église Saint-Viateur d'Outremont [49]
Prime minister William Lyon Mackenzie King 1950 Ottawa, Ontario St Andrew's Presbyterian Church
Minister Humphrey Mitchell 1950 Ottawa, Ontario St Barnabas, Apostle and Martyr, Anglican Church [50]
Minister Alcide Côté 1955 Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec Cathedral of Saint-Jean-l'Évangéliste [51][52]
Minister Sidney Earle Smith 1959 Ottawa, Ontario Chalmers United Church [2][53]
Prime minister Arthur Meighen 1960 Toronto, Ontario St. Andrew's United Church
Minister Jack Garland 1964 North Bay, Ontario St. Andrew's United Church [54]
Governor general Georges Vanier 1967 Ottawa, Ontario Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica
Governor general Vincent Massey 1968 Ottawa, Ontario Christ Church Cathedral [55]
Prime minister Lester B. Pearson 1972 Ottawa, Ontario Christ Church Cathedral
Prime minister Louis St Laurent 1973 Quebec City, Quebec Notre-Dame de Québec Cathedral
Prime minister John Diefenbaker 1979 Ottawa, Ontario Christ Church Cathedral [56]
Governor general Jules Léger 1980 Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec Basilique-Cathédrale Sainte-Cécile [57][58]
Minister Daniel J. MacDonald 1980 Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island St Dunstan's Basilica [59][60]
Governor general Roland Michener 1991 Ottawa, Ontario Christ Church Cathedral [61]
Governor general Jeanne Sauvé 1993 Montreal, Quebec Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral [62]
Prime minister Pierre Trudeau
(article)		 2000 Montreal, Quebec Notre-Dame Basilica [59]
Governor general Ray Hnatyshyn 2002 Ottawa, Ontario Christ Church Cathedral [63]
Governor general Roméo LeBlanc 2009 Memramcook, New Brunswick Saint-Thomas de Memramcook Church [59][64][65]
Leader of the Opposition Jack Layton
(article)		 2011 Toronto, Ontario Roy Thomson Hall [66]
Minister Jim Flaherty[note 1] 2014 Toronto, Ontario St James Cathedral [67][68][69]
Prime Minister John Turner 2020 Toronto, Ontario St Michael's Cathedral [70]
Privy Councillor Ed Broadbent[note 2] 2024 Ottawa, Ontario Dominion-Chalmers United Church [71]
Prime Minister Brian Mulroney
(article)		 2024 Montreal, Quebec Notre-Dame Basilica [72]
  1. ^ a b c d McGee, Foster, Perley, and Flaherty were not sitting cabinet ministers at the times of their deaths.
  2. ^ Longtime New Democratic Party leader Ed Broadbent was the first political leader who was neither a prime minister, cabinet minister, or leader of the opposition to be honoured with a state funeral.[4]

Other funerals for prime ministers

Non-state funerals for prime ministers
State position Name Date of funeral Place of funeral Venue Sources
Prime minister Alexander Mackenzie 1892 Toronto, Ontario Jarvis Street Baptist Church [9][7]
Prime minister R. B. Bennett 1947 Mickleham, Surrey, England St. Michael's Church [10]

List of national commemoration ceremonies in Canada

National commemoration ceremonies
State position Name Date of ceremony Place of ceremony Building Sources
Queen consort (article) Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother 9 April 2002 Ottawa, Ontario Christ Church Cathedral [2]
President of South Africa Nelson Mandela 2013 Ottawa, Ontario Parkdale United Church [2][73]
Royal consort Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh 17 April 2021 Ottawa, Ontario Christ Church Cathedral

[74]

Queen of Canada Elizabeth II 19 September 2022 Ottawa, Ontario Christ Church Cathedral [75][76]
Senator Murray Sinclair 10 November 2024 Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada Life Centre [77]

List of provincial state funerals in Canada

Alberta

State position Name Date of funeral Place of funeral Building Sources
Lieutenant governor Grant MacEwan 2000 Edmonton Robertson-Wesley United Church [78]
Premier Peter Lougheed 2012 Edmonton Alberta Legislature [79]
Premier Jim Prentice 2016 Calgary Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium [80]

British Columbia

State position Name Date of funeral Place of funeral Building Sources
Premier John Horgan[note 1] December 15, 2024 Colwood The Q Centre [81]
  1. ^ State memorial service

Newfoundland and Labrador

State position Name Date of funeral Place of funeral Building Sources
Lieutenant governor John Crosbie 2020 St John's Cathedral of St John the Baptist [82]

Ontario

The funeral procession for former Lieutenant Governor of Ontario Lincoln Alexander, in Toronto, 2012
State position Name Date of funeral Place of funeral Building Sources
Premier John Robarts 1982 Toronto St Paul's Anglican Church [83][84]
Lieutenant governor Lincoln Alexander 26 October 2012 Hamilton Hamilton Place Theatre [85]
Lieutenant governor David Onley 30 January 2023 Toronto Yorkminster Park Baptist Church [86]
Mayor Hazel McCallion 14 February 2023 Mississauga Paramount Fine Foods Centre [87]

Quebec

State funerals in Quebec are reserved for former premiers. "National" funerals may be held for other distinguished Quebecers. Unlike state funerals, these are only partially subsidized by the government.[88]

State position Name Date of funeral Place of funeral Building Sources
Premier Maurice Duplessis 1959 Trois-Rivières De l'Assomption (Immaculée-Conception) Cathedral [89][90]
Premier Daniel Johnson Sr 1968 Quebec City Cathedral-Basilica of Notre-Dame de Québec [91][92]
Premier Jean Lesage 1980 Quebec City Cathedral-Basilica of Notre-Dame de Québec [93][94]
Premier René Lévesque 1987 Quebec City Cathedral-Basilica of Notre-Dame de Québec [95]
Premier Robert Bourassa 1996 Montreal Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal [96]
Premier Jacques Parizeau 2015 Montreal Église Saint-Germain [97]
Premier Bernard Landry 2018 Montreal Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal [98]

National funerals

Occupation Name Date of funeral Place of funeral Building Sources
Athlete Maurice Richard 2000 Montreal Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal [99]
Union leader Louis Laberge 2002 Montreal Basilique Cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde [100]
Athlete Jean Béliveau 2014 Montréal Basilique Cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde [101]
Music producer and agent René Angélil 2016 Montreal Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal
Athlete Guy Lafleur 2022 Montreal Basilique Cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde
Musician- Les Cowboys Fringeants Karl Tremblay 2023 Montreal Centre Bell
Musician Jean-Pierre Ferland 2024 Montreal Basilique Cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde

List of provincial commemoration ceremonies in Canada

Alberta

State position Name Date of ceremony Place of ceremony Building Sources
Queen of Canada Elizabeth II 19 September 2022 Edmonton Alberta Legislature Building [20]

British Columbia

State position Name Date of ceremony Place of ceremony Building Sources
Queen of Canada Elizabeth II 19 September 2022 Victoria Christ Church Cathedral [21]

Manitoba

State position Name Date of ceremony Place of ceremony Building Sources
Queen of Canada Elizabeth II 19 September 2022 Winnipeg Cathedral of St John [22]

New Brunswick

State position Name Date of ceremony Place of ceremony Building Sources
Queen of Canada Elizabeth II 19 September 2022 Fredericton Christ Church Cathedral [23]

Newfoundland and Labrador

State position Name Date of ceremony Place of ceremony Building Sources
Queen of Canada Elizabeth II 19 September 2022 St John's Cathedral of St John the Baptist [24]

Nova Scotia

State position Name Date of ceremony Place of ceremony Building Sources
Royal consort Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh 17 April 2021 Halifax All Saints Cathedral [102]
Queen of Canada Elizabeth II 19 September 2022 Halifax All Saints Cathedral [25]

Ontario

State position Name Date of ceremony Place of ceremony Building Sources
Royal consort Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh 17 April 2021 Toronto Cathedral Church of St James [102]
Queen of Canada Elizabeth II 20 September 2022 Toronto Cathedral Church of St James [28]

Prince Edward Island

State position Name Date of ceremony Place of ceremony Building Sources
Queen of Canada Elizabeth II 19 September 2022 Charlottetown St Peter's Cathedral [26]

Saskatchewan

State position Name Date of ceremony Place of ceremony Building Sources
Queen consort Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother 9 April 2002
Prince Albert [103]
Regina St Paul's Cathedral
Saskatoon
Queen of Canada Elizabeth II 19 September 2022 Regina St Paul's Cathedral [27]

See also

References

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