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, 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.

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 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 Sir John A. Macdonald 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. 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 and 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. The location of the funeral service depends on the religious faith of the deceased, though the ceremony is usually conducted at Christ Church Cathedral in Ottawa.

Similar to a state funeral is a commemoration ceremony, which is a religious or memorial service to mark the passing of an individual from a family that did not wish a state funeral or did not reside in Canada. For instance, a commemoration ceremony was held in Ottawa in 2002 for the death of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.

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.

History

The first state funeral in Canada was held for Thomas D'Arcy McGee after his assassination in April 1868. 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; after lying in state in the foyer of the House of Commons, the funeral service took place at Roy Thomson Hall in Toronto.

List of state funerals in Canada

The funeral procession of Thomas D'Arcy McGee during his state funeral in Ottawa, 1868

Canadian state funerals

State position	Name	Date of funeral	Place of funeral	Building	Sources
Governor general	The Lord Tweedsmuir	1940	Ottawa	St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church
Governor general	Georges Vanier	1967	Ottawa, ON	Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica
Governor general	Vincent Massey	1968	Ottawa, ON	Christ Church Cathedral
Governor general	Jules Léger	1980
Governor general	Roland Michener	1991
Governor general	Jeanne Sauvé	1993	Montreal, QC	Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral
Governor general	Ray Hnatyshyn	2002	Ottawa, ON	Christ Church Cathedral
Governor general	Roméo LeBlanc	2009	Memramcook, NB
Prime minister	John A. Macdonald	1891	Kingston, ON
Prime minister	Alexander Mackenzie	1892
Prime minister	John Abbott	1893
Prime minister	John Sparrow David Thompson	1894
Prime minister	Charles Tupper	1915	Halifax, NS
Prime minister	Mackenzie Bowell	1917
Prime minister	Wilfrid Laurier	1919	Ottawa, ON	Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica
Prime minister	Robert Borden	1937	Ottawa, ON	All Saints Anglican Church
Prime minister	William Lyon Mackenzie King	1950	Ottawa, ON	St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church
Prime minister	Arthur Meighen	1960	Toronto, ON	St. Andrew's United Church
Prime minister	Lester B. Pearson	1972	Ottawa, ON	Christ Church Cathedral
Prime minister	Louis Saint Laurent	1973	Quebec City, QC	Notre-Dame de Québec Cathedral
Prime minister	John Diefenbaker	1979	Saskatoon, SK
Prime minister	Pierre Trudeau	2000	Montreal, QC	Notre-Dame Basilica
Cabinet minister	James Robb	1930
Cabinet minister	George Eulas Foster	1931
Cabinet minister	George Halsey Perley	1938
Cabinet minister	Ernest Lapointe	1941	Quebec City, QC
Cabinet minister	Raoul Dandurand	1942	Montreal, QC	Église Saint-Viateur d'Outremont
Cabinet minister	Humphrey Mitchell	1950	Ottawa, ON	St. Barnabas
Cabinet minister	Alcide Côté	1955	Saint-Jean, QC
Cabinet minister	Jack Garland	1964
Cabinet minister	Daniel J. MacDonald	1980	Charlottetown, PEI
Member of Parliament and former Cabinet minister	Jim Flaherty	2014	Toronto, ON	St. James Cathedral
Member of Parliament and former Cabinet minister	Thomas D'Arcy McGee	1868	Ottawa, ON	St. Patrick's Bascilica
Leader of the Opposition	Jack Layton	2011	Toronto, ON	Roy Thomson Hall

• Sidney Smith, External Affairs Minister, qualified for a state funeral in 1959, but did not receive one.
• A state funeral was offered for assassinated Quebec cabinet minister Pierre Laporte in 1970 but his widow declined.
• A state funeral was offered for Chief Justice Bora Laskin by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau but his family declined.

List of provincial state funerals in Canada

State position	Name	Date of funeral	Place of funeral	Sources
Premier of Quebec	Maurice Duplessis	1959	Trois-Rivières
Premier of Quebec	Daniel Johnson, Sr.	1968	Montreal
Premier of Quebec	Jean Lesage	1980	Quebec City
Premier of Ontario	John Robarts	1982	Toronto
Premier of Quebec	René Lévesque	1987	Quebec City (Cathedral-Basilica of Notre-Dame de Québec)
Premier of Quebec	Robert Bourassa	1996	Montreal (Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal)
None (athlete)	Maurice Richard	2000	Montreal (Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal)
Premier of Alberta	Peter Lougheed	2012	Calgary and Edmonton (Alberta Legislature and Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium)
Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario	Lincoln Alexander	2012	Hamilton (Hamilton Place Theatre)
None (athlete)	Jean Béliveau	2014	Montréal (Basilique Cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde)
Premier of Quebec	Jacques Parizeau	2015	Outremont (Église Saint-Germain)

See also

• Death and state funeral of Pierre Trudeau
• Death and state funeral of Jack Layton
• State funerals in the United States