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Under Canada's
system of constitutional monarchy, Her Majesty Queen
Elizabeth II became Queen of Canada at the same time
she became Queen of the United Kingdom on Feb. 6, 1952.
The Queen
is our Head of State. She is also Head of the Commonwealth, which
has evolved into a voluntary association of 54 independent countries
and includes Canada.
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Click to see a larger
image (81K)
Cover of 1953 Empire Day Pamphlet (detail)
Gov't Doc Ed/ Em 1953
Archives of Ontario
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Lieutenant Governors:
The Queen
is represented in Canada federally by the Governor General
and provincially by a Lieutenant Governor in each of the
ten provinces. The Lieutenant Governors give the Crown an official
identity and public face within Ontario.
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Click to see a larger image
(68K)
The Right Honourable John Keiller McKay
with Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II (detail) |
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In
a speech delivered on June 26, 1973, at the Ontario Government's
Provincial State Dinner held at the Royal York Hotel, the Queen
discussed the crown and its relationship to Canada. Present at
the dinner were Premiers John Robarts and William Davis, and The
Honourable Lt. Gov. WIlliam Ross Macdonald.
The
speech was captured on film and a couple of short clips have been
included here. |
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Click in the box below to see a short
video clip.
RG 9-138 Information Services Branch of the
Department of Economics and Development
| For
Windows Media Player |
339K |
1.06MB |
| For
Quicktime Player |
1.11MB |
1.91MB |
| Choose
the appropriate file format for your computer and select
a file size depending on the speed of your internet connection.
The image quality will depend on the file size. |
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Click in the box below to see a short
video clip.
RG 9-138 Information Services Branch of the
Department of Economics and Development
| For
Windows Media Player |
618K |
1.94MB |
| For
Quicktime Player |
2.06MB |
3.53MB |
| Choose
the appropriate file format for your computer and select
a file size depending on the speed of your internet connection.
The image quality will depend on the file size. |
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Original
films of the Queen's visit have now been transferred to video. This
preservation strategy ensures aging film images are available on
a more stable format and that video reference copies are available
for researchers.
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The speech
illustrated above encouraged diversity in the nation's growth
and upheld the Crown as a link between "Canadian citizens
of every national origin and ancestry". Since
then the Ontario government has officially reflected the Canadian
Crown through the appointments of Lieutenant Governors. The Honourable
Pauline McGibbon was the first woman to be sworn into the
position. |
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The
Honourable Pauline McGibbon
According
to newspaper accounts in Pauline McGibbon scrapbooks, the appointment
of the first woman Lieutenant Governor was a popular one. The
newly inaugurated Lieutenant Governor had to remove her rings
to shake hands with hundreds of well wishers.
The Archives
of Ontario thanks Toronto photographer Onnig Cavouk for permission
to exhibit the official portrait he took to commemorate the occasion.
The portrait is in the private records of the late Pauline McGibbon.
Click to see a larger
image (55K)
Portrait of the Honourable Pauline McGibbon
by Onnig Cavouk
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The photograph
below was taken on board the Royal Yacht Britannia in 1976. The
picture includes Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, His
Royal Highness Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, The
Right Honourable Pierre Elliot Trudeau, His Excellency
Jules Leger, Governor General of Canada, as well as the Premiers
and Lieutenant Governors from all ten provinces.
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Click
to see a larger copy of the photograph (132K)
and a list identifying the individuals
Fonds Pauline McGibbon
Reference Code: F 4161
Archives of Ontario
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The
photograph is from the private fonds of The Honourable Pauline
McGibbon, a collection that includes 15 photo albums of nearly
400 photographs and 800 loose photographs. |
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The Honourable Lincoln Alexander
In September,
1985, The Honourable Lincoln Alexander became the first
black citizen to be appointed to the position of Lieutenant Governor.
The footage
from the Televised Proceedings of the Ontario Legislature, captures
the traditional ceremony accorded to the opening of Parliament.
Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander pulls up in front of Queen's
Park in a landau, heralded by trumpets and saluted by honour guards.
When he takes his seat in the Legislative Assembly, he reaffirms
the province's loyalty to the Queen.
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Click in the box below to see a short video
clip.
RG 49-9 Televised Proceedings of the Ontario
Legislature
| For
Windows Media Player |
639K |
2.04MB |
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The most
extensive single holding in Sound and Moving Images consists
of RG 49-9 approximately 8,000 videocassettes of the
broadcast recordings of the proceedings of the Ontario Legislature.
This one is of the 2nd Session, 33rd Parliament in April of
1986. |
