Former finance minister Jim Flaherty has died at the age 64, nearly a month after he stepped down from cabinet ahead of a planned move to the private sector.
The cause of death was not immediately available, but it’s believed that Flaherty suffered a heart attack. Paramedics were called to his Ottawa condominium shortly after noon Thursday, and he was pronounced dead not long after, police said.
While he butted heads with Flaherty during his five years as Canada's parliamentary budget officer, Kevin Page described the former finance minister as "a formidable person to have to go up against."
"There was always a respect," Page said. "I knew I was dealing with a minister of finance that was giving 24-7 attention to the country's finances."
Page said he believes Flaherty's greatest success as finance minister was his ability to put Canada on track to a balanced budget in 2015.
"I think people will look back and thank Mr. Flaherty for the strong books."
G20 finance ministers and central bank governors who are currently meeting in Washington issued a statement Thursday evening mourning Flaherty’s death.
Former prime minister Brian Mulroney said Flaherty’s leadership during the 2008 global recession “saved our bacon” and earned him respect around the world.
Mulroney told media that although the prime minister always calls the shots, Harper had "enormous" respect for Flaherty and his opinions throughout the years that they worked together.
Flaherty stepped down from his post as finance minister last month, citing plans to eventually take a job in the private sector. At the time, Flaherty said he and his family came to the decision that he would resign from cabinet, but did not say whether he would remain an MP until the 2015 election.
He denied that his health had anything to do with the move.
He had been coping with a painful skin condition, Bullous Pemphigoid. The condition required him to take powerful medications that left him appearing bloated, and looking and sounding at times extremely fatigued.
In a statement announcing his resignation from cabinet, Flaherty said that he was “on the road to a full recovery.”
As federal finance minister, Flaherty made tax cuts a priority, starting with a one-percentage-point cut to the GST, followed by another cut in 2008.
In 2007, Flaherty introduced the Registered Disability Savings Plan to help Canadians with disabilities save for retirement, and in 2008 introduced the Tax-Free Savings Account.
He also raised the base deduction rate, cut a point from the lowest personal tax rate and raised the limits of the two lowest tax categories.
Flaherty wasn’t afraid to spend, however, once the 2009 recession hit, pouring billions of stimulus into the economy via the Economic Action Plan.
