At least temporarily. Such was the case Sunday in London, when former prime minister Stephen Harper was invested with the Order of Canada, while three of his former political enemies watched. Harper is one of four former prime ministers in the British capital for Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral. He was awarded the Companion of the Order of Canada in 2019, but no commutation ceremony had taken place due to COVID-19. So Governor General Mary Simon invested Harper in a private ceremony in London on Sunday afternoon, while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and former prime ministers Jean Chrétien, Paul Martin and Kim Campbell looked on. “As we gather to celebrate (the Queen), I was honored to be invested in the Order of Canada by @GGCanada Mary Simon,” Harper said in a tweet she posted about the event. “Thank you to @CanadianPM Trudeau, former fellow Prime Ministers Martin, Chrétien, Campbell and former Governors General Johnston & Jean for attending the ceremony.” Trudeau meets King Charles and other prime ministers of the kingdom Remembering Queen Elizabeth’s visit to a potato farm in Manitoba Also present were former governors General David Johnston, who was nominated by Harper, and Michelle Jean. The political bad blood between Harper and Trudeau in particular is well-documented, but the two posed side-by-side for photos after the ceremony. For multiple former prime ministers and governors-general to attend a global funeral together is not an unheard of practice. While Harper was prime minister in 2013, Chrétien, Campbell, Jean, former governor general Adrian Clarkson and former prime minister Brian Mulroney flew with him to South Africa for Nelson Mandela’s funeral. In her own tweet last week, Harper’s wife Laureen Teskey Harper responded to a reporter who suggested the flight to London would be interesting with all the politicians on the same plane. “Interesting,” she asked. “Very interesting if previous trips are anything to go by. Lots of laughter, stories and I’m sure I’m reminiscing about the queen this time. These kinds of trips are always great to be a part of.” Chretien spoke briefly to the media on Sunday and was asked about being close to all the other Canadian leaders. “So much together and no fight,” he said with a laugh. “Well that’s good.” He said there are not many opportunities for such gatherings. “We know each other, we’ve been through the same struggles,” he said. “We fought against each other. Just like when we play hockey, we can be tough on the ice, then go have a beer after the game.” Order of Canada ceremonies are not usually held in secret, but Rideau Hall and the Prime Minister’s Office chose not to tell media traveling with the delegation about either Harper’s event on Sunday or a similar one Saturday that saw actress Sandra Oh and Olympic swimmer Mark Tewksbury to invest in the series. No explanation for privacy has yet been given. Tewksbury later said the ceremony allowed him and Oh to wear the insignia of the Order of Canada at the queen’s funeral, which is to be held at Westminster Abbey on Monday.
