Past and present P.E.I. premiers and current federal Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre were among the mourners who gathered in Tignish Wednesday for the funeral of former Egmont MP Gail Shea.
Shea died on Aug. 21 at the age of 66, leaving a large circle of relatives and friends in western Prince Edward Island and right across Canada.
Her funeral took place at St. Simon and St. Jude Catholic Church, with Rev. Tim Broderick celebrating the Mass and Rev. Frank Quinn giving the homily. The event was livestreamed on the parish’s Facebook page.
Former P.E.I. lieutenant-governor Antoinette Perry played the organ for the service.
The funeral program listed Poilievre among 29 honorary pallbearers, along with former prime minister Stephen Harper and some of Shea’s former federal cabinet colleagues. Those included Lisa Raitt, Leona Aglukkaq and Peter MacKay.
Many past and present provincial politicians attended the ceremony, including Progressive Conservative Premier Rob Lantz, former P.E.I. premier Pat Binns and current provincial Transportation Minister Ernie Hudson, who worked closely with Shea when she was a member of Parliament.
Shea’s husband, Russell, predeceased her in 2021. They had five children: Sally, Kelly, Sandy, Holly and Shawn.
The Mass of Christian Burial got underway at 2:30 p.m. AT, though many mourners were still lined up waiting to get into the church.
There are no eulogies in the traditional Catholic funeral service, but Quinn’s homily praised Shea as a good woman and a good mother as he attributed to her many of the virtues lauded by St. Thomas Aquinas. He said she valued truth, beauty and service, and her love for her family remained a driving force throughout her life.
“She would have loved to have had more time with you, but she realized that was not to be,” Quinn told Shea’s children.
Hymns included Amazing Grace; I Will Never Forget You; Come to the Water; The Summons; Hail Mary, Gentle Woman; and How Great Thou Art.
The congregation also joined in singing O Canada before the final commendation.
Conservative Party of Canada Leader Pierre Poilievre was in Prince Edward Island on Wednesday to attend the funeral of former MP Gail Shea, who died last week at age 66. Poilievre shared some memories of Shea during a news conference in Charlottetown prior to the funeral.
