Peter Liba, longtime executive at CanWest Global and former lieutenant governor of Manitoba, died early Thursday morning at his family’s summer house near Clearwater Bay, ON. He was 67.

Liba was for many years executive director of corporate affairs at CanWest, a job he left in 1999 for his political post. He returned to the company in 2005 as chairman of CanWest MediaWorks Income Fund — which holds a minority stake in CanWest’s newspapers and websites, and which is in the course of being privatized.

‘Manitobans, and indeed Canadians, have lost a truly great man,’ said CanWest CEO and president Leonard Asper in a statement, calling him ‘a pillar on which CanWest Global was founded.’

Though described as sudden, the cause of death has not been revealed. According to one report, Liba may have experienced heart trouble during a hospital stay in April for knee surgery.

He is survived by his wife, Shirley, and three grown children.