Quebec offers national funeral to family of Les Cowboys Fringants’ Karl Tremblay
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“I want all Quebecers who want to be able to pay tribute to him to be able to do so,” Premier Francois Legault says
Published Nov 16, 2023 • Last updated 2 hours ago • 3 minute read
Les Cowboys Fringants’ Karl Tremblay sings at the Bell Centre in 2003. He died this week of prostate cancer. Photo by GORODN BECK /GAZETTE
If the family of Karl Tremblay agrees, Quebec is offering a national funeral to mourn the passing of the celebrated singer of Les Cowboys Fringants, Premier François Legault said Thursday.
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Meeting reporters in Montreal, Legault said the death of Tremblay has caused “an enormous shock” in Quebec after it was announced Wednesday.
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“Since yesterday, I have sensed an immense wave of love and sadness,” an emotional Legault told reporters. “I have rarely seen this here in Quebec.
“I think there is a lot of sadness but also beauty in this, because Karl and Les Cowboys Fringants were able to gather huge crowds,” he added. “They were able to show lots of emotion.”
Legault then listed a few of the folk-rock group’s many hit songs, saying they struck a chord with Quebecers of many generations. Some of those songs are the most beautiful in history, he said.
“We know their songs by heart,” he said. “They will continue to bounce around our heads and make us reflect. There is a lot of tenderness and (social) involvement of Quebec nationalism in their songs. So I think we will never forget them. Many Quebecers identified with Karl and the Cowboys.
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“All of Quebec is crying today. I think many Quebecers want to give him tributes, so to do this, the Quebec government is ready, if the family agrees, to hold a national funeral. I want all Quebecers who want to pay him a final tribute to be able to do so.”
Legault — who is also the MNA for the riding of L’Assomption, where Karl Tremblay’s widow, fellow Les Cowboys Fringants member Marie-Annick Lépine, and their two children live — said he would like to continue some of the environmental projects he and Tremblay had discussed.
No decision has been made on whether a park in Repentigny, which is in the riding, could be named after Tremblay, Legault said.
He said his fondest memory of Tremblay was when the singer was presented with the medal of the National Assembly at the legislature in May. People knew he was ill by then.
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Legault said he adjusted his agenda to attend the ceremony in order to pay tribute to Tremblay. He recalled that guests spontaneously broke into one of the group’s hits, Les étoiles filantes.
“We felt a wave of love, of incredible support,” Legault said. “People hoped he would make it through (the illness).”
Tremblay died of prostate cancer. He was 47. He had been battling the cancer for several years but still managed to keep performing for his loyal fans, including one much praised concert last summer on the Plains of Abraham as part of the city’s summer music festival.
In addition to many spontaneous tributes that sprung up following the news of Tremblay’s death, other politicians marked Tremblay’s passing in their own ways.
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In Quebec City, Education Minister Bernard Drainville opened a news conference on another matter by inviting those in attendance to join together in singing one of Tremblay’s hit songs, “Toune d’automne,” in Tremblay’s honour.
Culture Minister Mathieu Lacombe said he was struck by the “tsunami of love” and “immense sorrow” of Quebecers in the wake of Tremblay’s death.
There was no word late Thursday on whether the family would agree with the national funeral.
Just below a full state funeral but ranked above a civic funeral, national funerals are organized by the government and reserved for people who have made an impact on political life or made an exceptional contribution to society, as decided by the government.
The ceremony is simpler than a state funeral. Flags are flown at half-mast on the day of the funeral from dawn to dusk. The person does not lie in state in the legislature as for a former premier at a state funeral, but the family gets to decide where and how to handle visitations.
The last person given the honour of a national funeral was hockey great Guy Lafleur in May 2022.
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