Condolences for Queen Elizabeth II are pouring in throughout central Ontario on Thursday.
Following the announcement of her death, the City of Peterborough stated that it lowered its flag at City Hall to half-staff to honour Britain’s longest reigning monarch and Canada’s head of state.
“Our sincere condolences to the Royal Family and the UK in their time of sorrow and loss,” the city stated in a tweet.
Peterborough-Kawartha MPP Dave Smith and MP Michelle Ferreri both shared sentiments of loss for the nation.
“My thoughts and prayers, and I know those of many throughout our community, are with Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II and her family. God Save the Queen,” said Smith.
“A life full of service,” said Ferreri in a tweet. “Thank you to Her Majesty. My deepest condolences to her family at this time.”
In Peterborough County, Warden J. Murray Jones extended condolences to the Royal Family.
“Queen Elizabeth II, who presided over the United Kingdom and Commonwealth, including Canada, for over 70 years was a beacon of stability, who dedicated her life to her royal duty,” said Jones. “Her service to Canadians will remain an important part of our county’s history.”
In the City of Kawartha Lakes, where a wild lands provincial park north of Lindsay is named in the queen’s honour, Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock MP Jamie Schmale also extended condolences.
“On behalf of the constituency of Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock, I would like to extend my sincere condolences to the members of the Royal Family, and people of the Commonwealth,” he said.
The City of Kawartha Lakes Police Service lowered its flag to honour Queen Elizabeth II.
“The Kawartha Lakes Police Service joins Canadians in mourning the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. We extend our condolences to the Royal Family,” the service tweeted.
Visit to Port Hope
Queen Elizabeth never made a formal visit to the City of Peterborough. However, she did make visits to the nearby towns of Port Hope and Cobourg.
In July 1959, the queen and her husband, Prince Philip, visited then-governor-general of Canada Vincent Massey at an estate called Batterwood in Canton, just northwest of Port Hope. Massey was the first Canadian appointed to the role.
According to St. Mark’s Anglican Church in Port Hope, Massey was a parishioner at the church and invited the royal couple as guests at Batterwood and to attend a morning prayer at St. Mark’s on July 26, 1959.
A signed portrait of the royal couple and a plaque on the pew where they sat are on display at the church, which today posted, “may she rest in peace and rise in glory.”
On Thursday, the Municipality of Port Hope lowered its flags to half-mast at all municipal facilities. A book of condolences will be available at Town Hall beginning on Monday, Sept. 12.
“The Municipality of Port Hope adds its condolences to those being offered by Canadians across the Country to King Charles III, the Queen Consort and the Royal Family at this time,” stated Mayor Bob Sanderson.
“Her Majesty’s service to Canada was admirable and Her legacy will live on in our hearts and history.”
Cobourg visit
Then, in 1973, as part of an 11-day tour of Canada, Queen Elizabeth visited Cobourg where she visited Victoria Hall (built in the 1850s and named after her great-great grandmother Queen Victoria). She also planted a silver maple tree in the Ganaraska Conservation area as part of Conservation Week.
According to the Toronto Public Library, more than 5,000 people crowded into a park to watch the tree-planting ceremony and see the queen unveil a cairn.
The Town of Cobourg says a book of condolences will be at Victoria Hall (55 King St. W.) which will be forwarded to Buckingham Palace the week of Oct. 3.
On Thursday, the area’s provincial and federal representatives also shared their condolences.
Northumberland-Peterborough South MPP David Piccini said he was “deeply saddened” by the passing of the queen.
“The queen loved Canada and served our country with deep compassion and commitment,” he said. “I would like to offer my sincere condolences to The Royal Family.”
MP Philip Lawrence echoed the sentiment.
“I join many other Canadians in mourning the loss of Queen Elizabeth II,” he said. “She served as queen with much dignity and honour for over 70 years. My deepest condolences to the Royal Family.”
Northumberland County Warden Bob Crate says the county joins communities around the world in “expressing heartfelt condolences” to the Royal Family and the people of the United Kingdom.
“The Queen’s unprecedented 70 years on the throne were marked by her profound sense of duty and an enduring commitment to public service,” he said. ‘Through political and societal change across the decades, her presence was a stabilizing force for the Commonwealth.”
He said her visits to the area will be a “connection we will long cherish in reflecting on her reign.”
Flags at all Northumberland County buildings have been lowered to half-staff until sunset on the day of her memorial service.
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