Former Newfoundland Conservative MP and provincial cabinet minister John Lundrigan is dead at the age of 70. Lundrigan represented the riding of Gander-Twillingate in the House of Commons from 1968 to 1974. He was also elected to the provincial legislature in 1975 and served in various cabinet portfolios before retiring from politics in 1979. “Mr. Lundrigan was a dynamic Newfoundlander and Labradorian who held a strong belief in service to his fellow citizens,” said Premier Danny Williams in a release Thursday. “As a Member of Parliament, and later as a Member of the House of Assembly, he made a great, and often colourful, contribution to the political discourse in this province and country.” Lundrigan is perhaps best known, for prompting then prime minister Pierre Trudeau to utter his famous “fuddle duddle” comment. A funeral is scheduled for Sunday at St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Upper Island Cove. What follows is the complete statement from the Prime Minister: The Honourable Danny Williams, premier of Newfoundland and Labrador expressed his condolences on the passing of former MP and MHA John Lundrigan. “Mr. Lundrigan was a dynamic Newfoundlander and Labradorian who held a strong belief in service to his fellow citizens,” said Premier Williams. “As a member of Parliament, and later as a member of the House of Assembly, he made a great, and often colourful, contribution to the political discourse in this province and country.” John Lundrigan served as the Progressive Conservative member of Parliament for the district of Gander-Twillingate from 1968 to 1974. While in Ottawa, he served as the Opposition critic for Employment, and Employment and Immigration, and on numerous parliamentary committees. After his election as the Member of the House of Assembly for Grand Falls-Buchans in 1975, he served as the Minister of Industrial Development, Minister of Rural Development, and Minister of Public Works and Services, in the government of Premier Frank Moores. He retired from provincial politics in 1979. In his private life, Mr. Lundrigan had been a businessman and a teacher. “On behalf of the people and government of Newfoundland and Labrador, I extend my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Mr. John Lundrigan,” added Premier Williams. “He will long be remembered for his many contributions to the people of the province.” Source. Government Press Release