John Horgan: sports fan, leader, and dad about town remembered

BC Premier David Eby speaks at Sunday's memorial for former premier John Horgan. Photo: CPAC livestream

In 2009, Douglas Coupland (author of Generation X) found a classic 70s “Vancouver special” house slated for demolition, filled it with objects made from the paraphernalia of his childhood that only Canadians could understand, and then staged a party in it. He called it “Canada House.”

John Horgan’s memorial service Sunday afternoon at the Q Centre in Colwood had the feel of a British Columbia House, or better, a Westshore-Victoria House.

In it was the paraphernalia of a life of service lived in two houses, one public and one private. The stage was decorated with sports paraphernalia, including the Victoria Shamrocks lacrosse team flag, a guitar, a copy of Dr. Seuss’s Yertle the Turtle, and the emblem of his favourite TV show, Star Trek.

Horgan loved the Victoria Shamrocks. He met his wife Ellie because of the game after a stop in Peterborough when the Shamrocks were playing the Peterborough Lakers for the Mann Cup in 1978. After talking to fans in the stands about the university,  he enrolled and they met on the Trent campus in Peterborough on his first day there. He and Ellie could be found in their favourite seats at Shamrock games whenever they could attend.

A Shamrocks tribute to John Horgan at his memorial on Sunday. Photo: CPAC livestream

‍

The Horgan effect—his unique ability to bring politicians and people together around sport—was real and admired. “A gathering of thousands of the political elite of British Columbia in a lacrosse arena on a Sunday would be pretty close to his definition of heaven,” Premier David Eby told the crowd at the Q Centre, a fitting venue for the memorial.

Attendees filed into the space to Bruce Springsteen’s “Thunder Road” and the sound of Shamrocks team members tapping their lacrosse sticks against red-carpeted flooring. It doesn’t get much more Canadian, more BC, or more Victoria than that. The procession of honoured guests included Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Lt.-Gov. Janet Austin, and BC Premier David Eby.

Carole James, the former Victoria MLA and party leader who was a close colleague, eulogized her longtime friend. In her words to the gathering, she said it was “impossible to separate John the premier from John from Langford.”

The latter was the way he often introduced himself.

Carole James eulogizes her longtime friend John Horgan. Photo: CPAC livestream

‍ Playing the long game

Horgan would take the leadership mantle from James in 2014 before he became premier in 2017. That year, Bruce Springsteen and Bryan Adams appeared together in Toronto at the opening ceremonies for the Invictus Games.

Horgan’s sports-minded legacy will live on through no small effort on his part, next year when those Invictus Games come to Vancouver and the traditional territories of the x ʷ məθ kʷə y əm (Musqueam), S ḵwxw ú7mesh (Squamish), St ó:lō and Səlílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nation, Skalulmecw and Lílwat Nations.

Once you knew you were on Horgan’s team he always had your back, Eby said. He explained how the former premier believed everyone in BC wanted to be on his team. “John always told the caucus [that] the majority of the province is New Democrat, they just don’t know it yet,” Eby said.

Trudeau alluded to a signature moment in Horgan’s long political career. At a media conference on the day of his swearing-in, the newly minted premier went to raise his hand to answer a contentious question about the TMX pipeline and knocked over his drinking glass.

“The water spilled over the lectern and onto the floor,” recounted Trudeau. Then, “without missing a beat, John looked up and deadpanned: “Spills can happen anywhere.”

For many environmentalists and Indigenous communities, issues with Horgan’s handling of the Fairy Creek movement, and protests related to constructing the TMX extension and CGL pipelines through unceded Secwépemc and Wet’suwet’en territories, were no laughing matter. But among the reflections on Horgan's legacy, there was also praise for advances on reconciliation by his government, which passed the DRIPA (United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples) legislation and preferred to settle land claims without court battles.

Polling of the broader public also reflected fairly well on Horgan. The second half of his game just got better and better.

“He left politics more popular than when he entered. How did he do that? There are some lessons there for some of us,” Eby joked.

BC Lt-Gov. Janet Austin, Prime Minister Trudeau, Premier David Eby, and Eby's wife Cailey Lynch. Photo: CPAC livestream

In overtime, Horgan was appointed by Trudeau as Canada’s ambassador to Germany in 2023.

Trudeau's appearance in Langford came just 24 hours before Chrystia Freeland submitted her resignation as finance minister, and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh called for his resignation. The tumult put in stark relief Eby’s remarks about staying power and popularity.

At the arena, the prime minister reminded those gathered how the former premier liked to make small changes that made a big difference in people’s lives like waiving tuition for former kids in care so they could go to college and university. He was “unflinching in his values and beliefs,” Trudeau said.

Strong values in the local community, the province, and abroad

He was family to many, including Ravi Parmar, the MLA for Langford Highlands who told Capital Daily about the way his friend and mentor had been honoured by his community.

“On Saturday, my congregation of the Khalsa Diwan Society Victoria, the Sikh Gurdwara on Topaz, held a historic event. I don't think you can point to a time in history, over 100 years of the Sikh community here, where they actually dedicated a special prayer and ceremony to a non-Sikh individual.

“This was not something I asked of them or anything that a person said to them they should do, it was just the community that came together and the executive that came to me and said we want to do this.”

“At the end of the day, one of my jobs is to make him proud,” said Parmar.

‍ Sons deliver emotional tributes

John Horgan’s love of community and family was reflected back in the touching words of his sons, Evan and Nate.

Eldest son Nate delivered with guitar and harmonica a song that he’d written for his dad. As he sang about moons and mountains that rise and fall, he struggled to maintain his composure and left many in the centre visibly in tears.

Evan, Horgan’s younger son, spoke about the deep pain of the family’s loss. “There have been days when we felt we were drowning in a sea of grief,” he said. He thanked all of those who sent letters of support and for creating the memorial service.

“I don’t think he ever imagined anything like this. I don’t think any of us understood the scope and reach of his influence. His tribute received a standing ovation.

Eby thanked Horgan’s Ellie, Nate and Evan for sharing their husband and father with the province.

Several Capital Daly readers attended the ceremony and sent in messages about the event and the man it honoured.

Here are some of them:

“What a man! Never met him personally, but clearly he deserved every one of those accolades and more. A huge loss, for his family and all who knew him.”

“What a great tribute, most people knew what a wonderful person he’ll be forever remembered!”

“What a nice celebration of John Horgan's life!”

“How fortunate we were to have John as long as we did. My husband and I remember chatting with him at length during the Salmon Festival some years back and discovering that we had Trent University in common. It was such a delightful conversation. Our sincere condolences to his family.”

“It was a fitting send-off for a man who was clearly loved & respected. More people/politicians should be like John Horgan. God has surely saved a place for him! Godspeed John! You made a difference. You will be missed. ”

“The theme in every speech—he was a humble man and true to his beliefs he treated people with respect and loved his family and BC.”

“He was a truly wonderful man, and BC was so fortunate to have him lead us.”

“Once again, we were reminded that John Horgan was a man well-loved, admired, and respected by many. ”