His Majesty King Charles III opened the new session of Canada’s parliament Tuesday with a reading of the “speech from the throne” for only the third time in the country’s 158-year history.
The King started with a land acknowledgement and a personal note.
“I would like to acknowledge that we are gathered on the unceded territory of the Algonquin and the Anishinaabeg people,” said the King, who is head of state for Canada, which is a member of the commonwealth of former British colonies.
“This land acknowledgement is a recognition of shared history as a nation, while continuing to deepen my own understanding,” he said. “It is my great hope that in each of your communities and collectively as a country, a path is found toward truth and reconciliation in both word and deed.”
The speech marked the 20th time that Charles had visited Canada but his first trip as King of England.
“To the First Nations Inuit and Métis peoples, you have welcomed my family and myself to our traditional lands with great warmth and hospitality for which I am humbly grateful.”
The speech from the throne is delivered in the Senate chamber in a ceremony that is filled with a number of actions specific to parliaments in the British Commonwealth, and with the addition of Indigenous representation unique to Canada.
In years past, the parliament was opened by the King’s mother Queen Elizabeth II, who read the speech in 1957 and 1977. The speech from the throne is usually read by the Governor General, who is the official representative of the crown in Canada.
On Tuesday, the King was led into the Senate by the Usher of the Black Rod who later summoned the Members of Parliament into the chamber.
The King entered the front foyer with Queen Camilla; Governor General Mary Simon, Inuk, and her husband Whit Fraser; Prime Minister Mark Carney; and a few other dignitaries. He greeted senior members of the Senate and heads of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Canadian military.
The group were then sung an honor song by a First Nations powwow group before being led by the Usher into the Senate chamber.
In the chamber, there were numerous Indigenous representatives including National Chief Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami President Natan Obed, Métis National Council President Victoria Pruden, former National Chief Perry Bellegarde, Assembly of Manitoba Chief Kyra Wilson and Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew.
When the King made his rounds, shaking hands and greeting various dignitaries, he held a noticeably lengthy exchange with Kinew, who would post to X later in the afternoon.
“King Charles and I spoke about the wildfires in Manitoba, about building the economy, and how focusing on the climate might help us make investments that connect those issues,” posted the Manitoba Premier. “Before he left, he said we need Indigenous wisdom.”
The King and Queen then took their thrones and people were seated. Métis youth Morgan Grace played a gorgeous reel on her fiddle, and when the song was done, an Inuit elder lit the qulliq – a traditional oil lamp that has been used since time immemorial for heat, light and ceremony.
The throne speech sets out the government’s agenda for its upcoming mandate and is largely written by the prime minister’s staff, but also includes personal statements from the king or queen.
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“The government is working closely with provinces, territories and Indigenous peoples to identify and catalyze projects of national significance, projects that will connect to Canada, that will deepen Canada’s ties with the world, and that will create high paying jobs for generations,” the King said. “Through the creation of a new major federal project office, the time needed to approve a project will be reduced from five years to two, all while upholding Canada’s world leading environmental standards and its constitutional obligations to Indigenous peoples.”
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