State funeral for former PM John Turner Tuesday, COVID-19 to limit attendance

Prime Minister John Turner talks with media reporters after being sworn in as the Member of Parliament for Vancouver Quadra in Ottawa Sept. 17, 1984. Former prime minister Turner, dubbed "Canada's Kennedy" when he first arrived in Ottawa in the 1960s, has died at the age of 91.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chuck Mitchell , THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chuck Mitchell

The Canadian Press

Oct 6, 2020

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TORONTO - A state funeral for former Liberal prime minister John Turner is underway in downtown Toronto.

About 170 invited guests are in attendance, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Toronto Mayor John Tory, and federal minister Carolyn Bennett.

Attendees are spaced out in the pews at the recently renovated St. Michael's Cathedral Basilica to maintain physical distancing.

Organizers limited the guest list in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Turner died at age 91 on Sept. 19.

He had spent decades in politics, serving as solicitor general and justice and finance ministers before his brief stint as prime minister in 1984.