The death of Montreal Canadiens legend Ken Dryden resonated with political circles on Saturday, leaving his mark as a longtime member of Congress and a former Liberal Party minister.
The Montreal Canadiens organization announced Dryden's death shortly after 12:30am on Saturday. He passed away on Friday at the age of 78 after a fight with cancer.
Dryden left the Toronto Maple Leafs organization and ran the federal government for the Liberals of Canada in 2004 and was elected at York Centre Toronto Riding.
He was appointed Minister of Social Development in the Cabinet of former Prime Minister Paul Martin. His former chief of staff tells the Canadian press that his curiosity and comfort with others helped him navigate the political world.
“Many people would have commented that he appears to be a fish out of the water (as an MP), but I'm starting to think that it's probably a different water, not a fish,” Mark Watton said.
“He was really interested in everyone he met, including his colleagues around the cabinet table, his staff, his council colleagues, his advocates or members he meets, or others.”
Watton said the insatiable curiosity that Dryden made him stand out.
“He was most passionate about the issues of social policy that we were before him as Minister of Social Development, but he was really interested in everything else around the cabinet table,” Watton said.
Dryden was expelled from the liberals in 2006, bid for open liberal leadership at Martin's departure, and when he finally lost he got on to the York Centre in Toronto, grabbing his seat.
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Former Ottawa spokesman Lise Jolicoeur later said he would continue to work on Dryden's leadership bid, recalling two instances in which his humanity and decency stood out during his interactions with her.
During the Martin government, a colleague said Dryden wanted to talk to her after the questioning period. She was undergoing colon cancer treatment at the time.
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“And Is Ken Dryden wanting to personally tell me? Is that so? That was odd that ministers would ask the spokesperson to chat,” recalled Jolicall.
He came to ask specifically about her cancer fight.
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“The fact that he took the time is merely telling you that he was a busy person, he was in politics, he was about to end his childcare contract.
“But he took the time to notice me and talk to me about it.
Jolicoeur served the spokesman for Dryden's leadership bid and was to fight ovarian cancer during the campaign. When he crossed the country during his bid, he made sure to reserve time to visit her at the hospital during Ottawa stops. It was dryden like him.
“In every conversation you had with that guy, it was always about you. You're talking to this hero, a Canadian legend, and he didn't make you feel that way. He always wanted to know you.”
Dryden won a federal seat again in 2008, but lost to conservatives in 2011.
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Prime Minister Mark Kearney paid tribute to Dryden: “Canadian hockey legends and hall of fame, civil servants and inspiration.”
“When he returned to college at the height of his playing career, he was taught the importance of life balance. His post-hockey career showed the value of public service,” Carney said.
“There were few Canadians who gave more or got taller for our country.
“Ken Dryden was Canada's big, and he was Canada's best,” Carney added.
Pablo Rodriguez, a former Montreal liberal MP, was elected the same year as Dryden and remembered Dryden as an exceptional, deep human individual.
“Ken was a giant on every level,” Rodriguez, now the leader of Quebec's liberal party, in an interview.
“He was a giant on the ice, but he was 6 feet 4 and physically huge like the type of person you don't want to be behind the picture. But he was very kind and kind.
Intergovernmental Minister Dominic LeBlanc recalls how the legendary netminder and hockey icon became his Caucus colleague and minister, defending policies such as early learning and childcare.
“I will also never forget the moment he stood up to speak in the House of Representatives, sitting at the desk in front of me,” LeBlanc said at X.
In Quebec and Montreal, where Dryden was a local legend, Quebec Prime Minister François Legault also paid tribute.
“Like millions of Quebecause, I grew up praising Ken Dryden,” Legault wrote to X.
The report, which was first published on September 6, 2025, by Canadian report.
– Uses files from Audrey Sanicopoulos from Montreal.
& Copy 2025 Canada Report