Mr. Speaker, Sir Wilfrid Laurier was born on this day, November 21, 1841. When Sir John A. Macdonald passed away, the most eloquent eulogy came from his political opponent, Sir Wilfrid, who said, “...he was also endowed with those inner, subtle, undefinable graces of soul which win and keep the hearts of men”. We can say that Laurier had these same qualities.
Like Macdonald before him, Laurier was a great prime minister and a great party leader. He cared deeply about the country's nature and identity, and he never let divisive regional, racial, religious or partisan policies prevent him from making difficult decisions.
Laurier's eloquence will long be remembered. He reminded us that faith is stronger than doubt and love is stronger than hate. His political motto was always “Canada first, Canada last, Canada always”. A good motto for all of us.
He was, of course, a great Liberal but, above all, he was a fine human being and a passionate Canadian. It is only right that on this occasion we should praise this worthy and famous man.