![]() He wanted to make it his mission to share that story with the rest of the country.” “Gord often said he was struck by that story and he couldn’t let go of it. He did his work with humility and respect,” said Nishnawbe Aski Nation Grand Chief Alvin Fiddler. “I think one of the things I’ve said about Gord is just how humble he was. Such was the influence that Gord had,” he said.ĭownie used much of the past few years talking about Indigenous issues, created Secret Path, an album and graphic novel telling the story of Chanie Wenjack, and many Aboriginal leaders also offered warm tributes to Downie. “Then Gord walked on stage, took Sam and the microphone by the hand and calmly said six words: ‘Put the money in the cup.’ Half an hour later, we had raised over $300,000. Only $10,000 had been raised,” Hoskins told the hushed Legislature. At the charity’s benefit concert launch in 2000 in Winnipeg, outdoors at the Forks, in front of 80,000 people, Sam was on stage imploring the crowd to donate cash into buckets being carried through the crowd. “It’s safe to say that War Child Canada, the charity that Sam and I founded, would never have existed without Gord Downie and the Tragically Hip. Health Minister Eric Hoskins - who, along with his wife, Samantha Nutt knew Downie for years - said his help was instrumental when they were launching War Child Canada. ![]() “He and his band, the Tragically Hip, were inspirational artists of Canada and they gave us a goodbye and a long tour that I think will always live in all of our hearts, and we regret his passing,” said Horwath. “He will be missed in Ontario and in Canada,” said Brown. His music was a quintessential part of being Canadian … and I know that there are literally millions of Canadians who are in mourning today,” the premier said. “Gord lived every single day of his life with grace and resilience. Premier Kathleen Wynne, Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown, and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath each prefaced their remarks on the business of the day by sending their thoughts to Downie’s family, friends, and fans. There won’t be another Gord,” offered Montreal band Stars wrote on Twitter.Īt Queen’s Park on Wednesday, MPPs halted proceedings to hold a moment of silence in memory of Gord Downie before the daily question period. Stars want to thank Gord and send him our hearts as he passes into another world. “He wanted to go out doing what he loved to do, and trying to do as much good with the time he had left, so for me that’s a courageous act.” “There are lots of different ways that people handle this kind of thing and mostly, if you look at people like David Bowie, et cetera, how they handled their illnesses, they chose to handle it very quietly - and he did not. “He’s a national hero,” said Rush frontman Geddy Lee. Many musical artists paid more personal tributes to the fallen singer. The Toronto sign in Nathan Phillips Square was to be lit in red and white on Wednesday night, and dimmed at 11 p.m. American blues guitarist Ry Cooder’s name was trending as many people posted the line “Get Ry Cooder to sing my eulogy” from “At the Hundredth Meridian.” Twitter was one place where many were offering up their thoughts and sadness, with many fans posting lyrics of from their favourite Hip songs, causing another singer to get a boost in mentions on the social network.
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