The Queen has died at the age of 96. Most Canadians have never known a world in which she wasn’t the official head of state.
Queen Elizabeth II visited Alberta six times over the course of 54 years, with her first visit coming before she became monarch.
1951
Her inaugural visit to Canada was made while she was still Princess Elizabeth. She and her new husband Prince Philip made a coast-to-coast tour of the country.
Princess Elizabeth’s first trip to Alberta was 111 days before she became Queen. The Calgary Stampede put on a special fall edition of the show just for the princess and she would go on to visit three more Stampedes over the decades.
She also visited Edmonton for one day during that 33-day tour across Canada. More than 160,000 people lined the streets to see the Royal couple make a 32-kilometre procession through the Alberta capital.
It was during that trip when Portage Avenue from 101 Street to Kingsway would be paved and renamed Princess Elizabeth Avenue in honour of the visit.
Earlier in 1939, the thoroughfare was dubbed Kingsway in honour of the visit by her father, King George VI.
During the 1951 visit, the Royal couple was greeted at Alberta Legislature by Premier Ernest Manning and gifted a polar bear fur rug. The couple also attended Col. Mewburn Pavillion of University Hospital to visit with veterans, then on to the Imperial Refinery — now called Strathcona Refinery — for tea.
A state dinner hosted by the provincial government was held at the Hotel Macdonald. The couple also watched a CFL game, in which Edmonton beat Winnipeg 4-1 in the western semifinal, before leaving the city.
1959
The Queen with Prince Philip made a six-week tour of all provinces and territories. The tour lasted 45 days and included 90 stops.
Upon arrival in Calgary on July 9, Her Majesty and Prince Philip attended the Calgary Stampede. They watched chuckwagon races and attended a barbecue.
In a replica First Nations village, the Queen and her husband briefly spoke with Chief Walking Buffalo of the Stoney-Nakoda First Nation and then spent time meeting other Indigenous Albertans.
The next day, the Royal couple boarded a train to Banff and Lake Louise, before carrying on to the west coast and northern territories.
When they arrived in Whitehorse, the couple spilt up for that portion of the tour because the Queen became ill and cancelled her engagements for the next two days. During that time, Prince Philip visited Yellowknife and other places in the Northwest Territories, as well as a gold and uranium mines in far northern Saskatchewan. Her Majesty flew straight to Edmonton on her own and her husband later joined her there.
The Queen returned to her official duties in Edmonton, where some 200,000 people gathered on the streets to greet her. Her Edmonton stop included the opening of Coronation Park. After that, the Royals started to head back to central and eastern Canada for the final legs of the tour, boarding a train that took them through Wainwright and on to Saskatchewan.
1973
The Queen and Prince Philip visited Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan and Alberta. They marked the RCMP centennial, the centennial of P.E.I. joining Confederation and the tercentennial of Kingston, Ont.
During her stop in the province, Queen Elizabeth had dinner with Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau at the Fairmont Palliser Hotel in downtown Calgary. She also attended the Calgary Stampede.
1978
The Queen and Prince Philip, along with their sons Edward and Andrew, visited Newfoundland, Saskatchewan and Alberta, where they opened and attended the 1978 Commonwealth Games in Edmonton. Commonwealth Stadium was built specifically for the event.
The Royal Family attended a banquet hosted by Premier Peter Lougheed, during which the Queen gave a televised national address about the importance of a unified Canada.
The premier agreed with the Queen while emphasizing the strength and success of Alberta and the west.
At this time in history, the province was engaged in an “energy war” with the federal government over the several policies enacted by then Premier Pierre Trudeau, which some say ended up causing great economic hardship in Alberta and led to a rift between the east and west.
During that same visit, the Queen visited the Alberta Legislature, placed a wreath at the Cenotaph and greeted people at Churchill Square before opening the Commonwealth Games. During that trip she also visited the University of Alberta, Kinsmen Aquatic Centre and the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium.
1990
The Queen returned to Alberta, visiting Red Deer and Calgary for four days before stopping in Ottawa for Canada Day festivities in 1990.
She visited Spruce Meadows with Premier Don Getty and his wife Margaret, inaugurating the Queen Elizabeth II Cup equestrian competition that has been held every year since.
Her Majesty also opened the Museum of the Regiments at Canadian Forces Base Calgary, went to McMahon Stadium and spoke at a luncheon. She opened the new pediatric ward at the Red Deer Hospital during that trip.
2005
The Queen and Prince Philip embarked upon a nine-day tour of Saskatchewan and Alberta to celebrate both provinces’ centennials. The trip was characterized by torrents of rain at nearly every stop.
She began in Edmonton by returning to Commonwealth Stadium on Victoria Day but relentless rainfall put a damper on the day, causing many acts to cancel.
She also once again vested the legislature with Premier Ralph Klein. The Queen addressed Alberta in the legislature for the first time in the province’s history.
The Queen cut a cake of the legislature made by NAIT students and during this trip two Alberta landmarks were renamed in honor of Her Majesty: Highway 2 became Queen Elizabeth II Highway (the QEII), and the Provincial Museum of Alberta became the Royal Alberta Museum.
During this trip, she was also taken on a helicopter tour of the oilsands.
In Calgary, the city’s famous tower was lit as she went to a lunch hosted by the premier, before attending a centennial celebration at the Saddledome with 17,000 spectators.
That 2005 trip was the last time the monarch visited Alberta, although she did return to Canada one more time in 2010 for a nine-day tour of Halifax, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Toronto, and Waterloo, Ont.
— With files from The Canadian Press
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