Queen attends Canada Day bash on Parliament Hill
Posted Jul 1, 2010 2:51 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The normally informal, boisterous festivities on Parliament Hill kicked off Thursday with the arrival of Her Majesty and Prince Philip in a horse-drawn carriage, complete with a mounted RCMP escort.
Pomp and circumstance dominated the opening two hours of Canada’s 143rd birthday, in honour of the Queen’s presence.
The 84-year-old monarch has not been on the Hill for Canada Day since 1997.
The Queen was honoured with a 21-gun salute, a fly-past by CF-18 jetfighters and, another by the aerobatic Snowbirds, as well as a march-past by the Guard of Honour.
She was then serenaded by Canadian artists, including Quebec pop star Isabelle Boulay, bagpipers The Campbell Brothers, The Barenaked Ladies and the Montreal Jubilation Gospel Choir.
Her Majesty addressed the crowd of thousands saying Canada has “grown and matured, while remaining true to it’s history, it’s distinctive character and it’s values.”
The Queen then departed to go on a walkabout to meet directly with some of the 100,000 party-goers.
