Honourable senators, it saddens me rise today to pay tribute to the Honourable Jim Carr, the member for Winnipeg South Centre, who passed away at his home yesterday. According to a statement released by his office, he was surrounded by family and friends.

Jim Carr began his career as a musician. He was an oboist and a trustee with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. He then worked in journalism as editorialist and columnist for the Winnipeg Free Press and CBC Radio.

He was part of a proud lineage of Jewish community leaders in Winnipeg, going back to his grandparents who immigrated from Ukraine in the early 1900s. He was a founding member of Winnipeg’s Arab-Jewish Dialogue.

He entered public life in 1988 when he was elected to represent Fort Rouge in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba. Jim Carr was first elected federally in 2015, and again in 2019 and 2021. He held the posts of Minister of Natural Resources, Minister of International Trade Diversification and the government’s Special Representative for the Prairies.

He was last in Ottawa — in the other place — when his private member’s bill, Bill C-235, or the “Building a Green Prairie Economy Act,” passed third reading on December 7. He was given a standing ovation by all colleagues, even those who spoke against the bill.

In an interview Mr. Carr gave on that same day in relation to his bill, he stated:

I’m a Prairie guy. I love the Prairies. As I explained to some of my Bloc friends, it’s the same sense of identity and belonging to a geography and demography.

In his final speech before the third reading vote for Bill C-235, he said he was:

 . . . grateful for the chance to continue to contribute to my country. I said it in my speech yesterday, ’I love every square metre of this country in English, en francais, in Indigenous languages — I wish I spoke more of them . . . .

Jim Carr served his country well with his passion and love — every square metre of it.

I knew Jim Carr for many years, and I will remember his warmth, his intelligence, his insightfulness and his deep desire to make a difference in his community, his city, his province and his country. He always greeted me with a smile, which put a smile on my face too.

I send condolences to his wife Colleen, his family, his friends and his colleagues at this sad time.

Rest in peace, dear Jim.