The Queen's Silver Jubilee jaunt to Canada

Bythe fall of 1977, the Canada that Queen Elizabethwas familiar with was changing.

The countrywas growing, it was becoming more diverse and itsgovernmentwas dealing with serious riftsin Canadian society all of whichthe Queen waswell 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 ascendingthe throne25 years earlier.

Her Silver Jubilee jauntwas 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'ssix-dayCanadianvisit was, as usual, tightly scheduled and highly choreographed, with extensive media coverage from the moment she landedin Ottawa. (In that respect, it began much likea 1939 royal visit had begun, when the Queen's parentscame to Canada just before the Second World War.)

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

Journalists Peter Kent and Don McNeillwere providing coverage of the event before the Queen stepped off her plane, which had been specially retrofittedto 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 aperiod 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 Philiptook a midday steam train ride into Quebec and had lunch with Canada's premiers includingRenLvesque, theParti Qubcois leader whose party won a majority government in Quebec the previous year.

But the topic of national unitywould not bebroached untilthe Queen gave a speech at a state dinner, heldat the governor general's residence in Ottawa that evening.

The Toronto Star reported guests at the dinner were served gamebird consomm, galantine of salmon, beef financire, 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 Elizabethand Prince Philip hanging on the wall behind him.

No hecklers

He shared a couple of anecdotes about the Queen's busy year, including a story about her appearance at aCFL football game a match between the Ottawa Rough Ridersand the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, according to newspaper reportsthe 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 whenthere 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'

The prime minister explained that in honour ofthe 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 inEnglish 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

The speech referencedCanada'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 isthat Canada's accomplishments and progresshave, 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 Janigandeemed a "dramatic, unprecedented prayer that Canadians will be able to hold their country together."

'She did very well'

Archives5:46The Queen visits in 1977

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 hisimpressions 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 couplehad learned during their travelsin 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 Canadahave been these individual contacts, which have revealed the enormous strengthand 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 understandingamong Canadians everywhere."