The King and Queen are Here

King Charles and Queen Camilla arrived in Ottawa today

King Charles and Queen Camilla arrived in Ottawa today, and although their two-day visit is very short, it is loaded with significance.

When Prime Minister Mark Carney stopped in London in March before the federal elections, he paid a visit to the king, asking him if he would visit Canada and read the speech from the throne if Carney won.

It's a brilliant move by Carney to show US President Donald Trump that Canada is a distinctive country of its own with strong historical ties to Britain. 

The king held private talks with Carney

The pomp and circumstance these two days provide an opportunity for Canada to show itself off in a positive light globally, and signal the country is on track to stand its ground in the wake of threats of annexation.

King Charles has subtly shown his support for Canada in recent months by wearing Canadian medals and calling himself the king of Canada, and describes the flag as "a symbol that never fails to elicit a sense of pride and admiration."

The last time a monarch read the speech from the throne was back in 1977 by Queen Elizabeth II; she also read it 20 years earlier. Almost 50 years later, her son will do the same.

It should be interesting to hear the contents of the speech, particularly the choice of diction and phrases.

However, not everyone will be listening. The Bloc Quebecois have decided to skip the speech, and in fact are trying to make the oath of allegiance to the king optional.

Nevertheless, it's an historic visit that Canadians in Ottawa turned out in droves to see the royal couple, proving once again how Trump's threats only make us want to embrace our ties to the King even more. 

Carney Gets Down to Business

Carney to visit Trump next week, and King Charles is coming

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney addressed the media this morning, his first press conference following the federal election.

He made several announcements, including that he will make a trip to Washington on Tuesday to see US President Donald Trump to reset Canada-US relations, which have soured significantly since Trump took office in January.

"Our old relationship, based on steadily increasing integration, is over," Carney said. "The questions now are how our nations will cooperate in the future and where we, in Canada, will move on."

King to read throne speech

Apparently Carney's team is trying to prepare for every possibility during talks with Trump, as he can be unpredictable. But it seems Carney is intent on setting the ground rules when it comes to dealing with Canada as a sovereign nation -- not the 51st state.

"It will be a complex negotiation," Carney said. "I'm not pretending those discussions will be easy. They won't proceed in a straight line. There will be zigs and zags, ups and downs."

Also on Carney's to-do list is to choose his cabinet ministers and write the throne speech -- that King Charles III will read on May 27, when parliament opens a new session. Queen Camilla will also come for the occasion.

"This is a historic honour which matches the weight of our times," Carney said. The last time a monarch gave the address was back in 1977 by Queen Elizabeth II.

Meanwhile Elections Canada has done a recount and the Liberals are back to 169 seats, as the party's candidate in the riding of Milton East-Halton Hills South beat the Conservatives by just 29 seats.

Earlier the Liberals had lost a seat to the Bloc Quebecois in another recount.

As for Pierre Poilievre, who lost his seat in the Ottawa riding of Carleton, one MP has offered to give up his seat in Alberta. Damien Kurek had handily won the riding of Battle River-Crowfoot easily with 82 percent of the vote.

Poilievre to run for seat in Alberta by-election

Carney was gracious enough to say that he will call a by-election as soon as possible so that Poilievre can return to the House as leader.

"I've already indicated to Mr Poilievre that... I will ensure that it happens as soon as possible. No games, nothing," Carney said in the press conference.

As prime minister, Carney could have made his opponent wait a maximum of six months before calling a by-election. But he is extending a peace branch, perhaps in a bid to get things done in parliament. 

Meanwhile Poilievre posted a statement on X saying: "It is with humility and appreciation that I have accepted Damien Kurek's offer to resign his seat in Battle River-Crowfoot so that I can work to earn the support of citizens there to serve them in Parliament."

We will be watching this by-election closely...!

Picture of the Day: King Charles III is Coined

King Charles is now on the toonie

Earlier this week we happened to get our hands on the new C$2 coins nicknamed toonies with King Charles III side portrait.

It is the first time in 70 years that Canadian currency has a new monarch since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022.

Montreal-based portrait artist Steven Rosati was chosen from submissions by 350 artists. He is only the third Canadian artist to design the royal effigy for Canada's coinage since 1990.

The design was sent to Buckingham Palace for approval. 

Meanwhile new notes with King Charles' effigy have yet to be unveiled let alone circulated.

So in the meantime we'll just have have him as small change!

Remembering the Queen

The Queen died today at the age of 96

This morning Vancouver time we woke up to the news that members of the Royal family were rushing to Balmoral Castle in Scotland to be by the Queen's side.

The news cycle was constantly reminding views of the situation, having royal experts on talking about the same thing in every imaginable angle, showing the same footage over and over again.

After we left Whistler to return to Vancouver, we checked our phones to find out the Queen had died. She was 96 years old.

She and Prince Philip visited Vancouver in 1983

For the majority of people on the planet, she is the only Queen we have known since childhood, a constant grandmotherly figure in our lives who put duty before everything else. Perhaps her only misstep was not sympathising with the people's profound sorrow over the death of Princess Diana in 1997.

Her children have had some scandals -- Prince Andrew the latest to cause great distress with his association with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Nevertheless, she held her family together and they continued to march stoically.

But that brave face is now gone, leaving many bereft and wondering what is in store with King Charles III who will make a formal address tomorrow.

Today many were recounting their encounters with the Queen on the radio and on social media, some humorous, others touching. She and her family even hung out with a family on their potato farm in Manitoba in the 1970s! They are lounging on those terrible wide nylon ribbon folding chairs in a backyard.

I saw her from a far distance in BC Place in 1983. Students were invited to come to the massive stadium that held over 60,000 people to sing a song to her and wave small Canadian flags. As she entered in an open-top car wearing a yellow suit and straw hat, we all screamed and shouted as if she were a rockstar as the car made a loop around the stadium.

Visiting a HK outdoor market stall in 1975

We all thought she looked at us and waved our flags even more frantically.

When she left, she made a speech in which she thanked everyone for the flowers she received -- so much so she could now open a flower shop.

During her 70-year reign, the British empire crumbled with decolonisation -- a good thing -- and she embraced the inevitable.

It would have been fascinating to know what she thought of the Chinese and Hong Kong's fate after 1997. But it was her son Charles who attended the ceremony who had some interesting observations.

In his diary he wrote everyone he spoke to was optimistic about Hong Kong's future, but added: "In the background was the sneaking worry about creeping corruption and the gradual undermining of Hong Kong's greatest asset -- the rule of law".

Then he concluded: "Thus we left Hong Kong to her fate, and the hope that Martin Lee [Chu-ming], the leader of the Democrats would not be arrested."

Charles represented the Queen at the handover

Charles also lamented how the loss of Hong Kong was the end of Britain's Empire, as it had been the jewel in the imperial crown for the best part of the UK's 156-year colonial rule.

Many in Hong Kong are mourning the passing of the Queen by posting old photographs of her visiting the city in 1975, and of her profile on pre-1997 coins. 

It's interesting to note how prescient the now King was 25 years ago on worrying about Lee being arrested. It was only a matter of time...

Meanwhile it is absolutely atrocious that Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu choses to release the blandest statement ever on the death of the Queen.

While many other dignitaries try to recall specific incidents or places where they met her, Lee just sticks to the fact that she was the longest-reigning monarch at 70 years, and how she was "greatly respected, admired and praised by the British people",

She was Queen of Hong Kong, her face was on the then colony's currency, postal stamps, her portrait hung in government offices and schools, and Government House had crockery with "ER II" on them. School children sang "God Save the Queen".

The Queen's head was on Hong Kong currency

To deny her Royal Highness was a big part of Hong Kong is outrageous and a pathetic attempt to erase her from the city's history, and to continue the ridiculous narrative that it was not a British colony.

Along with the nostalgia of Hong Kong before 1997, the Queen just may have become yet another sign of quiet resistance, of insisting to remember her in one form or another.

Wonder what she would have thought of that.

As Paddington Bear says, "Thank you ma'am... for everything".