1939 royal tour of Canada - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The 1939 royal tour of Canada was a cross-Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

royal tour by King George VI

George VI of the United Kingdom

George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...

and Queen Elizabeth. It was the first visit of a reigning monarch to Canada. It began May 17, 1939 and saw the royal couple visit every Canadian province as well as the United States and the Dominion of Newfoundland

Dominion of Newfoundland

The Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...

. The tour was an enormous event, attracting huge crowds at each new city.

The royals arrived in Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

city, and travelled west by rail through the country, visiting most of the major cities and finally arriving in Vancouver. Then they travelled through the United States, along with Prime Minister Mackenzie King. The tour ended with a visit to the Maritimes and Newfoundland, departing from Halifax.

This tour marked the first time that the sovereign's official Canadian birthday

Victoria Day

Victoria Day is a federal Canadian public holiday celebrated on the last Monday before May 25, in honour of Queen Victoria's birthday. The date is also, simultaneously, that on which the current reigning Canadian sovereign's official birthday is recognized...

was marked with the monarch himself present in the country; the occasion was marked on Parliament Hill

Parliament Hill

Parliament Hill , colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. Its Gothic revival suite of buildingsthe parliament buildings serves as the home of the Parliament of Canada and contains a number of architectural...

with a celebration and a Trooping of the Colour

Trooping the Colour

Trooping the Colour is a ceremony performed by regiments of the British and the Commonwealth armies. It has been a tradition of British infantry regiments since the 17th century, although the roots go back much earlier. On battlefields, a regiment's colours, or flags, were used as rallying points...

. In 1985, during a tour of Canada, Queen Elizabeth, by then the Queen Mother

Queen mother

Queen Mother is a title or position reserved for a widowed queen consort whose son or daughter from that marriage is the reigning monarch. The term has been used in English since at least 1577...

, stated in a speech: "It is now some 46 years since I first came to this country with the King, in those anxious days shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War. I shall always look back upon that visit with feelings of affection and happiness. I think I lost my heart to Canada and Canadians, and my feelings have not changed with the passage of time."

Arrival in Quebec

Governor General Buchan

John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir

John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir was a Scottish novelist, historian and Unionist politician who served as Governor General of Canada, the 15th since Canadian Confederation....

, in an effort to foster Canadian identity

Canadian identity

Canadian identity refers to the set of characteristics and symbols that many Canadians regard as expressing their unique place and role in the world....

, conceived of a royal tour by the country's monarchs; an idea that the official royal visit historian, Gustave Lanctot

Gustave Lanctot

Gustave Lanctot, OC, FRSC, also spelled Gustave Lanctôt, was a Canadian historian and archivist.Born in Saint-Constant, Quebec, he studied law at Université de Montréal and was called to the Quebec Bar in 1907. A Rhodes Scholar, he studied political science and history from 1909 to 1911 while at...

, opined in his official account of the visit, "probably grew out of the knowledge that at his coming Coronation, George VI

George VI of the United Kingdom

George VI was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until his death...

was to assume the additional title of King of Canada." Tweedsmuir's desire was to demonstrate with living example the fact of Canada's status as an independent kingdom, having Canadians "see their King performing royal functions, supported by his Canadian ministers

Minister of the Crown

Minister of the Crown is the formal constitutional term used in the Commonwealth realms to describe a minister to the reigning sovereign. The term indicates that the minister serves at His/Her Majesty's pleasure, and advises the monarch, or viceroy, on how to exercise the Crown prerogatives...

." Prime Minister Mackenzie King, while in London for the coronation in May 1937, formally consulted with the King on the matter. According to biographer J. A. Smith, the task for Tweedsmuir, and the Canadian government

Government of Canada

The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...

, was "how to translate the Statute of Westminster into the actualities of a tour... since this was the first visit of a reigning monarch to a Dominion

Dominion

A dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of autonomous polities that were nominally under British sovereignty, constituting the British Empire and British Commonwealth, beginning in the latter part of the 19th century. They have included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland,...

, and precedents were being made. According to the official Royal Tour historian Gustave Lanctot

Gustave Lanctot

, George VI was to be present in Canada as a living example of Canada's status as an independent kingdom.

The arrangements were made and on 17 May 1939, King George VI and his royal consort, Queen Elizabeth arrived for their tour of Canada on board the Canadian Pacific

Canadian Pacific Limited

Canadian Pacific Limited was created in 1971 to own properties formerly owned by Canadian Pacific Railway, a transportation and mining giant in Canada...

liner

Ocean liner

An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...

RMS Empress of Australia; the reception at Quebec City

Quebec City

Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...

, where they landed, Trois-Rivières

Trois-Rivières, Quebec

Trois-Rivières is a city in the Mauricie region of Quebec, Canada, located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence Rivers. It is situated in the Mauricie administrative region, on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River across from the city of Bécancour...

and Montreal

Montreal

Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...

were positive beyond expectations, and the King impressed Quebeckers when he responded to the welcoming remarks in French. Their Majesties took up residence at La Citadelle, where the King performed his first official tasks, amongst which was the acceptance of Daniel Calhoun Roper

Daniel Calhoun Roper

Daniel Calhoun Roper was a U.S. administrator, particularly under President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, born in Marlboro County, South Carolina...

as the American envoy

Diplomacy

Diplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states...

to Canada. The King also held audience with Quebecers in the Legislative Council

Legislative Council of Quebec

From 1867 until 1968, the Legislative Council of Quebec was the unelected upper house of the bicameral legislature in the Canadian province of Quebec...

chamber of the Legislative Assembly Building

National Assembly of Quebec

The National Assembly of Quebec is the legislative body of the Province of Quebec. The Lieutenant Governor and the National Assembly compose the Parliament of Quebec, which operates in a fashion similar to those of other British-style parliamentary systems.The National Assembly was formerly the...

. Two Boer War

Boer War

The Boer Wars were two wars fought between the British Empire and the two independent Boer republics, the Oranje Vrijstaat and the Republiek van Transvaal ....

veterans of Scottish heritage, in order to settle an argument, asked the Queen when presented to her: "Are you Scots, or are you English?" Elizabeth's response was reported as being: "Since I have landed in Quebec, I think we can say that I am Canadian."

Ottawa and Toronto

The royal party travelled to Ottawa on May 20, where the Queen laid the cornerstone of the Supreme Court building

Supreme Court of Canada

The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...

, the King dedicated the National War Memorial

National War Memorial (Canada)

The National War Memorial , is a tall granite cenotaph with acreted bronze sculptures, that stands in Confederation Square, Ottawa, and serves as the federal war memorial for Canada....

in front of 10,000 war veterans, amongst whom the Queen requested she be able to walk, and the couple went to parliament

Parliament of Canada

The Parliament of Canada is the federal legislative branch of Canada, seated at Parliament Hill in the national capital, Ottawa. Formally, the body consists of the Canadian monarch—represented by her governor general—the Senate, and the House of Commons, each element having its own officers and...

. There, the King personally granted the Royal Assent

Royal Assent

The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...

to nine bills in the traditional manner which was still being used in Canada at the time - in the United Kingdom, the Royal Assent has not been granted by the Sovereign in person since 1854. Following the ceremony, His Majesty stated: "No ceremony could more completely symbolise the free and equal association of the nations of the Commonwealth." After two days in Ottawa, the royal couple began travelling westward.

The couple travelled to Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

on May 22 where they attended the Queen's Plate

Queen's Plate

The Queen's Plate is Canada's oldest thoroughbred horse race. It is run at a distance of 1¼ miles for 3-year-old thoroughbred horses foaled in Canada. The race takes place each summer in June or July at Woodbine Racetrack, Etobicoke , Ontario...

, dedicated the soon-to-be completed Rainbow Bridge

Rainbow Bridge (Niagara Falls)

The Rainbow Bridge at Niagara Falls is an international steel arch bridge across the Niagara River gorge, and is a world-famous tourist site. It connects the cities of Niagara Falls, New York, United States , and Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada .-Construction:The Rainbow Bridge was built near the...

, and unveiled a monument at the site to mark the occasion. They also inaugurated the Queen Elizabeth Way

Queen Elizabeth Way

The Queen Elizabeth Way, commonly abbreviated as the QEW, is a 400-Series highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. The freeway links Buffalo, New York and the Niagara Peninsula with Toronto. It begins at the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie and travels around the western shore of Lake Ontario, ending...

, which was named for George's royal consort, as well as various monuments along the route, including a set of decorative stone pillars on the eastern approach to the Henley Bridge in St. Catharines

St. Catharines, Ontario

St. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in Ontario, Canada, with 97.11 square kilometres of land...

, each consisting of a regal lion bearing a unique shield, and the Queen Elizabeth Way Monument

Queen Elizabeth Way Monument

The Queen Elizabeth Way Monument, also known as the Lion Monument and as the Loring Lion, is a memorial originally located at the Toronto end of the Queen Elizabeth Way . The monument was designed by architect W.I...

, which had inscribed on its base words prophetically referring to the hostilities that would break out later that year

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

"The Queen Elizabeth Way was opened by the King and Queen in June, 1939, marking the first visit of a reigning sovereign to a sister Dominion of the Empire. The courage and resolution of Their Majesties in undertaking the royal visit in face of imminent war have inspired the people of this province to complete this work in the Empire's darkest hour, in full confidence of victory and a lasting peace."

Westward leg

The Royal Train was operated by Canadian Pacific Railway

Canadian Pacific Railway

The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...

on the western leg of the tour and the couple continued to be greeted by throngs of Canadians, even in the immigrant-rich but Depression

Great Depression in Canada

Canada was hit hard by the Great Depression. Between 1929 and 1939, the gross national product dropped 40% . Unemployment reached 27% at the depth of the Depression in 1933...

battered Prairies.

The couple visited Winnipeg and Brandon

Brandon, Manitoba

Brandon is the second largest city in Manitoba, Canada, and is located in the southwestern area of the province. Brandon is the largest city in the Westman region of Manitoba. The city is located along the Assiniboine River. Spruce Woods Provincial Park and CFB Shilo are a relatively short distance...

on May 24. Upon their arrival in Winnipeg, on the King's official birthday

Victoria Day

, the royal couple was greeted by an estimated 100,000 people (including several thousand Americans), and, to allow them all a view of himself and the Queen, His Majesty requested that the convertible roof of their limousine be opened, despite a record rainfall that day. While staying at Government House in Winnipeg, the King made his longest ever radio broadcast to the British Empire

British Empire

The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...

; the table at which he sat remains in the Aides Room of the royal residence. Then Prime Minister of Canada

Prime Minister of Canada

The Prime Minister of Canada is the primary minister of the Crown, chairman of the Cabinet, and thus head of government for Canada, charged with advising the Canadian monarch or viceroy on the exercise of the executive powers vested in them by the constitution...

William Lyon Mackenzie King

William Lyon Mackenzie King, PC, OM, CMG was the dominant Canadian political leader from the 1920s through the 1940s. He served as the tenth Prime Minister of Canada from December 29, 1921 to June 28, 1926; from September 25, 1926 to August 7, 1930; and from October 23, 1935 to November 15, 1948...

described the arrival of the royal train at Brandon

Brandon, Manitoba

as: "Wonderful cheering. A long bridge overhead crowded with people. The hour: 11 at night... the finest scene on the entire trip." The Queen herself said the reception was "the biggest thrill of the tour."

Continuing westward across the Prairies, the Royal Train arrived in Regina

Regina, Saskatchewan

Regina is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province and a cultural and commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. It is governed by Regina City Council. Regina is the cathedral city of the Roman Catholic and Romanian Orthodox...

on May 25, followed by Calgary on May 26 and Banff

Banff, Alberta

Banff is a town within Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada. It is located in Alberta's Rockies along the Trans-Canada Highway, approximately west of Calgary and east of Lake Louise....

on May 27.

The royal train arrived in the town of Melville

Melville, Saskatchewan

Melville is a small Canadian city located in the east-central portion of Saskatchewan. It was declared a city by the province in 1960. The city is north east of the provincial capital of Regina and south west of Yorkton. According to The World Gazetteer, it has a 2004 population of approximately...

at 10:00 pm on 3 June, attracting over 60,000 people to the town of 3,000. The stop was only meant to last ten minutes, after which the train would stay overnight for servicing. But, with the throngs of people who arrived, the royal party decided to extend the visit to a half hour, after which the train pulled away, returning a few hours later, once the crowds had dispersed; Canadian Press

Canadian Press

Canadian Press Enterprises Inc. is the entity which "will take over the operations of the Canadian Press" according to a November 26, 2010 article in the Toronto Star...

reporter R. J. Carnegie said of the stop: "Never throughout the tour did I see such unbridled enthusiasm as then." On 4 June, the King and Queen took a brief walk around Unity

Unity, Saskatchewan

-Area statistics:*Lat 52°26′ N*Long 109°10′00″ W*Dominion Land Survey Section 18, Township 40, Range 22, West of the 3rd Meridian*Time zone UTC−6-Location:-See also:*List of towns in Saskatchewan...

, and in Saskatoon

Saskatoon

Saskatoon is a city in central Saskatchewan, Canada, on the South Saskatchewan River. Residents of the city of Saskatoon are called Saskatonians. The city is surrounded by the Rural Municipality of Corman Park No. 344....

, where the royal couple visited the University of Saskatchewan

University of Saskatchewan

The University of Saskatchewan is a Canadian public research university, founded in 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. An "Act to establish and incorporate a University for the Province of Saskatchewan" was passed by the...

, some 150,000 people turned out to see the monarchs, and hundreds of teenage girls dressed in red, white, and blue assembled in the image of a Royal Union Flag

Union Flag

The Union Flag, also known as the Union Jack, is the flag of the United Kingdom. It retains an official or semi-official status in some Commonwealth Realms; for example, it is known as the Royal Union Flag in Canada. It is also used as an official flag in some of the smaller British overseas...

and sang "God Save the King

God Save the Queen

"God Save the Queen" is an anthem used in a number of Commonwealth realms and British Crown Dependencies. The words of the song, like its title, are adapted to the gender of the current monarch, with "King" replacing "Queen", "he" replacing "she", and so forth, when a king reigns...

".

When the royal couple arrived in Edmonton

Edmonton

Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...

, the regular population of 90,000 swelled to more than 200,000, as Albertans from surrounding towns came in to catch sight of the King and Queen, 70,000 people sat in specially constructed grandstands lining Kingsway, which had been renamed to honour the King, to see the royal motorcade. At one night time stop in the Rocky Mountains

Rocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...

, the royal couple sang along with an impromptu a cappella rendition of "When the Moon Comes over the Mountain

When the Moon Comes over the Mountain

"When the Moon Comes Over the Mountain" is a popular song, published in 1931, and credited as written by Howard Johnson, Harry M. Woods, and Kate Smith...

" that broke out amongst the gathered crowd when the moon emerged from behind the clouds.

British Columbia

The King and Queen stopped in Vancouver

Vancouver

Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...

, Victoria, and a number of other smaller communities in British Columbia. Mackenzie King was enthused, stating in his diary on May 29, 1939: "The day in Vancouver was one of the finest on the entire tour," and, the following day: "Without question, Victoria has left the most pleasing of all impressions. It was a crowning gem..."

United States

The King and Queen made a brief foray into the United States, from 7 to 10 June, visiting Washington

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, New York

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, and Poughkeepsie

Poughkeepsie (city), New York

Poughkeepsie is a city in the state of New York, United States, which serves as the county seat of Dutchess County. Poughkeepsie is located in the Hudson River Valley midway between New York City and Albany...

; they were accompanied by the Canadian prime minister, still Mackenzie King, as the sole minister in attendance to the King, rather than by any British minister, by way of reinforcing that George VI's visit to the United States was a visit from Canada, despite the point that the King and Queen were presented by Secretary of State

United States Secretary of State

The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...

Cordell Hull

Cordell Hull was an American politician from the U.S. state of Tennessee. He is best known as the longest-serving Secretary of State, holding the position for 11 years in the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt during much of World War II...

to President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...

as "Their Britannic Majesties." For Mackenzie King, this assertion of Canada's status as a kingdom independent of Britain was a key motive behind the organization of the tour; he wrote in his diary on 17 May 1939: "I... told [the Queen] that I felt somewhat embarrassed about taking in the entire trip with Their Majesties; that it looked like pushing myself to the fore, yet I felt that unless some evidence of Dominion precedence existed, one of the main purposes of the trip would be gone. The Queen then said: The King and I felt right along that you should come with us." Another factor, however, was public relations; the presence of the King and Queen, in both Canada and the United States, was calculated to shore up sympathy for Britain in anticipation of hostilities with Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

. Nevertheless, as early as 1939 it was deemed appropriate for the novel doctrine of the discrete crowns of the Commonwealth realm

Commonwealth Realm

A Commonwealth realm is a sovereign state within the Commonwealth of Nations that has Elizabeth II as its monarch and head of state. The sixteen current realms have a combined land area of 18.8 million km² , and a population of 134 million, of which all, except about two million, live in the six...

s to be ostentatiously asserted.

Atlantic Canada

The King and Queen stopped in Doaktown, New Brunswick

Doaktown, New Brunswick

Doaktown is a Canadian village in Northumberland County, New Brunswick.-History:It is situated on the Southwest Miramichi River and was first settled in 1807 for use as a base for the growing lumber industry in central New Brunswick...

, to take tea in a local teahouse, where, upon finishing, they proceeded to the kitchen and took the proprietors by surprise. The couple ended their tour at Halifax, where a farewell luncheon was held and the King and Queen each delivered a speech of thanks. That evening, the royal couple boarded the RMS Empress of Britain

RMS Empress of Britain (1931)

The RMS Empress of Britain was an ocean liner built between 1928 and 1931 by John Brown shipyard in Scotland and owned by Canadian Pacific Steamship Company. This ship — second of three CP vessels named Empress of Britain — provided scheduled trans-Atlantic passenger service from spring to autumn...

to return to the United Kingdom; of their departure, Mackenzie King wrote in his diary: "The Empress of Britain ran past one end of the harbour where she was towed around, then came back the opposite way to pull out to sea. She was accompanied by British warships and our own destroyers. The Bluenose
Bluenose
Bluenose was a Canadian fishing and racing schooner from Nova Scotia built in 1921. She was later commemorated by a replica Bluenose II built in 1963. A celebrated racing ship and hard-working fishing vessel, Bluenose became a provincial icon for Nova Scotia as well as important Canadian symbol in...

and other vessels also in the harbour as a sort of escort... The King and Queen were at the very top of the ship and kept waving... No farewell could have been finer..."

Accompanied by the Governor of Newfoundland, Sir Humphrey Walwyn, the King and Queen were driven to St. John's to attend various official events, causing the city's population of 15,000 to double as visitors came in to see the royal couple. For the departure of the monarch, the residents of St. John's built a large bonfire

Bonfire

A bonfire is a controlled outdoor fire used for informal disposal of burnable waste material or as part of a celebration. Celebratory bonfires are typically designed to burn quickly and may be very large...

on Signal Hill

Signal Hill, Newfoundland and Labrador

Signal Hill is a hill which overlooks the city of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.Due to its strategic placement overlooking the harbour, fortifications have been placed on the hill since the mid 17th century.-History:...