Eddie Goldenberg, right, shown with Jean Chrétien in 1998, was the former prime minister's closest collaborator over a period of 50 years.PETER BREGG
Jean Chrétien says the death of his former chief of staff, Eddie Goldenberg, means he has lost a dear friend, and that Canada has lost a great public servant.
“Some seek fame or wealth. Eddie sought to make our country a better place – for all its citizens,” the former prime minister said in a statement upon news of Mr. Goldenberg’s death.
Mr. Goldenberg, 77, died Thursday after a “hard-fought battle with cancer,” according to a statement issued by Randy Pettipas, the CEO at Global Public Affairs, where Mr. Goldenberg had worked since 2024.
Mr. Chrétien said Mr. Goldenberg, his senior policy adviser for a decade before serving as chief of staff, was his closest collaborator and most trusted adviser over a period of 50 years.
“The debt I owe to him as a successful political and government leader is incalculable,” Mr. Chrétien wrote in his statement.
The prime minister, from 1993 to 2003, said Mr. Goldenberg played a significant role in the major successes of all the governments he served.
Among those successes, Mr. Chrétien cited the patriation of the Constitution and creation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms in the 1980s as well as restoring Canada’s finances and the adoption of the Clarity Act.
After Mr. Chrétien’s run as prime minister, Mr. Goldenberg, a lawyer by profession, worked as a partner in the Ottawa office of the legal firm Stikeman Elliott LLP and also was a senior partner at Bennett Jones LLP.
Mr. Goldenberg, left, shakes hands with David Johnston, the governor-general at the time, at an Order of Canada ceremony in 2014.FRED CHARTRAND/The Canadian Press
In his statement, Mr. Chrétien also extended his condolences to Mr. Goldenberg’s wife, Caroline Weber, and the family.
Mr. Pettipas said in his statement that Mr. Goldenberg was involved in recent months in a mix of client work and personal projects.
He had recently worked with former governor-general David Johnston and cancer researcher Alan Bernstein to advance issues related to attracting high potential world-class researchers into Canada’s university ecosystem, said Mr. Pettipas.
“Eddie could be found most days in his office, working with Global colleagues across the country,” said Mr. Pettipas.
“He revelled in our work together and he was never shy about offering up his advice on how he thought our firm could develop and grow; this was counsel we were deeply grateful for.”
Mark Carney offered a tribute to Mr. Goldenberg, saying in a post on X that the former Chrétien aide had served Canada with extraordinary intellect, judgment and devotion.
“At the centre of government, he helped define the Canada we know today – from his role in helping shape the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, to helping chart a new economic direction for the country in the early 1990’s,” the Prime Minister wrote.
“Those who knew Eddie experienced not only the force of his mind, but the generosity of his counsel, his loyalty to his colleagues, and his enduring commitment to this country. I extend my heartfelt condolences to his loved ones and to all those who had the privilege of working alongside him.”
Former federal Conservative cabinet minister Jason Kenney, who was also a premier of Alberta, said he was saddened by the passing of Mr. Goldenberg, who was a former Bennett Jones colleague, and a friend.
“Eddie was a Canadian patriot who devoted most of his life to public service. We had different political convictions and loyalties, but enjoyed real mutual respect, friendship and a shared love of Canada,” Mr. Kenney said in a social-media post.
Born in Montreal, Mr. Goldenberg was the son of Carl Goldenberg, a lawyer who eventually served as a senator from 1971 to 1982.
At the end of Mr. Goldenberg’s first year of law school at McGill University, he went to work with Mr. Chrétien in 1972. He took on a four-month summer job in the office of Mr. Chrétien, who was the minister of Indian Affairs and northern development.
“My summer job would last, in one way or another, for almost thirty-two years. I would never have dreamed that I would accompany Chrétien almost every step of the way on one of the most extraordinary journeys in Canadian public life,” Mr. Goldenberg wrote in his 2006 book The Way It Works: Inside Ottawa.
He wrote that the prime minister gave him an opportunity to participate in government in a way few others have ever had, also thanking Mr. Chrétien’s late wife, Aline.
“I began my association with him as a student and soon became an adviser, confidant and lifelong friend.”
In his statement, Mr. Chrétien bid farewell to his friend and associate, concluding with, “Au revoir mon camarade!”
With a report from Steven Chase