LIVE: King Charles meeting with Gov. Gen. Mary Simon
CBC News Chief Correspondent Adrienne Arsenault hosts special coverage of the King and Queen’s first visit to Canada since Charles became the monarch.
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King Charles and Queen Camilla are shaking hands and greeting people outside Rideau Hall in Ottawa after having landed in Ottawa earlier this afternoon.They took part in a tree planting ceremony at Rideau Hall and will attend the swearing-in of Camilla as a member of the King’s Privy Council in Canada.Earlier, the royals went to Lansdowne Park, where they took part in a street hockey puck drop and met food vendors amid a crowd of hundreds.Tomorrow, Charles will deliver the speech from the throne in the Senate chamber to launch the 45th Parliament.The event will mark the third time a monarch delivers the throne speech in Canada. Charles’s mother and predecessor, Queen Elizabeth II, read the speech in 1957 and 1977. The visit aims to underscore Canadian sovereignty amid tensions with U.S. President Donald Trump. Updates
May 26
34 minutes agoJohn Paul Tasker
Charles and Camilla greet onlookers at Rideau Hall after planting a tree, joined by the Governor General, the prime minister and their spouses. (John Paul Tasker/CBC)Charles and Camilla are being greeted by hundreds of well-wishers here at Rideau Hall to see the tree-planting ceremony — a crowd that, to my eyes, is considerably larger than what greeted him in 2022 when he was here last to mark the late Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
Some of the people assembled here mobbed the King after he was done with the tree — rushing to shake his hand or grab a selfie with him and Camilla.
There were a couple cries of “Thank you for coming, sir!” and “It’s an honour to meet you, your majesty” from the people on hand. Unlike in 2022, the current prime minister, Mark Carney, is by the King’s side at every turn.
35 minutes ago
‘It’s a good day for Canada,’ PM tells CBC
Ashley Burke
Veterans with The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada Association meet the King and Queen at Lansdowne Park on Monday. (Ashley Burke/CBC)I’m Ashley Burke, a senior reporter with CBC’s Parliamentary Bureau, covering the King’s visit from Lansdowne Park.
We were standing behind a group of veterans with The Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada Association who met the King, Queen and Prime Minister Mark Carney.
One of the veterans told Carney he has a lot of work ahead of him.
“We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us, but it’s going in the right direction,” Carney responded. “We’ve got the right plan.”
I asked Carney what message he’s sending to U.S. President Donald Trump today. When he didn’t respond, I asked what his message was today.
“It’s a good day for Canada,” Carney said.
One of the veterans observed, “it’s not raining.”
“It’s not raining, the sun is shining, the future is bright,” said Carney. “The land is strong.”
40 minutes ago
More than just a tree
Janet Davison
King’s blue beech tree a symbol of Canada’s ‘resilience’
King Charles and Queen Camilla placed soil over and watered a blue beech tree on the grounds of Rideau Hall in Ottawa Monday. The Governor General said the new tree represents ‘a living symbol of resilience, adaptability and heritage.’
The ceremonial tree planting by King Charles and Queen Camilla is the latest moment in a time-honoured royal tradition.
But as Charles gently spread the dirt, and Camilla followed up with a watering can, the new blue beech they nurtured became more than just another addition to the natural landscape at Rideau Hall.
According to the Governor-General’s website, Charles’s mother, Queen Elizabeth, and members of the Royal Family have planted 17 commemorative trees since 1939.
Charles himself has already planted four trees at Rideau Hall during visits as Prince of Wales — in 1971, 1983, 2009 and 2017.
Royal historian Justin Vovk of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont., sees a broader significance to the planting at this time, particularly in how a tree can represent a natural resource that is critical in Canada.
“There has been so much talk the last four months about Canada’s resources vis-a-vis the United States, the 51st state, all of that rhetoric,” Vovk told me. “So the planting of a tree does take on added symbolism.”
41 minutes ago
Crowd breaks out into ‘God Save the King’
Catharine Tunney
A fairly large crowd has gathered at Rideau Hall to try and meet Charles and Camilla, even as the rain starts to come down.
They burst out into a loud and spontaneous rendition of God Save the King.
While not all Canadians love the monarchy, Charles has been met with friendly and large crowds so far today.
59 minutes ago
Chatting with Canadians in an energetic crowd
Janet Davison
King Charles and Queen Camilla watch a falafel vendor in action during their visit to Lansdowne Park. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press)From the moment Charles became King in 2022, it’s been noted how open and eager he is to have the opportunity to meet with members of the public.
The cellphone-waving crowd at Lansdowne Park has given him a chance to do that in Canada.
“It’s a really large and enthusiastic crowd,” Harris told Adrienne Arsenault.
There had been some concerns ahead of the visit, Harris noted. Given there hadn’t been a high-profile royal visit for a while, what happens if, for example, the weather isn’t great and people don’t necessarily show up in numbers?
But the weather was on the organizers’ side. People were cheering and waving as Charles and Camilla made their way around to meet the Canadians invited to be part of the event.
“You can see the King and Queen responding to the energy of the crowd,” Harris said.
“They’re smiling. They’re shaking hands. They’re clearly very happy to be here.”
1 hour ago
Sheep and skateboards
Catharine Tunney
Charles was just touring the horticulture building at Lansdowne Park, not far from downtown Ottawa. He met with individuals and organizations, who according to the official program showcase “Canada’s identity and diversity in a relaxed, friendly and celebratory atmosphere.”
They include students who painted skateboards for Indigenous youth in need in Ottawa, and OrKidstra, a program that helps kids from equity-deserving Ottawa communities learn how to play musical instruments.
Oh, and he met a sheep with the Canada Agriculture and Food Museum display.
1 hour agoJohn Paul Tasker
A blue beech tree at Rideau Hall, seen shortly before King Charles arrived for a ceremonial planting. (John Paul Tasker/CBC)Good afternoon from Rideau Hall. I’m J.P. Tasker, a reporter in the Parliamentary Bureau following the royal visit.
King Charles will soon be on hand here to plant a tree on the grounds of this historic 19th-century villa, the home that serves as his official residence when he’s here in Canada.
The tree that has been selected is a blue beech, which the Governor General’s office is calling “a living symbol of resilience, adaptability and heritage.” It’s a hearty tree that grows well in this part of the country. Early Canadian settlers used its strong wood to craft tools and bowls, and Indigenous peoples used it for medicinal purposes, according to a backgrounder provided to reporters.
Soil from all 13 provinces and territories in the dirt will be layered on top of the tree.
This isn’t the first time Charles has planted a ceremonial tree at Rideau Hall; in fact this will be his fifth and the second time he’s planted one with Camilla. It’s his first tree planting as King, though. The last four were done while he served as the Prince of Wales.
2 hours agoMichael Woods
King Charles drops puck at street hockey game as he mingles with Canadians
King Charles shook hands with the Canadians gathered at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa as he toured the area with Queen Camilla as part of their two-day visit to Canada. There, the King also participated in a ceremonial puck drop for a street hockey demonstration.
The King appeared to really enjoy dropping the puck at a street hockey demonstration at Lansdowne Park.
Former Ottawa Senators defenceman Chris Phillips, the team’s all-time leader in games played, greeted the King and Queen before Charles dropped the puck.
Phillips won the faceoff, then gave the puck back to Charles.
Before that, Charles and Camilla greeted the local vendors set up at the farmers’ market. The King is a noted fan of farmers’ markets (he visited the ByWard Market on his last visit in 2022).
2 hours ago
Repatriation, reconciliation and Arctic issues
Verity Stevenson
National Inuit Leader Angajuqqaaq Natan Obed speaks during a press conference at Global Affairs Canada headquarters in Ottawa on Dec. 6, 2024. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)Natan Obed, the president of Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami, the organization representing the 60,000 Inuit in Canada, was among the people greeting Charles and Camilla on the tarmac.
It’s his second time meeting the King, the first having been at Buckingham Palace in 2022, just before Charles’s coronation that year.
“At the time, it seemed like a really exceptional moment to be able to put reconciliation and Indigenous peoples’ issues at the very front of the King’s new agenda,” Obed told CBC’s Adrienne Arsenault from the airport.
Obed said reconciliation, climate change, recognition of Inuit sovereignty and repatriation of Inuit artifacts and human remains from museums in the U.K. are among priorities he has raised with the King.
“The relationship with the King and the Crown is not only practical through our treaties and our association with Canada as a nation state, but it also is ambitious in that we can look forward and imagine doing more together,” he said.
2 hours ago
Local teen chosen to give flowers to King and Queen
Catharine Tunney
Charles and Camilla receive flowers from Lila Graham, 14, of Carleton Place, Ont., as they arrive at the Ottawa International Airport. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press)Fourteen year-old Lila Graham, who recently received a King Charles lll Coronation Medal, was chosen to give flowers to the royal couple when they touched down
From nearby Carleton Place, Ont., she’s known for raising money for the local food bank. Since the age of four she’s been asking for donations for the Lanark County Food Bank instead of birthday gifts.
Speaking to CBC’s Adrienne Arsenault, Graham called the experience “absolutely incredible.”
The teen said she rehearsed what she was going to say with her parents in the car ride up.
“[I was] shaking their hands, making sure I didn’t vomit everywhere,” she said.
