After a lifetime of service, Greg Thompson was laid to rest on Friday in New Brunswick. A prominent New Brunswick politician, he was remembered as a man who was passionate about his service and his province.
Dignitaries from across the country travelled to St. Andrews, N.B. to say their goodbyes to Thompson, a former Veterans Affairs minister, as well as New Brunswick’s minister of intergovernmental affairs.
"I found that over the years there's been many people that I've looked at as mentors to help make better decisions and he was one of those individuals," said New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs.
A fixture of the Maritime political scene, Thompson was first elected to the House of Commons in 1988 and served six terms as a member of parliament and in both provincial and federal cabinets.
“He was an extremely principled man, somebody who was very passionate about New Brunswick, passionate about service,” said former cabinet minister Peter MacKay. “He really flourished in the role of veterans minister – he had an enormous depth of compassion and respect for our veterans."
Federal Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer was also in attendance and shared some kind words.
"He was just a really solid person, just a good guy to have in your life,” said Scheer. “I know he was well-respected by everyone from all sides of the political aisle.”
New Brunswick Liberal Leader Kevin Vickers got to know Thompson well when he was Sergeant-at-Arms at the House of Commons, calling him the finest cut of the cloth of New Brunswick
"He was a remarkable, polished, chivalrous, distinguished person,” said Vickers. “I have nothing but the greatest of respect for Greg Thompson and so proud as a New Brunswicker that we called him a New Brunswicker for sure."
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Laura Lyall
