The Queen's Silver Jubilee jaunt to Canada

The year of Queen Elizabeth's Silver Jubilee was a busy one for the monarch. But she made time to squeeze in a Canadian visit in 1977.

Life was changing, but the Queen's 1977 visit followed a familiar pattern

Intro to CBC News coverage of 1977 royal visit

47 years ago
Duration 1:12
A snippet from the start of the CBC News Special on Oct. 14, 1977, showing footage of the Queen landing in Ottawa.

By the fall of 1977, the Canada that Queen Elizabeth was familiar with was changing.

The country was growing, it was becoming more diverse and its government was dealing with serious rifts in Canadian society — all of which the Queen was well aware.

Yet for all of the changes occurring in the country, the royal visit that unfolded during the Queen's Silver Jubilee year looked a lot like the nine official visits she had already made since ascending the throne 25 years earlier.

Her Silver Jubilee jaunt was formal, it was highly organized and the Queen stuck to the script when speaking publicly.

It was also strategic. From what CBC journalists reported, the Queen had undertaken extensive travel that year in a bid to burnish the royal brand beyond Britain's borders.

Respect for the monarchy

The royals arrive in 1977

47 years ago
Duration 1:19
The Queen and Prince Philip arrived in Canada on Oct. 14, 1977, as part of a royal visit during the Queen's Silver Jubilee year.

Queen Elizabeth's six-day Canadian visit was, as usual, tightly scheduled and highly choreographed, with extensive media coverage from the moment she landed in Ottawa. (In that respect, it began much like a 1939 royal visit had begun, when the Queen's parents came to Canada just before the Second World War.)

A CBC News Special had music ready from the moment her plane touched down, as the words "Royal Jubilee Visit" rolled in tandem, in capital letters, across the television screens of viewers watching at home.

Journalists Peter Kent and Don McNeill were providing coverage of the event before the Queen stepped off her plane, which had been specially retrofitted to better accommodate the visiting royals.

And also special treatment

Inside the plane carrying the Queen

47 years ago
Duration 1:36
CBC viewers get a look inside the plane that the Queen and Prince Philip were travelling on while in Canada.

"All members of the Royal Family have travelled on this aircraft at different times over the past few years, but ... for this jubilee visit, the aircraft has undergone a total royal refit," said Kent, noting that a royal suite and dressing room had been added to the jet that was otherwise used to transport senior government officials to overseas destinations.

McNeill provided viewers with some context about the push to put the Queen in front of so many people during her Silver Jubilee year.

"These are troubled times, times of uncertainty, and it's in a period such as this that the respect for the monarchy seems to grow. She becomes a symbol of stability," McNeill told viewers, shortly before the Queen and Prince Philip planted their feet on the red-carpeted tarmac.

"In Canada's case, of course, there is the added crisis of national unity. And because Canadians are split as to whether the Queen can be of any help in bringing the country together, it'll be rather interesting to see what she has to say on that sensitive subject in the next few days."

A big day on the itinerary

State dinner in 1977

47 years ago
Duration 3:35
In 1977, Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau offered some remarks at a state dinner, before the Queen made formal remarks to the guests at the dinner.

Two days after their arrival, the Queen and Prince Philip took a midday steam train ride into Quebec and had lunch with Canada's premiers — including René Lévesque, the Parti Québécois leader whose party won a majority government in Quebec the previous year.

But the topic of national unity would not be broached until the Queen gave a speech at a state dinner, held at the governor general's residence in Ottawa that evening.

Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau spoke at the state dinner before Queen Elizabeth delivered a speech on Oct. 16, 1977. (CBC News Special/CBC Archives)

The Toronto Star reported guests at the dinner were served gamebird consommé, galantine of salmon, beef financière, potatoes, peas, as well as various sweets. They drank wine and champagne with their meal.

Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau offered remarks at the dinner, in French and English, before the Queen spoke, with a backdrop of large portraits of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip hanging on the wall behind him.

No hecklers

Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau is seen discussing the finer points of football with Queen Elizabeth, during a CFL game in Ottawa on Oct. 15, 1977. (Bettmann/Getty Images)

He shared a couple of anecdotes about the Queen's busy year, including a story about her appearance at a CFL football game — a match between the Ottawa Rough Riders and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, according to newspaper reports — the day before.

"I was telling you yesterday, Your Majesty, after we walked from centre field during the football game, I was very pleased to be seen publicly with you because that is one of the rare occasions when there are no hecklers in the crowd," Trudeau said, drawing laughs from the dinner guests and a half-smirk from the Queen.

"I feel surrounded by friends and indeed, that is the impression one gets when one follows you when you meet Canadians."

'A spirit of generosity'

Trudeau speaks at the state dinner. (CBC News Special/CBC Archives)

The prime minister explained that in honour of the Queen's Silver Jubilee, the government had set aside $300,000 in special funding — an expenditure equivalent to more than $1.2 million today — to assist young Canadians seeking to become proficient in both of the country's official languages.

"This, too, will permit us to commemorate the spirit of generosity which you have always brought to us," he said.

The Queen spoke next, in remarks that were broadcast on CBC-TV and also printed in the Globe and Mail the next day.

Like the prime minister, she spoke in English and French when delivering remarks that were written by officials in Ottawa. The Toronto Star reported that the speech had been written in "close consultation" with the Queen.

Hope for the future, also a prayer

Queen Elizabeth speaks during the state dinner in Ottawa on Oct. 16, 1977. (CBC News Special/CBC Archives)

The speech referenced Canada's history and the accomplishments of its people, both in the current era and in the past.

And it circled around a theme of how people of divergent backgrounds and beliefs interacted in this country — to general benefit, from the viewpoint of the speech.

"What is most evident in looking at your country from the long-term view is that Canada's accomplishments and progress have, from the first moment, been the results of the joint efforts and joint councils of Canadians of every background," the Queen said, during a portion of her remarks that were delivered in English.

The speech ended with the Queen offering a prayer for unity in Canada — a moment that led the Toronto Star's next-day, front-page coverage, which journalist Mary Janigan deemed a "dramatic, unprecedented prayer that Canadians will be able to hold their country together." 

'She did very well'

The Queen calls for unity at a state dinner in Ottawa.

The day after that dinner, CBC Radio's As It Happens interviewed Claude Heanut, the Ottawa bureau chief for UPI, about some of his impressions from that event. It was his judgment that the Queen had done her best when delivering her speech.

"There were some words in that speech — especially in French — that are very difficult even for a French-speaking person," said Heanult, who had been covering her visit to Canada.

"I think she did very well." 

'Enormous strength and astonishing diversity'

The Queen reads a speech from the throne

47 years ago
Duration 1:41
On Oct. 18, 1977, the Queen reads a speech from the throne in Ottawa.

Before the Queen wrapped up her visit, she also delivered a speech from the throne on Oct. 18, 1977, the day before she and her husband would depart.

It included some brief remarks from the Queen about what the royal couple had learned during their travels in Canada over the years.

"Prince Philip and I have met many thousands of Canadians in all walks of life, of all ages, in every province and territory," the Queen said.

"My happiest memories of our travels throughout Canada have been these individual contacts, which have revealed the enormous strength and astonishing diversity of this nation."

The Queen said she'd watched a younger generation of Canadians be born and grow into adulthood during her reign.

"They are people made strong by the achievements of their parents and grandparents, but not imprisoned by the prejudices of the past," she said.

"In their sensitivity towards other people, in their sense of justice, their generosity and goodwill, lie not only lessons for us all, but also the best and surest hope for unity and understanding among Canadians everywhere."

Add some “good” to your morning and evening.

Sign up for this biweekly blast from the past, straight from the CBC Archives.

...

The next issue of Flashback will soon be in your inbox.

Discover all CBC newsletters in the Subscription Centre.opens new window

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Google Terms of Service apply.