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The Royal Tour of Canada

Accession number: 
1951.0025
Production Years: 
1951

Languages:

Film Properties: 
Length (feet): 
767 (16mm); 1920 (35mm)
Length (minutes): 
22
Holding Institutions: 

Library and Archives Canada: 16mm, 35mm, VHS, Digibeta.
"Highlights of the 1951 visit to Canada by Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh. Shots include: arriving at Dorval airport in Montreal and being greeted by Governor General Alexander and Prime Minister St. Laurent; inspection of the RCMP honour guard; civic reception in Quebec City with Premier Maurice Duplessis; touring the Plains of Abraham; travelling by convertible in Quebec City, where the couple was able to follow the progress of their tour as described on their car radio; the Royal Train arriving in Ottawa; laying a wreath at the National War Memorial in Ottawa; visiting Parliament; donating a carpet made by the Princess' grandmother to the National Gallery; short excerpt of speech by Princess Elizabeth; a boat ride on the Ottawa River; visiting Royal Military College in Kingston, Ontario; visiting the Royal Canadian Air Force base at Trenton, Ontario; civic welcome in Toronto with Premier Leslie Frost; touring the Canadian National Exhibition; a visit to Niagara Falls and Windsor, Ontario; meeting the Dionne Quintuplets in North Bay; inspecting troops in Kapuskasing, Ontario; visiting Winnipeg, where they greet Boy Scouts and other Canadians; travelling in a convertible car covered by a Plexiglass dome; visit to Regina, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police barracks; RCMP on horseback; meeting Foothills First Nation members in Calgary; dance by First Nations representatives; attending a chuck wagon race with the Mayor of Calgary; visiting Vancouver City Hall; planting an English Oak tree in Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver; civic welcome in Victoria with Premier Byron Johnson; the Prince and Princess watching a First Nations ceremony in Thunderbird Park; being welcomed in Edmonton by Premier Manning; attending a hockey game at the Montreal Forum between the New York and the Montreal Canadiens; touring McGill University and Queen Mary Veterans Hospital; visiting Fredericton, Halifax, Amherst, Truro and Charlottetown; taking the HMCS Ontario from Sydney, Nova Scotia to Newfoundland; the Princess standing on the deck of HMCS Ontario, filming with a movie camera; civic reception with Premier Joey Smallwood; laying a wreath at the War Memorial and meeting with veterans on Remembrance Day; and boarding the S.S. Empress of Scotland for the voyage back to Great Britain."

Bibliography: 

"Business in Motion: Films of Current Interest," Canadian Business 25 (March 1952): 66.
"Covers last autumn's whirlwind tour of Canada by the then Princess Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh. Film begins with their arrival at Dorval airport, Montreal, and ends with their leave-taking, in rough-weather, at Portuguese Cove, Newfoundland."