Royal contingent spent six glorious days here in 1970

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This article was published 10/05/2020 (1594 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba’s 100th anniversary was celebrated in a very different way than the province’s 150th birthday today — and not just because people gathered together.

Five decades ago, Manitoba celebrated the 100th anniversary of its birth in Canadian Confederation by hosting Queen Elizabeth, her husband Prince Philip, and their eldest children, Prince Charles and Princess Anne, for six days.

The Queen has visited Manitoba six times, the first as a princess in 1951, and the last in 2010, but the 1970 visit was the longest. While here she visited 22 communities as far north as Churchill, Thompson and The Pas, as far south as Carman, as well as visiting Brandon, Beausejour, Dauphin and CFB Shilo. During the trip the Queen designated the Winter Fair in Brandon as the Royal Winter Fair and officially opened the then named Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature.

On July 15, 1970, the 100th anniversary of the day when the Manitoba Act came in force, in a reconstructed outdoor version of the Manitoba Legislative Chamber built on the south steps of the Legislative Building, and after a speech by then Premier Ed Schreyer — and a brief meeting with a 100-year-old man who was injured at age six when a Red River Cart rolled over him — the Queen herself came to the microphone to give a message to Manitobans.

“Confederation and the foundation of the new Province of Manitoba took place during the reign of my great great grandmother and so it is a very particular pleasure for me, as your Queen, to be here in Winnipeg for these centennial celebrations and to take part with you in paying tribute to the pioneers and founders of this province,” she said.

“One hundred years ago this vast territory was inhabited by a few thousand Indians and Metis and by a handful of French and Scottish fur traders and their families in the little settlement of Red River. Today, Manitoba is the home of one million people enjoying a standard of living which compares favourably with any other part of the world.”

During her speech, the Queen talked about the people she had met while criss-crossing the province.

“This experience has given us all a most vivid impression of the intricate racial, religious and cultural tapestry which makes up the population of the province,” she said. “As in a tapestry, it is the cohesion of thread and colour which gives strength and design to the whole fabric.”

The Queen also made special mention of the province’s Indigenous population.

“I am particularly conscious of the special relationship which has existed for so long between The Crown and the Indian people, the original inhabitants of this land. I am fully confident that they will always remain an integral and vital element in the life of the province.”

The Queen also made special mention that the year also marked the 300th anniversary of King Charles II granting a Royal Charter to the Hudson’s Bay Company.

The Queen concluded her speech by noting that “the history of Manitoba is one of human endeavour, fed by a burning conviction in all the settlers who have come to this province, that with determination and hard work they could build a new and better life.

“Their success can be seen in the fields and farms, in the industries and mines, in the towns and cities, and particularly in their homes. They have laid a sure foundation, it will now depend upon the younger generation to take up the work and make the vision of their parents and grandparents, of a peaceful, tolerant and plentiful land, come true for all its people and for many generations.”

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca