Gordon Edgar Downie (February 6, 1964 – October 17, 2017) was a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, musician, writer, poet, and activist. He was the singer and lyricist for the

Canadian rock Rock music of Canada is a wide and diverse part of the general music of Canada, beginning with American and British style rock and roll in the mid-20th century. Since then Canada has had a considerable impact on the development of the modern po ...

band

The Tragically Hip The Tragically Hip, often referred to simply as the Hip, was a Canadian rock band formed in Kingston, Ontario in 1984, consisting of vocalist Gord Downie, guitarist Paul Langlois, guitarist Rob Baker (known as Bobby Baker until 1994), bassis ...

, which he fronted from its formation in 1984 until his death in 2017. He is revered by many as an inspiring and influential artist in Canada's music history. Downie released eight solo albums, three posthumously: '' Coke Machine Glow'' (2001), '' Battle of the Nudes'' (2003), '' The Grand Bounce'' (2010), ''

And the Conquering Sun ''And the Conquering Sun'' is a collaborative album by Gord Downie and The Sadies, released on Arts & Crafts Productions in 2014. The album began when The Sadies were invited to perform on the CBC Radio concert series ''Fuse (radio program), Fuse' ...

'' (2014), '' Secret Path'' (2016), '' Introduce Yerself'' (2017), '' Away Is Mine'' (2020), and '' Lustre Parfait'' (2023). His first to hit number one was ''Introduce Yerself'', shortly after his death. His family and managers said future releases are planned, including solo material and unreleased work with the Hip.

Early life

Gordon Edgar Downie was born in

Amherstview, Ontario Amherstview is an unincorporated community in the township of Loyalist, Ontario. It is located on the north shore of Lake Ontario and has a population of approximately 7,959 as of 2016. It is adjacent to the city of Kingston, Ontario, Kingston ...

, and raised in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

, along with his brothers Mike and Patrick, and sisters Charlyn and Paula. He was the son of Lorna (Neal) and Edgar Charles Downie, a travelling salesman, later a real estate broker and developer. In Kingston, Downie attended the downtown high school

Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute (KCVI) was a secondary school in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1792 by Reverend John Stuart based upon a grant for secondary education in the colony of Upper Canada, it moved to its location at ...

, where other members of the Tragically Hip also attended. In high school, Downie was the front man for a band called the Slinks performing at the KCVI Variety show and rivalling older members Rob Baker and Gord Sinclair's band the Rodents. After graduating from high school, Downie attended Queen's University where he majored in film studies, graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in 1986.

Career

The Tragically Hip

In 1984, at age 20, Downie formed the Tragically Hip with Rodents members Rob Baker and Gord Sinclair, another younger

alumnus, Johnny Fay, and saxophonist Davis Manning. In 1986, Manning left the band as guitarist-vocalist Paul Langlois joined. Originally, the band covered popular British rock songs from the 1960s. In an interview with Canadian music journalist Steve Newton, Downie noted that the Tragically Hip's early set list was originally drawn to bands such as

The Yardbirds The Yardbirds are an English rock music, rock band formed in London in 1963. The band started the careers of three of rock's most famous guitarists: Eric Clapton (1963–1965), Jeff Beck (1965–1966) and Jimmy Page (1966–1968), all of whom ...

and The Stones, a decision that was made because the Hip wished other Kingston bar bands would also play the genre. The Tragically Hip quickly became famous once MCA Records president Bruce Dickinson saw them performing at

Massey Hall Massey Hall is a performing arts auditorium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Opened in 1894, it is known for its outstanding acoustics and was the long-time hall of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir. Although original ...

in Toronto and offered them a record deal. Downie became known for his showmanship in live Hip performances, incorporating mid-song

spoken-word Spoken word is an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poem as well as the performer's aesthetic qualities. It is a 20th-century continuation of an ancient oral artistic tradition that focuses on the aesthetics of recitation ...

rants, zany gestures and movements, and especially on their final Man Machine Poem Tour, his bold wardrobe. Downie began pursuing a solo career with the release of '' Coke Machine Glow'' in 2001. He published his first poetry and prose collection alongside the album and under the same title. The backing musicians, credited as the Goddamned Band, consisted of indie rock band the Dinner Is Ruined, Josh Finlayson of Skydiggers and singer-songwriter

Julie Doiron Julie Elaine Doiron (born June 28, 1972) is a Canadian singer-songwriter of Acadian heritage. She has been the bassist and co-vocalist for the Canadian indie rock band Eric's Trip since its formation in 1990. Doiron has also released ten solo al ...

. He released his second solo album, '' Battle of the Nudes'', in 2003 before returning to the studio with the Tragically Hip. His third solo effort, '' The Grand Bounce'', was released in 2010. Both it and ''Battle of the Nudes'' are credited as Gord Downie and the Country of Miracles. Gord Howie 2013

Collaborations

In addition to his solo works, Downie collaborated with several fellow Canadian and international artists. His most famous Canadian collaborations are with Richard Terfry (better known as

Buck 65 Richard Terfry (born March 4, 1972), better known by his stage name Buck 65, is a Canadian alternative hip hop rapper. Underpinned by an extensive background in abstract hip hop, his more recent music has extensively incorporated blues, country ...

), Dallas Green of

City and Colour Dallas Michael John Albert Green (born September 29, 1980) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who records under the name City and Colour. He is also known for his contributions as a singer, rhythm guitarist, songwrite ...

and

Alexisonfire Alexisonfire (pronounced "Alexis on Fire") is a Canadian post-hardcore band formed in St. Catharines, OntarioRoss, Mike. "", Canadian Online Explorer, CANOE JAM!, April 30, 2004. Retrieved on July 17, 2007. in 2001. The band's members are Georg ...

the Sadies The Sadies are a Canadian rock and roll / country and western band from Toronto, Ontario. The band consists of Travis Good, Sean Dean and Mike Belitsky. Dallas Good, a founding member, died in 2022. Dallas and Travis are the sons of Margaret a ...

and

Fucked Up Fucked Up is a Canadian hardcore punk band from Toronto, Ontario, formed in 2001. The band consists of guitarists Mike Haliechuk and Josh Zucker, bassist Sandy Miranda, lead vocalist Damian Abraham and drummer Jonah Falco. From 2007 to 2021, t ...

. Terfry collaborated with Downie on the song "Whispers of the Waves" off the album '' 20 Odd Years''. Terfry composed the track and with the help of Charles Austen, his co-writer, decided Downie's vocals would be the best fit for their song. In 2008, Downie appeared as a guest vocalist on

's single "

Sleeping Sickness African trypanosomiasis is an insect-borne parasitic infection of humans and other animals. Human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), also known as African sleeping sickness or simply sleeping sickness, is caused by the species '' Trypanosoma b ...

". In 2014, Downie released an album with the Sadies called ''

''. He commented on working with the Sadies, saying, "I enjoy getting together with those guys; it's a whole other universe. They're writing all the music and I'm writing all the lyrics and we're coming up with some neat stuff. You do it for the company but I'm genuinely shocked by the themes and things you touch based on the music you're singing to. That's really compelling to me." The album consists of ten songs. Also in 2014 Downie appeared as a guest vocalist on "The Art of Patrons", a song from

's album '' Glass Boys''. On February 2, 2017, Downie joined

Blue Rodeo Blue Rodeo is a Canadian rock band formed in 1984 in Toronto, Ontario. They have released 16 full-length studio albums, four live recordings, one greatest hits album, and two video/DVDs, along with multiple solo albums, side projects, and colla ...

onstage at

for a performance of Blue Rodeo's song "Lost Together". This marked his last public appearance before his death.

In other media

Downie had cameo appearances in ''

Men with Brooms ''Men with Brooms'' is a 2002 Canadian romantic comedy film, starring and directed by Paul Gross. Centred on the sport of curling, the offbeat comedy tells the story of a reunited curling team from a small Canadian town as they work through their ...

'', in which the Tragically Hip play a

curling Curling is a sport in which players slide #Curling stone, stones on a sheet of ice toward a target area that is segmented into four concentric circles. It is related to bowls, boules, and shuffleboard. Two teams, each with four players, take t ...

team. Downie also made a cameo appearance in the 2008 indie drama ''Nothing Really Matters'', directed by Jean-Marc Piché. Downie also appears in the

Trailer Park Boys ''Trailer Park Boys'' is a Canadian mockumentary television sitcom created by Mike Clattenburg that began airing in 2001 as a continuation of his 1999 film bearing the same name. The show follows the misadventures of a group of trailer park resi ...

movie '' The Big Dirty'', in which he and

Alex Lifeson Aleksandar Živojinović (born 27 August 1953), known professionally as Alex Lifeson (), is a Canadian musician, best known as the guitarist for the rock band Rush. In 1968, he co-founded a band (which later became Rush) with drummer John Rut ...

play a pair of police officers. More recently, he and other members of the band appeared in the episode of ''Trailer Park Boys'' entitled "Say Goodnight to the Bad Guys", in which he is harassed while eating a

bologna sandwich A bologna sandwich or a baloney sandwich is a sandwich made from bologna sausage between slices of bread, along with various condiments, such as mayonnaise, Mustard (condiment), mustard, and ketchup. The bologna sandwich is a regional specialty ...

at a singles dance. Downie was also featured in the sitcom ''

Corner Gas ''Corner Gas'' is a Canadian television sitcom created by Brent Butt. The series ran for six seasons from 2004 to 2009. Reruns still air on CTV, CTV2, CTV Comedy Channel, Much, E! and are streaming on Crave and Amazon Prime. The series ...

'' in the episode "Rock On!" in which the Tragically Hip are shown as a local band practising in the main character's garage.

Colin James Colin James (born Colin James Munn; August 17, 1964) is a Canadian blues rock singer and songwriter. James has been very successful in Canada, having attained seven Gold-certified albums in Canada during his career, including four Platinum alb ...

is also featured in the episode. Downie also appeared in Michael McGowan's 2008 film, '' One Week''. A documentary film, ''

Long Time Running ''Long Time Running'' is a 2017 Canadian documentary film, directed by Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier. The film profiles the Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip during their Man Machine Poem Tour of 2016,Lake Ontario Waterkeeper. With Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, Downie helped work on a cause to prevent a cement company from burning tires for fuel. He was also a part of the Swim Drink Fish Music club, a project that unites artists and environmentalists in a music club to raise money for Waterkeeper organizations in Canada. Downie served as a Swim Drink Fish "Ambassador, board member, and creative force".

The Great Moon Gathering

In February 2012 in Fort Albany,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Downie and the Tragically Hip played at the Great Moon Gathering, a yearly educational conference that takes place in various communities along Northern Ontario's

James Bay James Bay (, ; ) is a large body of water located on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. It borders the provinces of Quebec and Ontario, and is politically part of Nunavut. Its largest island is Akimiski Island. Numerous waterways of the ...

coast. Its focus is on youth learning and combining Cree education with the contemporary world. The venue was small and not typical of the band. Author Joseph Boyden, who invited them, said their motivation was to "initiate a guerrilla act of love for a people who are so thoroughly underrepresented but now, somehow, overexposed for only their shortcomings. A guerrilla act of love to show the rest of the country what strength and artistry, grace and humour the Cree possess." In addition to the Tragically Hip's performance, Downie sang a song with a local band, Northern Revolution. The song "Goodnight Attawapiskat" from the album '' Now for Plan A'' was a result of this trip.

Indigenous affairs

On October 13, 2016, Downie and his brother Mike, along with the Wenjack family, announced the founding of the Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund to support reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples."The Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund"
DownieWenjack.ca, 13 October 2016. The fund is a part of Downie's legacy and commitment to Canada's First Peoples. Chanie Wenjack was a young Indigenous boy who died trying to escape a residential school, who became the central character of Downie's ''Secret Path'' project. The Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund is a registered charity. At the Assembly of First Nations in

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, directly across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region of Quebec and is also p ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, on December 6, 2016, National Chief Perry Bellegarde honoured Downie with an eagle feather, a symbol of the creator above, for his support of the Indigenous peoples of Canada. Bellegarde also bestowed on Downie an honorary aboriginal name, Wicapi Omani, which is

Lakota Lakota may refer to: *Lakota people, a confederation of seven related Native American tribes *Lakota language Lakota ( ), also referred to as Lakhota, Teton or Teton Sioux, is a Siouan languages, Siouan language spoken by the Lakota people of ...

for "man who walks among the stars". Downie took to Parliament Hill on July 2, 2017, to speak out for Canada's young Indigenous people, likening it to the same kind of pain young people suffered in the now defunct residential schools.

Awards and recognitions

In May 2016, Downie and his bandmates received honorary degrees from Queen's University. Downie was not able to attend the ceremony due to his illness which had not yet been made public. On December 22, 2016, Downie was selected as

The Canadian Press The Canadian Press (CP; , ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1917 as a vehicle for Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Press has been a privately-held company, pr ...

's Canadian Newsmaker of the Year and was the first entertainer selected for the title. In December 2017, Downie was again named Canadian Newsmaker of the Year for the second year in a row, in recognition of the public reaction to his death. Downie, along with his Tragically Hip bandmates, was appointed a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

on June 19, 2017, for "their contribution to Canadian music and for their support of various social and environmental causes". In December 2017,

Percy Hatfield Percy Harper Hatfield (born ) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He is a New Democratic member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario who was elected in a 2013 by-election. He represented the riding of Windsor—Tecumseh. Early life and educ ...

, the Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) representing Windsor—Tecumseh introduced the bill ''Poet Laureate of Ontario Act In Memory of Gord Downie'' to the

Legislative Assembly of Ontario The Legislative Assembly of Ontario (OLA; ) is the legislative chamber of the Canadian province of Ontario. Its elected members are known as Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs). Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly are given royal as ...

. It was passed in December 2019, establishing the

Poet Laureate of Ontario The poet laureate of Ontario () is the poet laureate for the province of Ontario in Canada. The position was established in 2019 as an office of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in honour of musician and writer Gord Downie. Establishment The ...

Cancer diagnosis and farewell tour

In December 2015, shortly after attending his father's funeral, Downie was diagnosed with a terminal

brain tumour A brain tumor (sometimes referred to as brain cancer) occurs when a group of cells within the brain turn cancerous and grow out of control, creating a mass. There are two main types of tumors: malignant (cancerous) tumors and benign (non-cancero ...

. The Tragically Hip announced his diagnosis on their website on May 24, 2016. Doctors at Toronto's

Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre (SHSC), commonly known as Sunnybrook Hospital or simply Sunnybrook, is an academic health science centre located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The hospital is the largest trauma centre in Canada. It is accredite ...

confirmed the same day that it was a

glioblastoma Glioblastoma, previously known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is the most aggressive and most common type of cancer that originates in the brain, and has a very poor prognosis for survival. Initial signs and symptoms of glioblastoma are nons ...

, which had responded favourably to radiation and chemotherapy treatment but was not curable. Downie toured with the band in summer 2016 to support ''

Man Machine Poem ''Man Machine Poem'' is the thirteenth and final studio album by Canadian rock band the Tragically Hip, released on June 17, 2016 on Universal Music Canada. The tour's final concert was held at the Rogers K-Rock Centre in Kingston, Ontario, on August 20 and was broadcast and streamed live by the

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is the Canadian Public broadcasting, public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a Crown corporation that serves as the national public broadcaster, with its E ...

on television, radio and internet. It was viewed by an estimated 11.7 million people. The tour was profiled in the 2017 documentary film ''

Long Time Running ''Long Time Running'' is a 2017 Canadian documentary film, directed by Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier. The film profiles the Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip during their Man Machine Poem Tour of 2016,Jennifer Baichwal Jennifer Baichwal is a Canadian documentary filmmaker, writer and producer. Biography Baichwal was born in Montreal, Quebec and raised in Victoria, British Columbia.

and

Nicholas de Pencier Nicholas de Pencier is a Canadian cinematographer and filmmaker. The spouse and professional partner of filmmaker Jennifer Baichwal in Mercury Films, he is the cinematographer and producer on most of her films as well as codirector of the films '' ...

. The final concert was released on DVD under the title ''A National Celebration'' on December 24, 2017.

''Secret Path''

In September 2016, Downie announced he would release a new solo album, '' Secret Path'' in October."Gord Downie to release solo album, graphic novel next month"

CTV News CTV News is the news division of the CTV Television Network in Canada. The name ''CTV News'' is also applied as the title of local and regional newscasts on the network's owned-and-operated stations (O&Os), which are closely tied to the nationa ...

, September 9, 2016. The album was accompanied by a

graphic novel A graphic novel is a self-contained, book-length form of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and Anthology, anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comics sc ...

on which he collaborated with

Jeff Lemire Jeff Lemire (; born March 21, 1976) is a Canadian comic book writer, artist, and television producer. He is the author of critically acclaimed titles including the '' Essex County Trilogy'', '' Sweet Tooth'', and '' The Nobody''. His written work ...

, and an animated television film which aired on

CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...

. He also performed a few live shows to support the album, with supporting musicians

Kevin Drew Kevin Drew (born September 9, 1976) is a Canadian musician and songwriter who, together with Brendan Canning, founded the expansive Toronto baroque-pop collective Broken Social Scene. He was also part of the lesser-known KC Accidental, which con ...

, Charles Spearin, Dave Hamelin,

Kevin Hearn Kevin Neil Hearn (born July 3, 1969) is a Canadian musician who is a member of Barenaked Ladies, and his own group, Kevin Hearn and Thin Buckle. He primarily plays keyboard (instrument), keyboards and guitars. He is also a member of Rheostatics ...

and Josh Finlayson. At the

6th Canadian Screen Awards The 6th annual Canadian Screen Awards were held on March 11, 2018, to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2017.

in 2018, Downie posthumously won two

Canadian Screen Awards The Canadian Screen Awards () are awards given for artistic and technical merit in the film industry recognizing excellence in Canadian film, English-language television, and digital media ( web series) productions. Given annually by the Academy ...

for the television version of ''Secret Path''. The program won the Donald Brittain Award for Best Political or Social Documentary Program and Best Music in a Non-Fiction Program. At the

7th Canadian Screen Awards The seventh annual Canadian Screen Awards were held on March 31, 2019, to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2018.Roy Thomson Hall Roy Thomson Hall is a concert hall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located downtown in the city's entertainment district, it is home to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, and the esports team Toronto Defiant. Opened ...

performance of the album.

''Introduce Yerself''

In September 2017, Downie announced what would be his final solo double-album titled '' Introduce Yerself''; it was released on October 27, 2017, ten days after Downie's death. At the

Juno Awards of 2018 The Juno Awards of 2018, honouring Canadian music achievements, were presented in Vancouver, British Columbia during the weekend of 24–25 March 2018. The primary telecast ceremonies were held at Rogers Arena. Vancouver previously hosted the Juno ...

, the album won the

Juno Award The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...

for Adult Alternative Album of the Year, Downie and Drew won Songwriter of the Year for "A Natural", "Introduce Yerself" and "The North", and Downie won the

Artist of the Year ''Artist of the Year'' is a television competition shown on the Sky Arts channel (formerly known as Artsworld and Sky Arts 1) which aims to find the best portrait and landscape artist every year. Overview Through several rounds of regional comp ...

. In a tribute to Downie at the Juno Awards ceremony, Sarah Harmer, Dallas Green and

performed a medley of the album's title track with the Tragically Hip song "

Bobcaygeon Bobcaygeon is a community on the Trent–Severn Waterway in the Kawartha Lakes, City of Kawartha Lakes, east-central Ontario, Canada. Bobcaygeon was incorporated as a village in 1876, and became known as the "Hub of the Kawarthas". Its reco ...

Personal life

Downie was married to Laura Leigh Usher, herself a breast cancer survivor. They had four children. Downie and Usher separated in 2015 before Downie's cancer diagnosis. They were not divorced at the time of Downie's death and had remained close friends. Under the stage name Kaya Usher, she released her own debut album as a singer, ''All This Is'', in 2021 with the participation of two of their four children; some of the tracks feature Usher performing with a guitar that had once belonged to Downie. Downie was the godson of

Harry Sinden Harry James Sinden (born September 14, 1932) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and executive. He served as a coach, general manager, and team president for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL), and was the coach of ...

, a former hockey coach, general manager and president of the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

Death and reactions

Downie died of

, a type of brain cancer, on October 17, 2017, at the age of 53 in Toronto. The surviving members of the Tragically Hip made the news of his death public the next morning by sharing an official statement from his family on their website: Upon hearing the news, Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau (born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who served as the 23rd prime minister of Canada from 2015 to 2025. He led the Liberal Party from 2013 until his resignation in 2025 and was the member of Parliament ...

released a tribute statement on his official website. Later in the day, he held a press conference at

Parliament Hill Parliament Hill (), colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern bank of the Ottawa River that houses the Parliament of Canada in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. It accommodates a suite of Gothic revival buildings whose ...

at which he tearfully remembered Downie as "Our buddy Gord, who loved this country with everything he had—and not just loved it in a nebulous, 'Oh, I love Canada' way. He loved every hidden corner, every story, every aspect of this country that he celebrated his whole life." Canadian MP

Tony Clement Tony Peter Clement ('' né'' Payani; born January 27, 1961) is a Canadian former politician in the federal and Ontario governments. He was Member of Parliament for Parry Sound-Muskoka and a federal cabinet minister in the Conservative Party ...

called upon the government to consider holding a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements o ...

for Downie, stating "I think he matters that much to Canadians." The

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

observed a

moment of silence A moment of silence (also referred to as a minute's silence or a one-minute silence) is a period of silent contemplation, prayer, reflection, or meditation. Similar to flying a flag at half-mast, a moment of silence is often a gesture o ...

. Downie was widely mourned in Canada. The CBC news broadcast, The National, spent 40 of its sixty-minute broadcast discussing Gord and The Hip. Several prominent Canadians posted tributes to Downie online, including actors

Ryan Reynolds Ryan Rodney Reynolds (born October 23, 1976) is a Canadian and American actor, producer and businessman. Known for starring in comedic and superhero films, he was the List of highest-paid film actors, world's second-highest-paid actor in 202 ...

and

Seth Rogen Seth Aaron Rogen (; born April 15, 1982) is a Canadian actor, comedian, and filmmaker. Known primarily for his comedic Leading actor, leading man roles in films, the accolades he has received include nominations for three Golden Globe Awards, ...

; Toronto mayor

John Tory John Howard Tory (born May 28, 1954) is a Canadian lawyer, broadcaster, businessman, and former politician who served as the 65th mayor of Toronto from 2014 to 2023. He served as leader of the Official Opposition in Ontario from 2005 to 2007 ...

; singers

k.d. lang Kathryn Dawn Lang (born November 2, 1961), known by her stage name k.d. lang (stylised in all lowercase), is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Lang has won Juno Awards and Grammy Awards for her musical pe ...

and

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, forming the folk rock group Buffalo Springfield. Since the begi ...

; rapper

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals and creatures * A male duck * Drake (mythology), a term related to and often synonymous with dragon People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family ...

; and the rock group Rush. Additionally, several

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

teams and players, as well as the league itself, paid tribute to Downie through social media, owing to the high popularity of the Tragically Hip's music among Canadian professional hockey players. The

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

honoured Downie with a moment of silence before their game on October 18, during which the retired-jersey banner for Bill Barilko – whom Downie had written about in the Tragically Hip song "

Fifty Mission Cap "Fifty Mission Cap" is a song by Canadian rock group The Tragically Hip. It was released in January 1993 as the second single from the band's third full-length album, ''Fully Completely''. It was first played in front of a live concert audience a ...

" – was lowered from the rafters of the

Air Canada Centre Scotiabank Arena (SBA), formerly known as Air Canada Centre (ACC), is a multi-purposed arena located on Bay Street in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the home of the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and t ...

. Residents of the Ontario village of

, which Downie had written about in the song of the same name, held a candlelight vigil for him the night after his death; a large public gathering also took place at Springer Market Square in the band's hometown of Kingston. In Kingston, Mayor Bryan Paterson issued a statement, laid a wreath in Springer Market Square near City Hall, and signed a condolence banner.

Kingston Transit Kingston Transit operates the transit service in Kingston, Ontario, Canada as well as to the neighbouring community of Amherstview, in Loyalist Township. Major transfer points are at the Kingston Centre, Downtown Kingston (at the corner of Bago ...

buses displayed "GORD, WE'LL MISS YOU" on their electronic destination signs, alternately with the regular route number and name display. Canadian radio stations responded heavily to Downie's death, with early figures indicating the band's radio airplay on October 18 increased 1,500 percent compared to a normal day. Most rock radio stations dropped regular programming to shift to an all-Tragically Hip format for the day,"'I'd wish for more of this,' Ottawans' tributes to Gord Downie keep coming"
''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as the Bytown ''Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the ''Ci ...

'', October 19, 2017. and some further announced that they would continue the all-Hip format through the weekend until the morning of 23 October. Several stations temporarily dropped their usual

call signs In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a Identifier, unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be fo ...

to rebrand themselves "GORD-FM", including

CHEZ-FM CHEZ-FM (106.1 MHz, ''CHEZ 106'') is a Canadian radio station broadcasting a mainstream rock format in Ottawa, Ontario. The station is owned by Rogers Radio, a division of Rogers Sports & Media. CHEZ's studios are located at the intersection of ...

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

CFRQ-FM CFRQ-FM (104.3 FM broadcasting, FM) is a Canadian radio station in Halifax, Nova Scotia. It is owned by Stingray Radio and airs a mainstream rock radio format, format. CFRQ uses the on-air brand name ''Q104'' (''The Mighty Q'' or ''The Q'' for sho ...

in Halifax,

CJRQ-FM CJRQ-FM (92.7 MHz) is a Canadian radio station, which broadcasts in Sudbury, Ontario. The station uses the on-air brand ''Q92''. The station airs a mainstream rock format and is owned by Rogers Radio, a division of Rogers Sports & Media. The s ...

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario ** Sudbury (federal electoral district) ** Sudbury (provincial electoral district) ** Sudbury Airport ** Sudbury Basin, a meteorite impact cra ...

,"The Tragically Hip Week: Celebrating the Life of Gord Downie"

, October 18, 2017. CJQQ-FM in

Timmins Timmins ( ) is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada, located on the Mattagami River. The city is the fourth-largest city in the Northeastern Ontario region with a population of 41,145 at the 2021 Canadian census and an estimated population of ...

, CKEZ-FM in New Glasgow and CIKR-FM in the Tragically Hip's hometown of Kingston Stations in other formats, such as contemporary hit radio, adult contemporary or country music, typically did not suspend their normal playlists, but still added some Tragically Hip songs to the day's rotation. " Ahead by a Century" was the single most-played song on Canadian radio on the day Downie's death was announced. CBC Radio preempted some of its regular programming in favour of a Downie tribute special hosted by Rich Terfry; although news of Downie's death broke just 20 minutes before airtime, CBC Radio One's entertainment magazine show '' Q'' dropped its planned lineup in favour of a live Downie tribute special. In the wake of Downie's death, CTV rescheduled the planned broadcast premiere of ''

Long Time Running ''Long Time Running'' is a 2017 Canadian documentary film, directed by Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier. The film profiles the Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip during their Man Machine Poem Tour of 2016,Jennifer Baichwal Jennifer Baichwal is a Canadian documentary filmmaker, writer and producer. Biography Baichwal was born in Montreal, Quebec and raised in Victoria, British Columbia.

and

about the Man Machine Poem Tour of 2016, from November 12 to October 20.

broadcast his solo

Roy Thomson Hall Roy Thomson Hall is a concert hall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located downtown in the city's entertainment district, it is home to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir, and the esports team Toronto Defiant. Opened ...

concert of ''Secret Path'' on October 22. Arjun Sahgal, an oncologist with the Sunnybrook Hospital who had been involved in treating Downie after his cancer diagnosis, lauded Downie's strength and courage in continuing to tour, make music and use his fame to publicize both cancer awareness and indigenous reconciliation issues, and called Downie "a

Terry Fox Terrance Stanley Fox (July 28, 1958June 28, 1981) was a Canadian athlete, humanitarian, and cancer research activist. In 1980, having had one leg amputated due to cancer, he embarked on a cross-Canada run to raise money and awareness for can ...

in the modern day".

Posthumous archival releases

In 2018, two recordings by Downie, "The East Wind" and "At the Quinte Hotel", were released on the compilation album '' The Al Purdy Songbook''. A different recording of "The East Wind" appeared on ''The Grand Bounce'', and "At the Quinte Hotel" was previously released in video form, but never in an audio recording. In June 2020, the Tragically Hip and manager Jake Gold announced that they were undertaking an "archaeological dig" to select music and memorabilia from the band's archives for future release. In August, Downie's Twitter account was reactivated, and began posting a series of teaser photographs of handwritten song lyrics, accompanied by numbers that appeared to be a calendar countdown to the date of October 15. On September 21, it was confirmed that '' Away Is Mine'', an album comprising the last songs Downie recorded in his lifetime, will be released on October 16.Jesse Kinos-Goodin
"Listen to 2 songs from Gord Downie's final solo recording, Away is Mine"

CBC Music CBC Music (formerly known as CBC FM, CBC Stereo and CBC Radio 2) is a Canadian FM radio network operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It used to concentrate on classical and jazz. In 2007 and 2008, the network transitioned towards a ...

, September 21, 2020. The album is co-written with Josh Finlayson, a frequent collaborator, and is accompanied with an acoustic version of all the produced tracks. Also, a series of music videos for all the songs on the album were created by Canadian artists and released on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

. In October 2022, the song "Lustre Parfait" was released to streaming services as a preview of an album collecting various previously unreleased songs that Downie had recorded with

Bob Rock Robert Jens Rock (born April 19, 1954) is a Canadian record producer, recording engineer and musician. In 1976, Rock joined Little Mountain Sound Studios, starting out as a recording engineer and sound mixer. During his time there, he coll ...

. The album, titled '' Lustre Parfait'', was released on May 5, 2023.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilations

* ''Our Power'' (2006): "Figment ( Acoustic version)"

Singles

* "Vancouver Divorce" (2001) * "Chancellor" (2001) * "Pascal's Submarine" (2003) * "Figment" (2003) * "

" by

(2008) * "The East Wind" (2010) * "The Dance and Its Disappearance" (2010) * "Crater" (with

) (2014) * "The Stranger" (2016) * "Introduce Yerself" (2017) * "Hotel Worth" (2020) * "Lustre Parfait" (2022) * "The Raven and the Red-Tailed Hawk" (2022) * "Greyboy Says" (2023)

Music videos

* "Chancellor" (2001) * "Pascal's Submarine" (2003) * "11th Fret" (2003) * "The East Wind" (2010) * "Crater" (2014) * "The Stranger" (2016) * "Secret Path" (documentary and full animated film) (2016) * "Greyboy Says" (2023)

Music videos for Away is Mine (2020)

* "Hotel Worth" * "Useless Nights" * "I Am Lost" * "About Blank" * "River Don't Care" * "The Least Impossible" * "Traffic Is Magic" * "Away Is Mine" * "No Solace" * "Untitled"

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Downie, Gordon 1964 births 2017 deaths 20th-century Canadian male singers Canadian rock singers Canadian male songwriters Canadian people of Scottish descent Musicians from Kingston, Ontario Writers from Kingston, Ontario Queen's University at Kingston alumni The Tragically Hip members Zoë Records artists Deaths from brain cancer in Canada Deaths from glioblastoma Canadian graphic novelists Canadian male novelists Canadian male poets 21st-century Canadian poets 21st-century Canadian novelists 21st-century Canadian male singers 21st-century Canadian singers Juno Award for Adult Alternative Album of the Year winners Members of the Order of Canada Juno Award for Songwriter of the Year winners Canadian Screen Award winning musicians Juno Award for Artist of the Year winners 20th-century Canadian songwriters 21st-century Canadian songwriters Poets from Ontario Novelists from Ontario