Peter Lougheed lauded at memorial as visionary, builder and mentor
The man some called the best prime minister Canada never had was memorialized Friday as a builder and a visionary.
An estimated 2,400 people crowded into Calgary's Jubilee Auditorium to honour Peter Lougheed, who died Sept. 13 at the age of 84.
The former Alberta premier's Progressive Conservatives ended 35 years of Social Credit rule in 1971 and served three terms as premier, resigning in 1985.
He's widely credited with using Alberta's oil wealth to transform his bucolic province into a modern industrial powerhouse and a central player in the Canadian federation.
Canadian commentator Rex Murphy told the audience Lougheed was "the greatest premier that this country has ever seen," the National Post reported.
"In the case of Peter Lougheed, the language of tribute or the language of eulogy is only the language of bare description," Murphy said.
"When other public men die we have to lie about them. This man is such an assembly of obvious salient virtues, and he conducted a life of such superb decorum and dignity that it truly is us that are receiving the tribute that he was here a mere three years less than Lincoln's famous four score and seven."
Public reaction to Lougheed's passing compares with the outpouring of sympathy that followed the death of Jack Layton last year.
Lougheed was the first premier to lie in state in the Alberta legislature rotunda, where people lined up to pay their respects, and the first to have a state memorial.
The list of attendees Friday included Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Alberta Premier Alison Redford, Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall, former prime minister Joe Clark, former Saskatchewan premiers Grant Devine and Roy Romanow, and former Quebec premier Jean Charest.
His son, Stephen Lougheed, told the gathering of family, friends, politicians and other dignitaries that his father was driven to make the world a better place, and was also a coach and mentor to others, CBC News reported.
"Dad always found the best in people and found ways to surround himself with good people," he said. "He was a tireless worker, and that tended to bring out the best in other and even occasionally rubbed off on his kids."
Harper praised Lougheed as a visionary and statesman, The Canadian Press reported.
"He brought to the job intelligence, integrity, energy, a clear and practical sense of direction and an unwavering commitment to what he believed to be the wider public interest," Harper said.
"It all sounds obvious enough, but across all the times and places of political history, this combination is rare indeed."
During and after his term as premier, Lougheed resisted attempts to recruit him to lead the Tories nationally. But he acted as an adviser and mentor to other players on the political stage.
Redford, who with a timely endorsement from Lougheed was able to extend the 41-year Tory dynasty against a strong challenge from the right-wing Wildrose Party, said Lougheed had "a golden touch.
"He excelled at everything he tried," she said.
Though born to an affluent, prominent family, Lougheed grew up in relative poverty after the family fortune was wiped out in the Depression. He studied law and, though small, played football at the University of Alberta, as well as the Edmonton Eskimos. He followed up with an MBA from Harvard and also worked in the Texas oilpatch.
While practicing law in Calgary, Lougheed resurrected the moribund Progressive Conservatives in the 1960s, taking them from zero to six seats in 1967, then defeating the Socreds in 1971.
In power, Lougheed leveraged spiking oil and gas revenues to expand public services, tried to diversify the economy and created the Heritage Savings Trust Fund to put a portion of provincial royalties away for the future.
Former MP Conservative Lee Richardson told the mourners in attendance that Lougheed once told him a person couldn't be a good leader without listening, CBC News reported.
"As both a nation and province builder, he has no equal," he said.
Jim Dinning, who worked for the government under Lougheed before becoming a cabinet minister, said the former premier was always curious, which helped him pinpoint Alberta's needs.
"That's what I admire the most," he said.
Outside the hall, Joe Clark, a fellow Alberta Tory, said Lougheed's greatest talent was his ability to build coalitions and bridge differences, the Post said.
"I think he always thought, 'What's the point of getting mad at people? Why do we drive them away when we can draw them in?"' said Clark.
"If we're looking for messages for the future, it's that approach at encouraging the strengths of others and reconciling them in a national and broad venture. I think his style is what we need for tomorrow."