PM welcomes the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall to Canada

CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY

Your Royal Highnesses, Excellencies, Premier Williams, Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls.  It is a great honour today to welcome to Canada Their Royal Highnesses, The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall. 

Members of the Royal Family have been making the voyage across the Atlantic for more than two hundred years.  One of the very first such trips was made right here to Newfoundland and Labrador by Prince William, later King William the Fourth, in 1786 as a young captain in the Royal Navy.  Canada would welcome another young seaman and future King 189 years later, when Your Royal Highness arrived at our shores aboard HMS Hermes.

Given our long attachment To the Royal Family, these visits have always been regarded as "home comings" by many Canadians.  And so, on this day of celebration, we say to you, Your Royal Highnesses, welcome, our home is your home. 

Tomorrow, I will have the privilege of accompanying The Prince and Duchess to the site of a seminal event in our history, the founding of the first English-speaking settlement on Canadian soil.  Merchant John Guy helped change the course of history by establishing a foothold for the British Crown on the northern half of North America, almost 400 years ago. 

Under French rule, British rule, and Canadian sovereignty, Canada has always had a Monarch.  Over the centuries, English and French - and many more - have come together under the Crown to build one of the most peaceful and prosperous countries the world has ever known. 

And the Crown has remained one of the enduring symbols of our unique Canadian identity, here on the North American continent.

So it is with considerable pride, and great enthusiasm, that we welcome you as members of our Canadian Royal Family.  The warmth of the reception accorded you today Is something for which the people of Newfoundland and Labrador are particularly renowned, but it will greet you across our great country.  Canadians hold the Royal Family in high regard and deep affection, a sentiment which is clearly mutual.  If you would permit me, Sir, I would like to quote a speech you gave in Winnipeg thirteen years ago.

"Every time I come [here] a little more Canada seeps into my blood stream.  And from there, straight to my heart." 

Your Royal Highnesses, your eagerly anticipated visit will bring you in close contact with thousands of Canadians from all regions and all walks of life.  So on behalf of the Government of Canada, and indeed all Canadians, I wish you well as you set out on your journey across our vast, magnificent land.

God bless you both, and God bless Canada.

All News

---

Related Items