Memorial service honours Winnipeg MP Jim Carr By: Tyler Searle Posted: 4:33 PM CST Saturday, Dec. 17, 2022

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This article was published 16/12/2022 (740 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Jim Carr was a political bridge-builder and faithful father — a sentiment widely shared as family, friends and former political rivals gathered Saturday to remember the member of Parliament, who died earlier this week.

Carr, a former cabinet minister, MLA and longtime member of the federal Liberal party had been battling multiple myeloma — a rare form of blood cancer — and kidney failure since 2019. He died at home on Monday, surrounded by loved ones, his family said.

“Jim leaves behind a legacy that’s more than most of us would dare ask of a life,” said Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who addressed hundreds of attendees during a memorial service at the Centennial Concert Hall.

“From every party, members spoke of Jim’s decency and his kindness… This week, we felt his absence deeply… we are heartbroken.”

The assembly at the service reflected his words; Premier Heather Stefanson and former premier Gary Filmon, both Progressive Conservatives, and former NDP Premier Gary Doer were among the mourners.

Carr, 71, worked closely with Trudeau, serving as minister of natural resources, minister of international trade diversification, and special representative to the Prairies.

“He made me feel so special… he encouraged me, he knew exactly what to say. He asked after my feelings and inspired me to keep doing difficult things in difficult moments,” Trudeau said.

“In the sweep of grief, it can sometimes be hard to find solace, but you all know just how many people are grateful to have served alongside Jim, and that Canadians are, all of us, better for his devotion to this country.”

Carr leaves behind his wife, Justice Colleen Suche, six children and step-children, and three grandchildren.

When he finished his address, Trudeau gifted the flag that was flying on Parliament Hill the day of Carr’s death to his family, along with a copy of his Building a Green Prairie Economy Act. The piece of legislation received royal assent Thursday and will help Prairie provinces diversify from oil and gas and focus on job creation in clean energy fields.

It was Carr’s final political act and the result of years of effort.

“He could hear and see beyond the noise and distractions that always lingered in the background of the political arena, and in doing so, he would find the commonalities for the humour, respect and courtesy that one needs to build meaningful relationships,” said Carr’s son, Ben Carr, in his eulogy.

First elected in 1988 as Liberal MLA for Fort Rouge, Carr served as MLA for the former Crescentwood electoral division (1990-92) and went on to federal politics in 2015. He won the Winnipeg South Centre seat three times.

By the early 1990s, he was favoured to run for mayor of Winnipeg and some wanted him to become leader of the provincial Liberal party. Instead, Carr joined the Free Press in 1992 as a member of the newspaper’s editorial board. He later became the founding chief executive officer of the Business Council of Manitoba.

Carr previously underwent a stem-cell transplant and in the final years of his life required four-hour dialysis treatments multiple times per week. Despite his deteriorating health, he continued to serve in politics, speaking in the House of Commons just six days before his death, Ben Carr said.

He died before he was able to deliver a final address to his fellow politicians on Wednesday. Ben Carr read a portion of the statement in his stead.

“Mr. Speaker, as I rise today and stand on the floor of this chamber for what may be the last time, my spirit is as strong as ever,” the statement began.

“I’d like to share a few observations, if I may, learned over the course of a lifetime. Never stop learning. Keep an open mind. Speak only when you’ve taken the time to consider your words carefully — treat the moment to which you choose to speak them with equal care… Most importantly, Mr. Speaker, be kind to each other.”

When Ben Carr finished delivering his eulogy, a musician took to the stage to perform Sweet Baby James by James Taylor.

The ballad, which speaks about a young cowboy waiting for summer, was one of a selection of Carr’s favourite songs that punctuated the ceremony. Others included symphonies by Ludwig van Beethoven and Johann Sebastian Bach.

Carr was a talented musician, so it was fitting his service be held in the concert hall, where he played as part of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra as a teenager, Ben Carr said.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca