Members of the public are reflected in a portrait as they sign a book of condolences at the state memorial service for former Alberta premier Peter Lougheed in Calgary, Alta., Friday, Sept. 21, 2012.Jeff McIntosh/The Canadian Press
"He exploded all the categories. He was exemplary, he really was, in all that he ever did. In the case of Peter Lougheed, the language of tribute, or the language of eulogy, is only the language of bare description. When other public men die, we have to lie about them. This man is such an assembly of obvious, salient virtues, and he conducted a life of such superb decorum and dignity, that it truly is – I know it's almost a saying of these things – it truly is us that are receiving the tribute."
– Rex Murphy, who called Mr. Lougheed "the greatest premier this country has ever seen."
"He is the architect of the province that we all call home. Every single one of us woke up this morning in Peter Lougheed's Alberta. It was the Alberta of which he dreamed, and it was the dream he was able to make real."
– Alberta Premier Alison Redford
"I'll remember him as the leader who modernized Alberta and took us to the national stage as an equal player. I'll remember him as a statesman, one of the last great statesmen."
– Jim Dinning, former Alberta treasurer and long-time friend of Mr. Lougheed
"Peter Lougheed took a moribund party, and in a few short years, led it to a majority government. Followed by three more majority governments, all by simply astronomical margins. Now, for those of us who like strong, stable, majority Conservative governments, that is reason enough to call Peter Lougheed a great man. But I do so for reasons that are much deeper and much more significant."
– Prime Minister Stephen Harper
"I phoned him and said, would he meet? … He said, 'I will come. I don't know if you can afford my consultation fee.' I said, 'What's your consultation fee?' He said, 'It's a steak sandwich.' I think maybe it was the best value steak sandwich Saskatchewan ever bought for anybody."
– Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall, speaking of the time Mr. Lougheed advised him on dealing with his province's rapid growth.
"He was very significant for me in my life when I became leader of the federal Progressive Conservative Party after the debacle of 1993 and I asked for his advice. … Here was this giant of a leader who was respected throughout the country giving his time and his advice and energy to the leader of a party of two."
– Jean Charest, former federal Progressive Conservative Party leader and former Quebec premier
"My dad, I know, is and would be truly humbled and honoured for the tributes that continue today. … We will all miss him tremendously, but we will also continue to reminisce and remember him fondly and take into the future the lessons that we have learned from him. "
– Stephen Lougheed, son
"Jeanne [Mr. Lougheed's wife] came across to my table [during breakfast one morning]. I was 24, 25. She had a big smile on her face. She said, 'Joe, you're slouching at the table. You've got to sit up straight.' And I thought, I am a member of this family and I felt that about Peter, and about Jeanne and about the clan, particularly in those days. Everyone says he's a mentor and a model. He was to me, too. But he was an includer. I was a youngster and he brought me in, treated me with respect, drew some of my talents out of me."
– Former Progressive Conservative prime minister Joe Clark, who helped organize political campaigns early in Mr. Lougheed's career