The prime minister announced today he will take part in royal tour events in Victoria and Vancouver.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Sophie Grégoire Trudeau will help officially welcome the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as they arrive in Victoria on Saturday.
“Canadians have tremendous affection for the Royal Family, and are excited to welcome the Duke and Duchess to our nation for their second official Royal Tour of Canada,” said Trudeau, in a news release from his office.
Prince William and his wife, Kate, arrive on Vancouver Island with Prince George and Princess Charlotte at 443 Maritime Helicopter Squadron at the Victoria International Airport at 4 p.m. Saturday.
It is the second official tour of Canada for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. Their first tour was in 2011 as newlyweds.
The prime minister will take part in a welcome ceremony at about 5 p.m. at the B.C. legislature which will include a 21-gun salute, the raising of his royal highness’s Canadian Standard, and an inspection of the Guard of Honour.
The legislature ceremony will include a dance and song by members of the Songhees and Esquimalt First Nations.
Premier Christy Clark will represent the province, as will B.C.’s representative to the Queen, Lt.-Gov. Judith Guichon.
The Duke and Duchess will lay a wreath at the cenotaph to honour Canadian military service and acknowledge a plaque commemorating the Afghanistan mission. Prince William will address the audience.
Later the prime minister and Grégoire Trudeau will have a private audience with the Duke and Duchess.
On Sunday, the prime minister and Grégoire Trudeau accompany the royal couple on a tour of the Immigrant Services Society’s new Welcome Centre in Vancouver.
The centre is the first purpose-built facility of its kind that provides settlement, education, and employment services for thousands of immigrants and refugees each year, says the prime minister’s office.
The four will meet with a government-assisted refugee family from Syria as well as with three clients of the MAPLE 2.0 immigrant professionals program.
Later that same day in Vancouver, the four will attend a reception with Canadian youth deemed to be making a difference in their communities and they will visit Kitsilano Coast Guard Station to speak with first responders about their life-saving work.
While there, the royal couple and the prime minister and Grégoire Trudeau will also take part in a discussion on mental health issues with representatives of first responders’ organizations, including Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue, North Shore Search and Rescue, Vancouver Police Department, Vancouver Fire Department, B.C. Ambulance Services, Coast Guard First Responders, and Do it for Daron — a group that encourages young people to talk openly about mental illness and to ask for help when needed, spearheaded by parents Luke and Stephanie Richardson after their 14-year-old daughter Daron died by suicide in November 2010.
“Sophie and I look forward to showcasing beautiful British Columbia and to promoting awareness of both youth and mental health issues alongside iheir royal highnesses,” said Trudeau.
Guichon will host the Royal Family at her Government House residence on Rockland Avenue for the week. It will be closed to the public from Sept. 23 to Oct. 2.
