Alberta, Canada to remember a “consummate politician” in State Memorial

The program for the State Funeral of the Honourable Peter Eric James “Jim” Prentice includes remarks from Alberta Premier, Rachel Notley and former Prime Minister, Stephen Harper.

The Friday morning ceremony will take place at the Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium, in Calgary.

Prentice, who was 60, died when a twin-engine Cessna Citation crashed shortly after takeoff from the Kelowna, B.C. airport on October 13, 2016.

Optometrist, Dr. Ken Gellatly, Calgary businessman, Sheldon Reid, and pilot, Jim Kruk were also killed. The crash is still under investigation by the Transportation Safety Board.

Prentice was elected the Member of Parliament for Calgary North Centre in 2004.

“He was a very important Minister in the Harper government,” MRU Professor, Keith Brownsey told 660 NEWS. “He had Indian Affairs [and Northern Development,] he had Environment, Industry, he was always put into the hot seat and he performed very, very well.”

He also served as chair of the Operations Committee under Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

He was sworn in as Alberta’s 16th Premier on September 15, 2014. He served until May 24, 2015.

Interim Alberta PC Leader, Ric McIver said Prentice’s greatest achievements may have been to family and friends, but “most of us think of his public service as what we will most remember and appreciate.”

“One of the strengths that Jim had [was] trying to bring all people together,” McIver added.

Brownsey agreed, “Jim Prentice was respected right across the political spectrum. A lot of people thought an awful lot of Jim Prentice, including myself. He was a consummate politician. He knew how to build networks and he knew how to treat people. He had a lot of respect for his Opposition.”

After leaving federal politics, Prentice worked in the banking and legal world.

MLA for Calgary-Lougheed, Dave Rodney told CityNews the late politician will be greatly missed. “I’ve never met anyone like Jim Prentice before. He was at home whether it was in a coal mine or out in a farmer’s field; in a House of Parliament, a Legislature, on Wall Street, on Bay Street, it didn’t matter,” he said.

“Jim left a number of legacies in many realms: personally, professionally and politically,” Rodney added. “He loved his wife and their children and their grandchildren, so much. It’s just such a shame that their time together was cut short.”

In lieu of flowers, the family is asking donations be made to the Children’s Cottage Society.

Tickets for the State Memorial will be distributed around 9:45 a.m., Friday morning, at the north entrance to the Jubilee. Parking will be limited to the two Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium parking lots. People attending are also being encouraged to use the C-Train.

The service begins at 11:00 a.m.

The memorial will be streamed online on Jim Prentice’s memorial page.

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