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Downie said growing up on the shores of Lake Ontario had an impact on the way he viewed the environment, which led him to support the Lake Ontario Waterkeeper as a board member and to pay for renewable energy at his Toronto home. I don't pretend to understand it; it feels confusing and frightening and wonderful.". "I really didn't know anything about them, to my shame. SHAPIRO: In. The Hip's final tour launched in Victoria in late July 2016, stopping in eight other Canadian cities, before wrapping up in front of an emotionally charged crowd in the band's hometown of Kingston about a month later. Downie performing in Guelph, Ontario in 2001, Kingston Collegiate and Vocational Institute, "Gord Downie, a Distinctly Canadian Rock Star, Dies at 53", "Remembering the life and legacy of Gord Downie (1964 2017)", "Gord Downie and the Country of Miracles The Grand Bounce", "Gord Downie Sheds Light on Collaborative Album with the Sadies", "How I Learned to Love the Tragically Hip and Still Be Punk", "Gord Downie is 'Lost Together' with Blue Rodeo as he joins band onstage at Toronto show", "The Tragically Hip to debut tour doc, Long Time Running, at the Toronto International Film Festival", "Board / Stewards Lake Ontario Waterkeeper", "Media Alert: Lafarge denied: Cement company's motion for leave to-appeal denied in alternative fuels case", "GreenHeroes: This Month Gord Downie, Mark Mattson and Lake Ontario Waterkeeper", "North of the 52nd with the Tragically Hip", "Gord Downie and the Hip gone fishin' in northern Ontario", "The Gord Downie and Chanie Wenjack Fund", "Downie takes to Parliament Hill to speak out for Canada's Indigenous Peoples", "Gord Downie chosen as Canadian Press Newsmaker of the Year", "Gord Downie chosen as top Canadian Press newsmaker for second consecutive year", "Gord Downie appointed to Order of Canada", "Courage, my word: Tragically Hip's Gord Downie reveals terminal brain cancer diagnosis", "Tragically Hip singer Gord Downie has terminal cancer, band plans tour 'for Gord', "Gord Downie underwent surgery for 'incurable' brain cancer, his doctor says", "Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip holds final show", "Tragically Hip to release documentary and farewell concert film in December", "Gord Downie to release solo album, graphic novel next month", "Canadian Screen Awards 2018: Maudie, Anne, Kim's Convenience win top prizes", "2018 Canadian Screen Awards honour national media", "Gord Downie's Secret Path, Amazing Race and CBC News among Canadian Screen Awards winners", "Gord Downie, a Canadian Rock Legend, Sings Goodbye", "Gord Downie to release solo album Introduce Yerself in October", "Gord Downie to release new solo album Introduce Yerself", "Early Junos Go to Gord Downie, Grimes, Alvvays and More", "If Secret Path 'is the last thing I do, I'm happy': What happens to Gord Downie next", "Gord Downie's widow Kaya Usher releases debut music with her Family Band", "Kaya Usher, widow of Gord Downie, on 'healing journey' of her debut album", "Gord Downie, Canada's everyman rock poet, dead at 53", "Glioblastoma, brain tumour that took Gord Downie's life, tough to treat: doctors", "Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada on the death of Gord Downie", "Justin Trudeau delivers emotional, tearful tribute to Gord Downie", "Justin Trudeau pays emotional tribute to Gord Downie: 'It hurts', "Condolences pour in for Gord Downie, Tragically Hip frontman", "Hockey world mourns Gord Downie's death", "Bobcaygeon residents feel special connection to Gord Downie", "Thursday's Round-Up of News Surrounding the Death of Gord Downie", "'I'd wish for more of this,' Ottawans' tributes to Gord Downie keep coming", "Red Deer radio stations crank up the Tragically Hip in wake of Gord Downie's death", "The Tragically Hip Week: Celebrating the Life of Gord Downie", "In Kingston, fans pay respects to Gord Downie", "Tragically Hip album sales, audio streams soar after Gord Downie's death", "Listen to a special Radio 2 broadcast celebrating the life of Gord Downie", "Tragically Hip's 'Long Time Running' documentary to air Friday on TV", "Gord Downie 'like a Terry Fox in the modern day,' says doctor", "Canadian poet Al Purdy inspires songs by Jason Collett, Sarah Harmer and more", "The Tragically Hip Reunite with Original Manager for Planned Archival Projects", "Gord Downie's Twitter Account Is Teasing Something", "Listen to 2 songs from Gord Downie's final solo recording, Away is Mine", "New song Lustre Parfait offers sample of posthumous Gord Downie, Bob Rock album", "Gord Downie and Bob Rock's Collaborative Album Gets Release Date, New Single", "Gord Downie Chart History: Canadian Albums", "Future Releases on Triple A (AAA) Radio Stations", The referendum on the Charlottetown Accord, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gord_Downie&oldid=1141735018, Juno Award for Adult Alternative Album of the Year winners, Juno Award for Songwriter of the Year winners, Juno Award for Artist of the Year winners, Short description is different from Wikidata, All Wikipedia articles written in Canadian English, Pages using infobox musical artist with associated acts, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2019, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, "The Raven and the Red-Tailed Hawk" (2022), "Secret Path" (documentary and full animated film) (2016), This page was last edited on 26 February 2023, at 14:44. He was a board member of Lake Ontario Waterkeeper. There was no left turn in Downies career greater than his first solo album, 2001s Coke Machine Glow, compiled of songs his Hip bandmates had rejected and works culled from an accompanying book of poetry by the same namewhich set sales records in a corner of the publishing industry where 10,000 copies might as well be 100,000. What followed once the show hit the road, though, was a public outpouring that few could have predicted: a year of Downie transforming from an aging rock star to tragic hero. St. Joseph Communications uses cookies for personalization, to customize its online advertisements, and for other purposes. The Tragically Hip announced his diagnosis on their website on May 24, 2016. His subject matter was always broader than he was given credit for, but its easier for armchair academics to latch onto songs about hockey and a late-breaking story on the CBC; those topics werelow-hanging fruit in the dense forest of Downies imagination. In the latter part of the decade, he pushed the band to record two albums with Bob Rockwho produced albums by the likes of Metallica and Michael Bubleand he helped broaden the bands sonic palette. Gord knew this day was coming his response was to spend this precious time as he always had making music, making memories and expressing deep gratitude to his family and friends for a life well lived, often sealing it with a kiss on the lips. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential and popular artists in Canadian music history.[2]. What few knew in 2015, however, was that Downie and Usher had separated, promptingthe sale of the house. During their live shows, Downie would notably ad-lib lengthy stories in the middle of songs. [66] Most rock radio stations dropped regular programming to shift to an all-Tragically Hip format for the day,[67][68] and some further announced that they would continue the all-Hip format through the weekend until the morning of 23 October. Some Canadians, being a cautious bunch, flew from Ontario to B.C. Not surprisingly, Downie has cited all those as key influences, as well as David Byrne, Van Morrison and, yes, Jim Morrison; Downie sang a few Doors tunes . The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time [23] The venue was small and not typical of the band. GORD DOWNIE: (Singing) Sundown in the Paris of the prairie, wheat kings have all their treasures buried. As we move towards resolution and understanding and greater serenity in all aspects of our life, love's pretty elemental and that's nice to know. And all you hear are the rusty breezes pushing around weathervane Jesus. " [Gord] is the right person to tell the story," she says, "because the Creator chose him. Downie was not able to attend the ceremony due to his illness which had not yet been made public. No one worked harder on every part of their life than Gord. He says that watching it stirs a mixture of sadness and pride. Meanwhile,Secret Pathcomprised not just a record, but a graphic novel and animated film as well, all of which werebased on the tragic, but largely unknown, story of Chanie Wenjack, an indigenous 12-year-old boy who froze to death trying to escape the Cecilia Jeffrey Indian Residential School. As a musician, he lived the life for over 30 years, lucky to do most of it with his high school buddies. Over three decades, the Tragically Hip released 14 studio albums, the majority of which topped the Canadian album charts and were eventually certified Platinum (their first three LPs all went Diamond). Tragically Hip front-man Gord Downie's brother Patrick on why he and his brother Mike are working so hard to preserve the singer's legacy. At the end of their set that night, the whole place stood up and clapped and it was undeniable if you were in the room that night that this was something special.". It would turn out to be the last show of his bands 30-year, multi-million-selling, award-winning career, a fate many suspected at the time. The Idol: How HBOs Next Euphoria Became Twisted Torture Porn. Tragically Hip lead singer Gord Downie performs with band members Paul Langlois, Gord Sinclair, Johnny Fay and Rob Baker at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre to kick off the bands latest Man Machine Poem tour in light of Downies brain cancer diagnosis, in Victoria, B.C., Canada July 22, 2016. On Oct. 17, 2017, Gord Downie passed away from brain cancer at the age of 53 in Toronto. The remains of Bodie are being preserved in a state of arrested decay. He rarely granted interviews, and generally eschewed red-carpet jaunts for events like the Juno Awards. Everyone whose family has ever been cursed with cancer projected stories onto the tale of a man who chose to stare down a terminal diagnosis and take the show on the road. Our music is entirely different. Gord Downie was given sufficient time to pen his own obituary, and that is exactly how it should be. Hey all! Gord Downie is definitely in the tradition of great Canadian poets, Dickinson told the National Post in 2016. As soon as Mike told his brother about Chanie's story, he says Gord was transfixed and made it his purpose to bring it to Canadians. [25][26] The fund is a part of Downie's legacy and commitment to Canada's First Peoples. Yet, with the exception of certain, mostly border cities in the U.S. and pockets of support in western Europe, the Hip rarely made an impact outside Canada, continuing to play smaller venues like the House of Blues stateside while they sold out hockey arenas north of the border. Fans would often tear up at newly poignant lyrics written decades ago: "No dress rehearsal / This is our life" in Ahead by a Century and "I've got to go / It's been a pleasure doing business with you" in Scared. At home, he worked just as tirelessly at being a good father, son, brother, husband and friend. Its telling, though, that the album on which he makes the most Canadian referencesthe album on which one song starts with an actual loon callis also their most commercially successful: 1992s Fully Completely. As the Tragically Hip's lead singer and lyricist, Downie was the face and voice of a band whose discography sold more than eight million copies. Published Oct 20, 2017 Following Gord Downie 's passing on Tuesday (October 17), Canadians are still grieving the loss of their beloved Tragically Hip frontman. [78] 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. Gord was the fourth of five children: older siblings Mike, Charlyn and Paula, and younger brother Patrick. Bob Berg/Getty. "The Barenaked Ladies? Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell deserve to be read on the page just as often as you play their recordsbut they dont play rock music. She's trying to come to terms with the fact that, after decades of neglect, her brother's story is getting a national audience. As could anyone who watched him command 40,000 people at any given outdoor appearance during the 1990s, singing songs that were summer soundtracks for an entire generation. Video clips dont do justice to the energy in the room generated by a performer who communicated more with a flick of the finger than anyone elses high kicks. he asked an interviewer from the Toronto Sun. "In many ways, Mike is in the trenches, and I think that's really helped him cope with the pain. Gord knew this day was coming his response was to spend this precious time as he always had making music, making memories and expressing deep gratitude to his family and friends for a life well lived, often sealing it with a kiss on the lips. Tragically Hip frontman wants the story of Chanie Wenjack, an Indigenous boy who died running away from a residential school in northern Ontario, to be his legacy project, Gord Downie talks about cancer, his recent cross-country tour and why he's focusing on Indigenous issues, Tragically Hip singer addresses the crowd at Saturday's show in Kingston. 1. His words and lyrics spoke to everyone, coast to coast and across the miles. Lets not celebrate the last 150 years, Downie told a Toronto audience last October. Comments are welcome while open. That included only three live shows, in Toronto, Ottawa and Halifax, and appearances at the Ottawa WE Day event and Haydens Dream Serenade concert in Toronto. He was the son of Lorna (Neal) and Edgar Charles Downie, a travelling salesman, later a real estate broker and developer. Thank you for all the help and support over the past two years. His most famous Canadian collaborations are with Richard Terfry (better known as Buck 65), Dallas Green of City and Colour and Alexisonfire, the Sadies and Fucked Up. That song also features a line that sums up the way Gord Downie and his teenage friends built their career from the outset of its ascendancy: Sometimes the faster it gets, the less you need to know / but you gotta remember, the smarter it gets, the further its going to go.. Finding the Secret Path premieres . Create the spark. He died Tuesday night surrounded by his children and family, according to a statement on the band's website. (THE CANADIAN PRESS) Gord Downie, the Tragically Hip frontman who united a diverse array of music lovers with his commanding stage. The Hip, as they're often called, won 16 Juno awards (the most of any band) and received a raft of other honours, including the Order of Canada. The last 150 years arent as much worth celebrating as we think, Downie said. Downie died on October 17, 2017 at the age of 53. ", Mike says he hopes the film makes it clear that this idea, "meant a lot to this guy, he wasn't chasing causes around, this was really important. Tom Sizemore, Heat and Saving Private Ryan Actor, Dead at 61 Downie could at least boast that he had a family connection to hockey royalty, in Sinden. This was all a red (and white) herring: There are likely as many American references as Canadian ones in Tragically Hip songs, and Downie never threw darts at a map of Canada for song ideas, nor did he seek to set Heritage Minutes to music. In front of an intimate crowd of 6,700 inside Kingston's K-Rock Centre, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Downie thanked the audience "for keeping me pushing" and used the opportunity to call for action on Indigenous issues. On that summer night in Kingston, the set list dipped back to the Hips first hit single, Blow at High Dough, the one that opens with the line: They shot a movie once, in my hometown. His movie, our hometowns: Downies lyrics imbued Canadas music scene with mystery and magic and presented it, poetically, to a wide mainstream audience. "Patrick and I are comfortable with the word legacy. I think rock 'n' roll is the same. [52] 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, and some of the tracks feature Usher performing with a guitar that had once belonged to Downie. We reserve the right to close comments at any time. Last night Gord quietly passed away with his beloved children and family close by. Wenjack was to 2016 what Syrian refugee Alan Kurdi was to 2015: a tragic symbol who launched a Canadian conversation about compassion and collective reckoning. The 23-song double album is due out Oct. 27, 2017, and is expected to be released posthumously by the Canadian label Arts & Crafts. The Downie residence was the only one where the Hips gold record was nowhere to be seen; the elder Downies couldnt remember the name of his high-school punk band. He eventually joined a band that did punk covers, and was in a group called the Filters. We would like to thank all the kind folks at KGH and Sunnybrook, Gord's bandmates, management team, friends and fans. The 100 Best Albums of 2022, Speaking with The New York Times around the bands final show, Broken Social Scenes Kevin Drew summed up the Tragically Hips influence: Were a country that hasnt really embraced its history just yet. It's not very pleasant, but don't look away,' you know? He was transfixed by Chanie Wenjack, a 12-year-old Anishinaabe residential school student who died of hunger and exhaustion while trying to walk 600 km home to his family. By 2016, when he released his Secret Path project to address the legacy of residential schools, he decided that his celebrity was now his best asset: he knew he had the countrys attention after the Hips farewell tour, and the reluctant nationalist used it to focus specifically on an issue he felt was a glaring stain that could not be washed out of Canadas history. Gord Downie passed away a year ago on October 17, 2017. . ", Audience Relations, CBC P.O. "That's kind of our job, to make sure that it's in place going forward, because I do think that he had an oversized impact on this country. Following the release of Man Machine Poem and the Tragically Hips final concert, Downie continued to work. [citation needed]. Cate Blanchett Suits Up and Gets Down in Sparks New Music Video, Taylor Swift Plots a Seventies Powder Party (Not That Kind) in Lavender Haze Behind-the-Scenes Video, Miley Cyrus Reviving the Backyard Sessions for Endless Summer Vacation Special, SST Records Producer Glen Spot Lockett Dead at 72, Glastonbury Co-Organizer Promises Female Headliners in 2024 After All-Male Top Billing This Year, There Were Sidemen. As their popularity in Canada grew, the Tragically Hip seemed primed to cross over in America, especially during alternative rocks Nineties heyday. "Then for him to say, 'Look at this, this is our country too. It's not easy and, what can you say, there's a lot of pain without really going back and digging it up.". The Bodie Group is composed of five patented claims and 224.45 acres under mineral prospecting lease from the State of Washington. To testify one more time. It was a moment that helped Gord finally get at something that had been nagging at him for years. Memorial has been sponsored successfully. By 2004, he'd clearly grown tired of the question. There were a few others there, though, most of whom knew enough to respect the privacy of the cancer-stricken man who had travelled hundreds of kilometres to disappear. He died on October 17, 2017 in Toronto, Ontario. [32], In December 2017, Percy Hatfield, the Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) representing WindsorTecumseh introduced the bill Poet Laureate of Ontario Act In Memory of Gord Downie to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. At home, he worked just as tirelessly at being a good father, son, brother, husband and friend. [11][12] Interiors remain as they were left and in some cases stocked with goods. The band's propulsive, muscular rock, coupled with intense live performances and Downie's cryptic, literary lyrics, allowed the band to attract a diverse fan base that included party animals and armchair philosophers alike. Visitors walk the deserted streets of a town that once had a population between 7,000 and 8,000 people. Gordon Downie (known widely as Gord Downie) was born in Amherstview, Ontario, and raised in Kingston, Ontario, along with his brothers Mike and Patrick, and sisters Charlyn and Paula. Gord said he had lived many lives. Four of those five young men played their first gig as the Tragically Hip in November 1984, in a small white room at the Kingston Artists Association. when she met a 23-year-old Downie, who was just getting started with the Hip, playing mostly university gigs.. In his last year, while living with his own tragic story of terminal cancer, singer Gord Downie was consumed by another. 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. Now, one year later, Gord's brothers take us through his final year full of passion and emotion, and share what it was like to be right by his side the entire way. [25] Chanie Wenjack was a young indigenous boy who died trying to escape a residential school,[27] who became the centre of Downie's Secret Path project. In 2014, Downie released an album with the Sadies called And the Conquering Sun. The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time Brad Wheeler tells his. He stoked the fire until sparks came out. He called concert touring "grunt work," and talked about building the fan base one person at a time. "I think my body's giving subtext and with my voice I'll give you the confines of my heart, which is illegible," he told CBC in 1999. He delivered frenetic dance moves or stream-of-consciousness rants in ways that suggested he was channelling the music. Gord Downie's brother Mike describes what the Tragically Hip's front-man went through to keep pushing his projects ahead during his final struggle with a terminal brain tumour. Our identity and culture are richer because of his music, which was always raw and honest like Gord himself. The group said they were "humbled" with the award. 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. It was a Terry Fox story with a twist: a story where the protagonist completes his goal before the disease gets the better of him. I am planning a trip to Kingston, Ontario in the next few days and was hoping to find a site to pay my respects to Gord. [40], At the 6th Canadian Screen Awards in 2018, Downie posthumously won two Canadian Screen Awards for the television version of Secret Path. No other act of the day was embraced with the fervour and frenzy that Hip fans displayed toward Downie as a performer, but it was his lyrics that inflamed his fans. During his final months, Downie chose to say goodbye in his own unique wayand he let fans bid the beloved band farewell, too. We want to hear it. [53], Downie was the godson of Harry Sinden, a former hockey coach, general manager and president of the Boston Bruins. Tragically Hip's Gord Downie dead at 53 | CBC News Loaded. The band also earned 16 Juno Awards the most ever for a band and the fourth-most ever for an artist picking up their last two in April for Group of the Year and Rock Album of the Year for Man Machine Poem. Downie was reluctant at first; he told the Toronto Star he felt like a dilettante. The band won its first Juno (Most Promising Group) on the strength of that album and solidified its hold on the Canadian music scene with the next three albums: 1991's Road Apples, 1992's Fully Completely and 1994's Day for Night, all of which went multi-platinum or diamond. His death was announced on the Tragically Hip website, stating quote: Last night Gord quietly passed away with his beloved children and family close by. But music was his first love. At the Juno Awards of 2018, the album won the Juno Award for Adult Alternative Album of the Year, Downie and Drew won Songwriter of the Year for "A Natural", "Introduce Yerself" and "The North",[47] and Downie won the Artist of the Year. Gordon R Downie (1899-1943) - Find a Grave Memorial Born in 1899 and died in 13 Oct 1943 Winnipeg, Manitoba Gordon R Downie Skip to main content Home Memorials Cemeteries Famous Contribute Register Sign In Register Sign In Memorial updated successfully. Though they were lumped together because of their work on Indigenous issuesMaracles work on which, of course, far outstretched Downies more recent foraymany wondered if the timing had more to do with health concerns. ~ MacKenzie Wilson HOMETOWN Amherstview, Ontario, Canada BORN February 6, 1964 Similar Artists Gord Downie & The Country of Miracles The Tragically Hip Hayden Joel Plaskett Rheostatics Dan Mangan Matthew Good Matt Mays Arkells Wintersleep They were too traditional and aspirational to be punk or alternative, and yet they were raw enough that they immediately stood out on any mainstream radio playlist. He was on a fishing trip. [77], 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. Post navigation [73], In the wake of Downie's death, CTV rescheduled the planned broadcast premiere of Long Time Running, a documentary film by Jennifer Baichwal and Nicholas de Pencier about the Man Machine Poem Tour of 2016, from November 12 to October 20. Do the work. CBC Television broadcast his solo Roy Thomson Hall concert of Secret Path on October 22. [1] [54] [55] 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: [54] Outside his work with the band, Downie released five solo albums his first, Coke Machine Glow, arrived in 2001 and collaborated with an array of artists including Buck 65, Fucked Up, Dallas Green, Alexisonfire and the Sadies. Gord, I always wanted to ask you: how do you get the energy to make it so real every day? Then sit back and see what happens, because its not like you can control it. His death was announced in a statement from his family . Downie was born on Feb. 6, 1964, in Amherstview, Ont., just slightly west of Kingston, to Lorna and Edgar, a travelling salesman turned real estate developer. But the new 150 years can be years of building an actual nation. Colin James is also featured in the episode. Roy Tee/Hollandse Hoogte/Redux Gord Downie, the lead singer for the beloved Canadian alt-rock. He was also a dedicated activist, focusing on environmental issues and the disenfranchisement of Canadas indigenous community. 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 at a singles dance. 'Just seeing all those unguarded, real moments with Gord, that always just, that always gets me.'. Tragically Hip: Canada Waves Goodbye to a National Treasure. Though he clearly relished his role on stage, Downies approach to celebrity was always tenuous. The man slumped a bit. I know an 85-year-old with boy trouble. At the Assembly of First Nations in Gatineau, Quebec, on December6, 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. [18] This marked his last public appearance before his death. Anyone who managed to catch him fronting the Tragically Hip in 1985, playing covers at a roadhouse in Renfrew, Ont., could tell you that. Shut up until its time to do it again. When search suggestions are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. Even when he stepped outside the Tragically Hip, Gord Downie loved to make rock records, first and foremost. "For me, it's not as easy. Over more than thirty years and across fourteen studio albums, Downie and his band of brothers built a legacy as the essential Canadian rock band. It's the . Record sales and radio play declined, though never precipitously enough to render the band irrelevant. [34][35] Doctors at Toronto's Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre confirmed the same day that it was a glioblastoma, which had responded favourably to radiation and chemotherapy treatment but was not curable. Gord was the fourth of five children . [29], In May 2016, Downie and his bandmates received honorary degrees from Queen's University. Gord was my friend, but Gord was everyone's friend, it's who we were, our buddy Gord, who loved this country with everything he had." "He loved every hidden corner, every story, every aspect of this country that he celebrated his whole life." "We are less as a country without Gord Downie in it." It shouldnt have surprised us. Audience Relations, CBC P.O. [20] With Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, Downie helped work on a cause to prevent a cement company from burning tires for fuel. I think thats all part of what appeals to Canadian fans. Downie also appears in the Trailer Park Boys movie The Big Dirty, in which he and Alex Lifeson play a pair of police officers. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in attendance and the Toronto Police Department summed up the events magnitude with a simple tweet: Dear world, Please be advised that Canada will be closed tonight at 8:30 p.m. Have a #TragicallyHip day.. His godfather was future Boston Bruins coach and general manager Harry Sinden, and Downie enjoyed the national pastime as both a die-hard Bruins fan and a goalie who took his B-level team to a provincial championship. "His main focus was the release of Secret Path," says Gord's brother, Patrick Downie.