Death of Queen Elizabeth II and her ‘personal’ relationship with the Maritimes

As news of Queen Elizabeth II’s death spreads, Maritimers are joining the chorus of international voices sharing their condolences and memories of the late monarch.

The queen, 96, died Thursday in her Scottish residence, Balmoral Castle. She was the longest-reigning monarch in British history and Canada’s head of state.

Flags at Province House in Nova Scotia are at half-mast, while Lt. Gov. Arthur J. LeBlanc offered condolences to all members of the royal family.

“Her five visits to our province will be remembered by Nova Scotians for generations to come. Over the coming days, people throughout our province and around the world will be coming together to remember the queen’s lifetime of service and dedication to so many worthy causes,” said Premier Tim Houston in a video statement.

New Brunswick Lt. Gov. Brenda Murphy sent condolences on behalf of New Brunswickers, saying Her Late Majesty was “greatly loved by all her New Brunswick subjects, and her outstanding dedication to Canada and the Commonwealth will be remembered for generations to come.”

In his statement, New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs said that during the queen’s years as Canada’s head of state, “Canadians welcomed her into their hearts.”

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“During her reign she forged a close and lasting relationship with our country and our province. She visited Canada and New Brunswick several times during which the high regard in which New Brunswickers held her was obvious,” Higgs said.

“She was a symbol of strength and resolve, a guiding light in turbulent times, and a figure of stability.”

Barry MacKenzie, a royal historian and the Atlantic Canada spokesperson for the Monarchist League of Canada, said the queen had a “personal” relationship with the Maritimes.

“The queen’s relationship with this part of the country goes back in a personal way, to the early 1950s — before she was queen, when she was a princess,” he said in an interview with Global News on Thursday afternoon.

“(She) and the Duke undertook a weeks-long tour of Canada, which included stops throughout the Maritimes.”

While the queen may not have spent much time in Eastern Canada, MacKenzie said she has been central in its history.

“Because she’s been so part and parcel to all of the key developments throughout our history here — celebrating whether it was the bicentennial of the founding of New Brunswick or the centennial of the Canadian Navy in Halifax or … the centennial of Prince Edward Island joining Confederation,” he said.

“The queen has been there. And so she has been part of the backdrop, a cornerstone of our national life. And as an extension of that, a cornerstone to the lives of people in Atlantic Canada.”

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Queen Elizabeth II’s last trip to Canada was in 2010. During that visit, where she was accompanied by her late husband Prince Philip, she visited Halifax to mark the navy’s 100th anniversary.

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Previous trips to the region included a 1976 visit to Acadia University in Wolfville, N.S., which was recalled by the university’s current president on Twitter.

With Queen Elizabeth II’s death, her son will now take over the throne as King Charles III.

MacKenzie said while “the institution will work just as well as it has,” it will feel “very different.”

“The most visible presence in our national life for 70 years will be gone,” he said.

“It’s going to be tougher for people to adjust to perhaps than they think just because, she’s part of the backdrop. And I think that will be a challenge for a lot of us.”

— with a file from Ashley Field