Queen Elizabeth II remembered fondly at Ottawa ceremony

Canadians turned out by the hundreds to line downtown streets of the nation's capital on a rainy Monday to bid a final farewell to Canada's longest-reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.

Ottawa and Canada are honouring Queen Elizabeth II with a national day of mourning, a memorial parade and a commemorative service in the capital.

The federal government declared Sept. 19 a federal holiday and a national day of mourning for the Queen, with federal public servants having the day off. The Ontario government said Monday is a provincial day of mourning, but it is not a provincial holiday.

Citizens gathered in downtown Ottawa for the memorial parade involving members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian Armed Forces. 

The memorial parade, which followed the state funeral in London, departed the Cartier Square Drill Hall, next to Ottawa City Hall, at 12:10 p.m. The parade travelled north on Elgin Street past the National Aboriginal Veterans Monument and the National War Memorial, and then west on Wellington Street to Christ Church Cathedral.

As a result of the parade, a number of roads in the downtown core will be closed through the day to motor vehicle traffic, and no-stopping and no-parking restrictions are in effect.   

Two mounted detachments of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, a 100-person Canadian Armed Forces quad-service guard of honour, the CAF Central Band and 17 honorary pallbearers marched in the parade. A 96-gun salute – one salvo for each year of Her Majesty's life – was conducted during the memorial parade from LeBreton Flats.

The commemorative ceremony at Christ Church Cathedral began at 1 p.m. The invitation-only service included 600 guests, including members of Parliament, dignitaries and members of the diplomatic corps. Ottawa's English poet laureate Albert Dumont, an Algonquin spiritual adviser, opened the service.

"The queen is dead, and the land of the red maple leaf, the sorrow of many citizens fills the skies, the tears the prayers of her admirers take flight, like the geese of spring and autumn, making their way to the queen mother, who waits to hold her daughter close to her bosom, once again."

Former governor general Adrienne Clarkson gave an address, telling the story of first learning as a child attending school in Ottawa, that Queen Elizabeth II's father, King George VI, had died and Canada now had a Queen. 

"We shakily sang God Save the Queen for the first time," she recalled.

Clarkson, who would go on to become the Queen's representative in Canada, said Elizabeth II was present for much of Canada's history, including 1982, when she came to Canada to sign the country's new constitution. 

"Canadians will always remember the queen for coming to sign over to us what is rightfully ours; our human rights, our human freedom," Clarkson said.

Former prime minister Brian Mulroney also delivered an address during the ceremony, saying he developed a relationship with the Queen beyond that of head of state and head of government.

"She was extremely intelligent, a woman of impeccable judgment, resolute, witty–extremely witty–and kind," he said.

The commemorative ceremony was to end with a flypast over Parliament Hill and Christ Church Cathedral by Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18s, but the flypast was cancelled due to inclement weather.

ROAD CLOSURES

There will be road closures and no-parking/no-stopping restrictions on roads across downtown Ottawa today.

The following street closures are in place from 6:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

• Bay Street from Wellington Street to Queen Street
• Lyon Street from Wellington Street to Sparks Street
• Queen Street in the westbound lane from Lyon Street to Bay Street
• Queen Street from Bay Street to Bronson Avenue
• Elgin Street from Wellington Street to Queen Street
• Laurier Avenue West off-ramp onto Queen Elizabeth Drive will be closed at 9:00 a.m.

The following street closures are in place from 7:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

• Wellington Street from Portage Bridge to Bank Street (Note that Wellington Street from Bank Street to Elgin Street is closed to vehicular traffic)
• Kent Street from Wellington Street to Queen Street
• Bank Street from Wellington Street to Queen Street
• O’Connor Street from Wellington Street to Sparks Street
• Metcalfe Street from Wellington Street to Queen Street

The following streets have no parking restrictions from 6 a.m. to 11:59 p.m.

• Wellington Street from the Portage Bridge to Elgin Street
• Elgin Street northbound from Laurier Avenue West to Queen Street
• Elgin Street southbound from Queen Street to Wellington Street
• Sparks Street from Bronson Avenue to Lyon Street
• Queen Street from Bronson Avenue to Lyon Street

OC TRANSPO

OC Transpo paused all bus and O-Train service for 96 seconds at 1 p.m. to observe a moment of silence. Buses stopped on the side of the road if it was safe to do so and O-Trains were held at stations.

--With files from The Canadian Press.