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Queen Elizabeth’s Canadian tour winds down

07 July 2010 03:47 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Several thousand people gathered at Queen’s Park in Toronto Tuesday morning to bid farewell to Queen Elizabeth, as she wrapped up her nine-day tour of Canada with a visit to the Ontario legislature, APA reports quoting cbc.ca website.

The royal couple arrived at the legislature for a morning of events culminating in an official departure ceremony, including a 21-gun salute on the legislature’s front lawn.

The Queen unveiled a plaque commemorating the 150th anniversary of the dedication of Queen’s Park by her great-grandfather, before he was crowned King Edward VII.

The Queen greeted Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and Gov. Gen. MichaÃ«lle Jean, who has just returned from a trip to China.

Crowds of eager onlookers cheered as the 84-year-old monarch toured the grounds and waved at the public.

Tuesday’s visit marks the last stop on the Queen’s 22nd Canadian tour, which also took her and Prince Philip to Halifax, Ottawa, Winnipeg, and Waterloo, Ont.

After a reception and the official send-off, the royal couple will fly from Toronto to New York City, where she will address the United Nations.

The Queen last addressed the UN in 1957, when she was 31. She is expected to appeal for world unity and peace when she appears before the 192-member General Assembly on Tuesday afternoon.

The Queen is also scheduled to view Ground Zero, and will visit a park honouring British citizens killed during the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Queen unfazed by blackout

On Monday, the Queen seemed unfazed by a massive power outage that rippled across Toronto.

Staff at the Royal York Hotel scrambled to light candles and install makeshift lamps â€” but before the state dinner, the power returned and the occasion went ahead as planned.

The Queen lauded Canadian values of freedom and fairness in a speech Monday night that also noted Canadian sacrifices in Afghanistan.

"In my lifetime, Canada’s development as a nation has been remarkable," she said.

"This vast, rich and varied country has inspired its own and attracted many others by its adherence to certain values. Some are enshrined in law, but I should imagine just as many are simply found in the hearts of ordinary Canadians."

Harper presented the Queen with a display to be housed in the Hockey Hall of Fame, which includes pictures of the monarch attending a hockey game in Toronto in 1951 and dropping the puck in 2002 at a game in Vancouver.

The display includes a Canadian Olympic hockey jersey for the Queen, whom Harper called "Canada’s most valuable player."