Death and state funeral of Pierre Trudeau

The death and state funeral of Pierre Trudeau took place in September 2000. Pierre Trudeau was the 15th Prime Minister of Canada, serving from 1968 to 1984, with a brief interruption in 1979–1980. Trudeau died on September 28, 2000. His coffin lay in state on Parliament Hill from September 30 to October 1 and the following day at Montréal City Hall. On October 3, a state funeral was held at Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal.

Trudeau died on Thursday, September 28 at 3:00 p.m. at his home in Montréal with his surviving sons, Justin (who became the 23rd Prime Minister of Canada in 2015) and Sacha, and his former wife, Margaret at his side. It was 20 days before his 81st birthday. He suffered from Parkinson's disease and prostate cancer.

Flags on the Peace Tower, across Canada, and around the world were ordered flown at half-staff until sunset the day of the funeral. People started to arrive at Trudeau's home and set up a makeshift memorial there. There were tributes from world leaders, including U.S. President Bill Clinton.

The Centennial Flame on Parliament Hill became the unofficial place to mark Trudeau's death, where people brought messages of condolence and roses, Pierre Trudeau's symbol. Queen Elizabeth II paid tribute to her former prime minister and, in the House of Commons, Canada's political leaders did the same, beginning with Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, who, at the time of Trudeau's death, was on his way to Jamaica and immediately returned to Ottawa. Opposition Leader , Progressive Conservative leader Joe Clark (a former prime minister), New Democratic Party leader Alexa McDonough, and Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe followed, as did Speaker of the House of Commons Gilbert Parent. Members of Parliament paid tribute to Trudeau, many wearing roses, before the house adjourned out of respect.

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