Canada’s politicians react to the death of Hugo Chavez

Chavez easily won a new six-year term at an election in October and his death is devastating for millions of supporters who adored his charismatic style, anti-U.S. rhetoric and oil-financed policies that brought subsidized food and free health clinics to long-neglected slums.

Detractors, however, saw his one-man style, gleeful nationalizations and often harsh treatment of opponents as traits of an egotistical dictator whose misplaced statist economics wasted a historic bonanza of oil revenues.

"I would like to offer my condolences to the people of Venezuela on the passing of President Chávez.

"Canada looks forward to working with his successor and other leaders in the region to build a hemisphere that is more prosperous, secure and democratic.

"At this key juncture, I hope the people of Venezuela can now build for themselves a better, brighter future based on the principles of freedom, democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights."

"He was a very colourful politician who [has] very different policies than many of us.

"We always had very good private discussions. An anecdote, he was a great baseball fan and player and he always told me that when if I were to visit him in Venezuela we would go to a baseball field and he would throw balls to me for me to hit them, you know. And we never had the occasion to do that.

"He was very colourful and very unusual and he did his best even if we did not agree at all times on many issues."