Prime Minister Jean Chrétien was in Nunavut on this date in 2002 as he welcomed the Queen to Canada on the occasion of her Golden Jubilee. Her Majesty and her Canadian Prime Minister had first met North of 60 during the Queen’s tour of the Canadian North in 1970, so it was fitting they met once again in Arctic Canada.
“In the many times you have come to our shores since your very first visit as Princess in 1951, Canadians have been inspired by your abiding grace and dignity, by the dedication to ideals and duty that have so personified your life and by your never faltering commitment to others,” Chrétien said. “However, in this Golden Jubilee year, we welcome you with an even deeper sense of gratitude and appreciation. Your visit gives us a chance not only to celebrate but to reflect.”
“The reign of Your Majesty has encompassed an era of extraordinary global change and transformation,” the PM continued. “Since your Accession to the Throne, the Cold War has run its dangerous course. The Commonwealth has evolved into a vibrant partnership of equals. And the power of free trade and technology has created a truly global village…. This special Thanksgiving time of year will be made all the more memorable by your presence. And I would like to close with some words from another song that sums up what we wish to convey on this most historic and happy occasion: God Save the Queen.”
Arthur Milnes is an accomplished public historian and award-winning journalist. He was research assistant on The Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney’s best-selling Memoirs and also served as a speechwriter to then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper and as a Fellow of the Queen’s Centre for the Study of Democracy under the leadership of Tom Axworthy. A resident of Kingston, Ontario, Milnes serves as the in-house historian at the 175 year-old Frontenac Club Hotel.