WINNIPEG — The skies politely waited until the Queen was finished speaking Saturday before opening up, but only barely, as Winnipeg’s weather and its citizens gave their monarch a warm welcome.
At at open-air concert in downtown Winnipeg, she talked of the importance of Canada Day and Canada’s role in promoting human rights, only a few minutes after unveiling a new cornerstone for the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. The concert and the museum were both at The Forks, where the Red and Assiniboine rivers meet.
The cornerstone contains a rock picked from the field of Runnymede, near the Queen’s home at Windsor Castle, where the Magna Carta was signed in 1215.
“That document was itself a cornerstone of democratic rights and gave rise to the rule of constitutional law that now flourishes across the English-speaking world,” the Queen told the thousands who came to see her and hear homegrown acts such as Chantal Kreviazuk.
“Here at The Forks, the symbolism of Magna Carta is now joined to the historical importance of the site where aboriginal peoples have gathered for thousands of years to exchange views and resolve conflicts.”
Moments after she walked off the stage, the rain that had been threatening all day finally broke free of the clouds and pelted the crowd. Umbrellas popped and many decided the Queen had been the main attraction and left for drier ground.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper also flew in for the cornerstone ceremony for Canada’s newest museum, which isn’t expected to be completed until 2012. It was the brainchild of the late Izzy Asper, who founded the now defunct Canwest Global media empire.
The museum will be a fitting tribute to Canada’s long history of upholding the concept that human rights must be universal, Harper said a few minutes before the Queen spoke.
“Canada’s conscience has been formed by a profound belief in human rights and this living tradition of freedom,” said Harper. “It has made us a good country.”
With temperatures climbing to the 30s and thunderclouds circling overhead, the Queen and Prince Philip started their journey at Winnipeg’s almost completed new $585-million Richardson International Airport, becoming its first arriving passengers.
They were greeted by Manitoba Lt.-Gov. Philip Lee and other local dignitaries and the Queen signed a letter to Manitoba’s young people. The letter was placed in a time capsule to be opened in 2060.
The Queen, wearing a matching lavender hat and coat (she changed into pale yellow and pink later) smiled and talked to the few well-wishers who were allowed in to the still unopened terminal.
Ursula Hartel said getting a chance to exchange a few words with the Queen was a “once in a lifetime event.”
“She looks beautiful,” Hartel said. “I didn’t expect her to look that good.”
The Queen asked Hartel if the two children nearby were her grandchildren. “I said no, I wish they were,” Hartel laughed.
The royal couple were then driven in a motorcade to Government House, next to the Manitoba legislature. Lightning threatened onlookers just before she arrived but the weather cleared and no one got wet, although the humidity made it feel 10 degrees warmer.
After accepting flowers, the couple went inside where they mingled and looked at one of the few surviving copies of the Magna Carta from the 13th century, which is on loan to Manitoba for the next three months.
Flanked by two scarlet-clad RCMP officers, the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh discussed the history of the Great Charter with Lee and his wife before going in for lunch.
The historic document will be moved to the Manitoba legislature so the public can get a look at what is considered part of the foundation of the rule of constitutional law.
Colin Rees, 28, wore a pin-striped suit (no tie), straw hat and stood in the heat for two hours to snag a good spot to catch a minute or two of the royal couple as they entered Government House.
“It’s not every day you can glimpse the Queen,” said Rees, who said he likes the fact that Canada has a monarch.
“I think it distinguishes us on the continent and is part of our identity, part of our history and, I certainly hope, part of our future.”
The Queen travels next to Toronto, to attend the running of the Queen’s Plate.
She’ll also spend the rest of her nine-day visit to Canada in southern Ontario.
The Queen’s last visit to Winnipeg was in 2002 when the boat she had been placed in for a short ride across the Red River stalled. This time, officials had her walk across a bridge from the old French-speaking quarter of St. Boniface to The Forks.