Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II - Canada

Canada

Her Majesty The Queen of Canada has been unfalteringly by our side to celebrate our successes and to help us to grow together. Fifty years after her Accession to the Throne, Elizabeth II remains a symbol of continuity, stability and tradition in a world that is under a barrage of constant change. That is why Canadians are proud to celebrate the Golden Jubilee.

Sheila Copps, Minister of Canadian Heritage, 2002

Throughout the year, events were held across Canada to mark the jubilee, such as the Jubilee Levée held by Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Lois Hole, which was attended by more than 4,000 Albertans and at which Hole stated: "what we want to realize is how important the monarchy is to Canada and certainly to Alberta."

For 12 days in October 2002, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh toured Canada, making stops in Victoria, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Toronto, Hamilton, Hull, Fredericton, Sussex, Moncton, and Ottawa. The trip was also unique in that it was the first royal visit to the new territory of Nunavut, where the royal couple made their first Canadian stop in Iqaluit. There, on 4 October, the Queen opened and addressed the new legislative assembly, stating in her speech: "I am proud to be the first member of the Canadian Royal Family to be greeted in Canada's newest territory." After a walk-about through Iqaluit, the Queen unveiled one of the street signs on the town's main thoroughfare, which had been renamed in her honour.

From Nunavut, the royal party flew to Victoria, where the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh were received by the province's lieutenant governor. Saturday was spent at a private retreat and, on the Sunday, the Queen attended religious services at Christ Church Cathedral, performed an unscheduled walk-about after the sermon, and travelled to the provincial parliament building to unveil a stained glass window commemorating the Golden Jubilee. Once Her Majesty was outside of the legislature, the Snowbirds performed an acrobatic fly-by for the sovereign and a gathered audience of some 16,000.

In Vancouver, on 6 October, the Queen, accompanied by Wayne Gretzky, and in front of a crowd of 18,000 at General Motors Place, dropped the ceremonial first puck for the National Hockey League exhibition game between the Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks; this was the first time any reigning monarch, Canadian or otherwise, had performed the task. The Queen and the Duke then watched the first period of the game from the royal box—the first time they had done so since their first hockey game at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1951. Premier Gordon Campbell said during the visit: "Your Majesty, much as the world has changed in the last 50 years, one thing has always remained constant – the sincere affection between the people of British Columbia and their Queen."

The couple was next in Saskatchewan, unveiling on the grounds of the provincial parliament the product of the Golden Jubilee Statue Project: a bronze equestrian statue of the Queen riding Burmese, a horse gifted in 1969 to the Queen by the RCMP. In Winnipeg, Manitoba, the Queen performed a walk-about at The Forks, re-dedicated the newly restored Golden Boy statue atop the Manitoba Legislative Building, and attended an evening performance of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, accompanied by the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and Loreena McKennitt.

Her Majesty and His Royal Highness were on 9 October welcomed to Ontario by the lieutenant governor and thousands onlookers in Toronto, and, that evening, appeared at a festival, mounted at Exhibition Place, highlighting the advance of the province over the previous five decades. After a day of relaxation, the Queen then ventured to Sheridan College, to view students learning computer animation, and Hamilton, where at Copps Coliseum she, as their colonel-in-chief, presented the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders of Canada with their new Colours. Rejoined by her husband, Elizabeth attended at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's Toronto headquarters an event marking the organisation's 50th anniversary; there, she viewed exhibits and was amused by a video display showing her earlier tours of Canada in the 1950s. Finally, the royal couple were in the audience at Roy Thomson Hall for a gala concert of Canadian talent, including Oscar Peterson, Evelyn Hart, Rex Harrington, Cirque du Soleil, The Tragically Hip, and others. At the same time, the Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council named a park near Gravenhurst as the Queen Elizabeth II Wildlands Provincial Park and created the Ontario Golden Jubilee Award for Civilian Bravery.

As the tour continued on to the maritime provinces, the royal party arrived at Government House in Fredericton, New Brunswick, where they were welcomed by thousands. The stop in this province was brief, however—only 25 hours in total—with the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh flying by helicopter the following morning from Fredericton to Sussex and then on to Moncton, where they attended a luncheon in Dieppe to celebrate the town's 50th anniversary and officially opened a new terminal at Greater Moncton International Airport.

From the east coast the royal couple flew westwards again to the national capital, Ottawa, to be greeted there by Deputy Prime Minister John Manley, who had earlier, on the day of the Queen's arrival in Canada, caused controversy by stating Canada should become a republic. The day following, 13 October, a multi-faith Thanksgiving celebration was held on Parliament Hill for about 3,500 people, and the Queen laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. A state dinner was held that evening at the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec, at which Her Majesty said: " to express my profound gratitude to all Canadians... for the loyalty, encouragement and support you have given to me over these past 50 years." As her motorcade passed across the Ottawa River into Quebec, about 100 protesters yelled obscenities at the Queen in French, waving Quebec flags and chanting "We want a country, not a monarchy"; it was the only protest during the jubilee tour of Canada.

On the last full day of the tour, the Queen, as Honorary Commissioner, watched a performance of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police's Musical Ride before moving to her final major event in Canada: a lunch at Rideau Hall for fifty distinguished Canadians—one from each year of Elizabeth's reign. The Queen also planted another tree on the grounds of her Canadian residence, and met with members of the Royal Commonwealth Society. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh then departed Canada on 15 October.