“As a dedicated elected official, business and community leader in Manitoba for over 30 years, Jim was loved and respected by so many and we know he will be profoundly missed,” Carr’s family said in a written statement.
Winnipeg North MP Kevin Lamoureux, whose political connection with Carr dates back to the 1980s, asked the House of Commons for a moment of silence before question period. The parties then agreed to suspend the House for the rest of the day.
Carr had represented the riding of Winnipeg South Centre since 2015.
He served as minister of natural resources, then minister of international trade diversification between 2015 and 2019.
In 2019, the day after being re-elected as an MP, he was diagnosed with the blood cancer multiple myeloma and suffered kidney failure. He underwent a stem-cell transplant in 2020.
“Over the past three years, he fought these diseases bravely and courageously with the incredible support of his staff, colleagues and loved ones,” Carr’s family said.
Tributes poured in soon after the announcement.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that when he first met Carr during his attempts to recruit him as a Liberal candidate in the 2015 election, he was struck by his thoughtfulness.
He said his interventions around the cabinet table were also “imbibed with such a passionate thoughtfulness about the country and how all the parts needed to fit together in order for us to be what we wanted to be,” Trudeau said Monday in a year-end interview with The Canadian Press.
“He lived and breathed it every step of the way,” Trudeau said, with tears in his eyes. “You couldn’t imagine a better ambitious … and thoughtful and compassionate voice to drive us forward.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre tweeted Tuesday that Carr was “an honourable and kind man, steadfastly dedicated to the service of his country and his constituents.”
Leah Gazan, the New Democrat member of Parliament for Winnipeg Centre, also tweeted: “As a neighbouring MP, I know how dedicated Jim was to serving his constituents.”
Jeff Kovalik-Plouffe, who managed some of Carr’s election campaigns and worked with him as an adviser for many years, said Carr cared more about results than scoring partisan political points.
“He didn’t take a hard stance on anything. He would listen to people … and wanted to hear different points of view before he made decisions,” Kovalik-Plouffe said in an interview.
“For whatever persona he gave off publicly, he was a thousand times kinder, wiser, (more) respectful and loving as you could hope for in someone you work with.”
Carr spoke in the Commons last week during the passage of his private member’s bill. The bill would require the minister responsible for economic development on the Prairies — currently Manitoba MP Dan Vandal — to develop a framework to “build a green economy” in the region.
If the bill passes in the Senate, Vandal would be required to come up with a plan within a year of it becoming law.
“I want to start by expressing some deeply held emotion. I love this country, every square metre of it, in English, in French, in Indigenous languages and in the languages of the newly arrived,” Carr said.
While the speech was ostensibly about the bill, he added some reflections on the state of Canada’s democracy.
“My respect for Parliament has grown by leaps and bounds. The wisdom of inviting witnesses to add thoughtful commentary and an opposition that has been respectful though occasionally dissenting are what a democracy is all about, and it is always rooted in strengthening the national fabric, woven as it is from those mini threads that make Canada the envy of the world,” he said.
“With resources, natural and human, comes responsibility to each other and to the world itself. How could we not be humbled by the greatness of this magnificent country?”
Trudeau said Carr’s efforts on that bill were telling.
“It was all about ‘this is something that is going to make a huge difference for the country moving forward,’” Trudeau said.
He added that Carr knew he was unlikely to be around to see the bill’s impact, “but he needed to keep things on the right path.”
Carr was first elected to the Manitoba legislature in 1988. He resigned his seat in 1992, two years after the Liberals suffered a big setback at the polls. Lamoureux, who was also a legislature member then, recalled Carr taking a short vacation to contemplate his next move.
“We were thinking it was either mayor or (provincial Liberal) leader,” Lamoureux said Monday.
“He loved Winnipeg as a city and I think he would have been a fantastic mayor or premier. He excelled at whatever he did.”
In 1998, Carr became president and chief executive officer of the Business Council of Manitoba.
In 2014, Trudeau touted him as a star candidate. After being elected, he was given the natural resources cabinet portfolio. His ability to build relationships saw him switched to international trade diversification.
“He put his heart and soul into his job,” Kovalik-Plouffe said.
“He understood that even though you might not have voted for him, he still represented you.”
— with files from Stephanie Taylor, Dylan Robertson and Marie-Danielle Smith in Ottawa
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 12, 2022.
Demands for government intervention in Air Canada labour talks could negatively affect airline competition in Canada, the CEO of travel company Transat AT Inc. said.
“The extension of such an extraordinary intervention to Air Canada would be an undeniable competitive advantage to the detriment of other Canadian airlines,” Annick Guérard told analysts on an earnings conference call on Thursday.
“The time and urgency is now. It is time to restore healthy competition in Canada,” she added.
Air Canada has asked the federal government to be ready to intervene and request arbitration as early as this weekend to avoid disruptions.
Comments on the potential Air Canada pilot strike or lock out came as Transat reported third-quarter financial results.
Guérard recalled Transat’s labour negotiations with its flight attendants earlier this year, which the company said it handled without asking for government intervention.
The airline’s 2,100 flight attendants voted 99 per cent in favour of a strike mandate and twice rejected tentative deals before approving a new collective agreement in late February.
As the collective agreement for Air Transat pilots ends in June next year, Guérard anticipates similar pressure to increase overall wages as seen in Air Canada’s negotiations, but reckons it will come out “as a win, win, win deal.”
“The pilots are preparing on their side, we are preparing on our side and we’re confident that we’re going to come up with a reasonable deal,” she told analysts when asked about the upcoming negotiations.
The parent company of Air Transat reported it lost $39.9 million or $1.03 per diluted share in its quarter ended July 31. The result compared with a profit of $57.3 million or $1.49 per diluted share a year earlier.
Revenue totalled $736.2 million, down from $746.3 million in the same quarter last year.
On an adjusted basis, Transat says it lost $1.10 per share in its latest quarter compared with an adjusted profit of $1.10 per share a year earlier.
It attributed reduced revenues to lower airline unit revenues, competition, industry-wide overcapacity and economic uncertainty.
Air Transat is also among the airlines facing challenges related to the recall of Pratt & Whitney turbofan jet engines for inspection and repair.
The recall has so far grounded six aircraft, Guérard said on the call.
“We have agreed to financial compensation for grounded aircraft during the 2023-2024 period,” she said. “Alongside this financial compensation, Pratt & Whitney will provide us with two additional spare engines, which we intend to monetize through a sell and lease back transaction.”
Looking ahead, the CEO said she expects consumer demand to remain somewhat uncertain amid high interest rates.
“We are currently seeing ongoing pricing pressure extending into the winter season,” she added. Air Transat is not planning on adding additional aircraft next year but anticipates stability.
“(2025) for us will be much more stable than 2024 in terms of fleet movements and operation, and this will definitely have a positive effect on cost and customer satisfaction as well,” the CEO told analysts.
“We are more and more moving away from all the disruption that we had to go through early in 2024,” she added.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
