Of all the countries in the Commonwealth, Canada was the late Queen Elizabeth II’s favourite destination, judging by how many times she graced our shores.
Over the course of her 70-year reign, Queen Elizabeth II officially visited Canada more than 20 times, ranging from sweeping royal tours to visits for anniversaries and special events.
Canada’s relationship with the monarch has always been significant. The Queen was head of state for 16 countries in the Commonwealth, including Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Jamaica, among others, but of these 16 countries, the Queen has visited Canada the most.
“My mother once said that this country felt like a home away from home for the Queen of Canada,” the Queen said during her last visit to Canada, in 2010.
“I’m delighted to report that it still does, and I’m delighted to be back amongst you all.”
According to the Canadian Encyclopedia, she is the “most travelled monarch in history.”
The first time that the Queen set foot on Canadian soil was when she was only 25 years old and still a princess — in 1951, she took her ailing father’s place to visit Canada with her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh.
Prince Philip, who died on April 9, 2021, was particularly fond of Canada, and travelled to the country 46 times in total, including his many visits by the Queen’s side.
Two years after her first visit, in 1953, she was crowned Queen. She made a brief appearance in Gander, N.L. that year during a stopover on the way to tour other parts of the Commonwealth, but wouldn’t return for an official visit of Canada until 1957.
John Diefenbaker, the prime minister at the time, was eager to strengthen ties to Britain and cement the Queen’s role in Canada, and even had the Queen preside over a cabinet meeting during her brief visit.
During that trip, the Queen also opened Canada’s new Parliament, an event that she was proud to mention in her Christmas speech later that year, the very first televised Christmas speech from a British royal ever.
“Last October, I opened the new Canadian Parliament,” she said in the speech. “This was the first time that any sovereign had done so in Ottawa. Once again, I was overwhelmed by the loyalty and enthusiasm of my Canadian people.”
But her longest trip to Canada — and arguably the most important — occurred in 1959, when she toured all of the provinces, as well as both current territories, with Prince Philip for 45 days. This is still the longest tour any reigning monarch has made of Canada, and although the Queen visited Canada many times after, she never did so on this scale again.
Buckingham Palace instructed the visit to be referred to as a “royal tour” to emphasize the importance, and to position the Queen as comfortable in her role as Queen of Canada.
Although the Queen was greeted with crowds wherever she went, travelled more than 24,000 kilometres on this trip, shook nearly 5,000 hands and attended sixty-one formal functions, according to the book “Canada and the End of Empire,” the tour was not without controversy. Indigenous people were present at many events on her tour, often meeting with the Queen to perform dances or demonstrate cultural knowledge — but any issues such as treaties or land rights were not permitted to be brought up.
In the years to come, the Queen would make around 20 more official visits to Canada. Including brief stopovers, the Queen has been in Canada more than 30 times.
Most trips have involved ceremonial duties, tours of the country or charity work, but she has also come to Canada to act in an official capacity, such as when she opened Parliament in 1957, and when she delivered a Speech from the Throne again in 1977.
The speech to outline the federal government’s plans for the coming session of Parliament is usually read by the Governor General as the Queen’s representative. The Queen’s second time reading the speech herself in 1977 was part of her Silver Jubilee tour, the 25th anniversary of her ascending to the throne of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth.
Another notable visit was when the Queen came to Canada in 1982 to sign the landmark Proclamation of the Constitution Act, the passing of which gave Canada full independence.
During her visits, the Queen often honoured Canada through her wardrobe. In 1957, on her first trip to Canada post-coronation, she wore a striking cream gown covered in sparkling green maple leaves to the state banquet at Rideau Hall, dubbed the “Maple Leaf of Canada Dress.”
During her tour of Canada in 1959, she wore a blue and pink evening gown designed by Sir Hardy Amies to a dinner at the Government House in Nova Scotia, which was embroidered with blooms representing mayflowers, the provincial flower of Nova Scotia.
In her later years, she was frequently seen wearing an iconic diamond brooch in the shape of a maple leaf, called the “Canadian Maple Leaf Royal Brooch.” It had been a favourite of her mother, and after it was passed down to the Queen, she wore it to Canada numerous times, as well as loaning it to family members such as Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, when they visited Canada.
Over the years, the Queen developed strong relationships with Canada’s prime ministers, having met with many of them in person.
The Queen appointed Jean Chretien, Canada’s 20th Prime Minister to the Order of Merit in 2009, a distinction that is restricted to only 24 living people within the Commonwealth. It is given to “persons who have rendered exceptionally meritorious service to the Crown, in armed services or towards the advancement of arts, literature and science.”
Two other Canadian Prime Ministers had received the award before: William Lyon Mackenzie King in 1947, before the Queen took the throne, and Lester B. Pearson in 1971.
The very last time the Queen visited Canada was in 2010, for a nine day visit through five different cities, a trip that saw her celebrating Canada Day in Ottawa on Parliament Hill. Continuing her tradition of honouring Canada through her garments, she even had a favourite dress adjusted to add Canadian maple leaves in Swarovski crystals down the right shoulder and sleeve to wear to a state dinner at the Royal York Hotel.
“My pride in this country remains undimmed.” the Queen said the first day of the trip, speaking to a crowd in Halifax.
The Queen never publicly declared which city or region of Canada was her favourite to visit, but outside of her numerous trips to Ottawa, she visited Victoria, B.C., five times, and visited Winnipeg, Vancouver, Regina and Toronto four times as well, not counting her 1959 tour of the entire country or brief stopovers.
Despite a lack of consensus in Canada over whether we should maintain our ties to the monarchy, a debate that has simmered for decades, the Queen’s visits always brought out numerous Canadians eager to catch a glimpse of the monarch.
And her regard for Canada was evident across her reign, from start to end.
“Throughout the years, particularly since your Centennial year, I have watched Canada develop into a remarkable nation,” the Queen said in 2017, on the 150th anniversary of Confederation. “You have earned a reputation as a welcoming, respectful and compassionate country.
"On this eve of national celebrations, my family and I are with you in spirit.”
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