[Margaret Thatcher] will forever command my respect and admiration, not only for her leadership in the UK, but for her leadership on global matters. - death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher

With the passing of Baroness Thatcher, the world has lost a giant among leaders. While many in positions of power are defined by the times in which they govern, Margaret Thatcher had that rarest of abilities to herself personify and define the age in which she served. Indeed, with the success of her economic policies, she defined contemporary conservatism itself. Her greatest achievements however, were surely on the world stage. Along with the late U.S. President Ronald Reagan, and His Holiness Pope John Paul II, she played a key role in the fall of the USSR. The era of peace and prosperity that followed the end of the Cold War must therefore rank as one of her great and lasting gifts to this generation. Lady Thatcher’s leadership in time of conflict and during the generous peace she helped bring forth, was an example to the world. As a result, millions now live with the dignity and freedom that she envisioned for them, during the darkest moments of the post-war years. I recall with pride her eloquent portrayal of the philosophical groundings of the principles that have - and I hope forever will - unite the British and Canadian peoples.

Mrs. Thatcher was a powerful politician who will be remembered by many for the destructive and divisive policies she reigned over which in the end, even in the Tory party, proved to be her downfall. Her legacy involves the destruction of communities, the elevation of personal greed over social values and legitimizing the exploitation of the weak by the strong.

Very few political leaders are able to lend their name to an era. Margaret Thatcher was able to do that. We all know that there’s such a thing as Thatcherism which represents a set of values, a set of perspectives, a set of policy positions which she espoused, promoted and fought for. Now you can have your own opinions as to the virtues or the vices of that world outlook but the fact is that it exists, and for as long as she was in active politics, it was impossible to ignore her.