Former prime ministers Stephen Harper, Paul Martin, Jean Chrétien and Kim Campbell will be part of the delegation, as will former governors General Michaëlle Jean and David Johnston. Absent from the delegation are former governors General Ed Schreyer, Adrienne Clarkson and Julie Payette. Former prime ministers Brian Mulroney and Joe Clark are choosing to attend the ceremony in Ottawa, sources told the CBC. Cultural Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said the delegation was chosen based on past practices. “There is a long tradition and the protocol is quite clear,” he said. The delegation also includes Assembly of First Nations National Chief RoseAnne Archibald, Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami President Nathan Obed and Métis National Council President Cassidy Caron. More than a dozen Canadian Armed Forces regiments will travel to London to take part in the ceremony along with other service members from across the Commonwealth. Four members of the RCMP marching band will perform at the funeral procession in London. They will be riding horses on loan from the stables at Buckingham Palace. Cross of Valor recipient Leslie Arthur Palmer and Order of Canada members Mark Tewksbury, Gregory Charles and Sandra Oh will attend the service as part of a procession of national honorees. Up to a million Britons and visitors from around the world are expected to line Westminster Hall to bid farewell to Britain’s longest-serving monarch this week.
The ceremony in Ottawa
Back in Ottawa, many MPs and dignitaries not attending the funeral in London will attend a memorial service at Christ Church Cathedral. This ceremony was scheduled to begin at 11:00 am, but will not begin until after the ceremony in London is completed. Events will begin in Ottawa shortly before that, at 10:10 a.m., with a parade featuring members of the Canadian Armed Forces. They will depart from the Cartier Square Drill Hall, behind City Hall, accompanied by the Central Band of the Canadian Armed Forces. The parade will pass the war memorial and in front of the Houses of Parliament, where 96 salutes will be fired into the air — one for each year of the Queen’s life. From 5 am ET Monday, CBC News will have live television coverage of the state funeral, hosted from London by chief correspondent Adrienne Arsenault and Morning Live anchor Heather Hiscox. You can watch CBC TV, CBC News Network, CBC Gem and CBCNews.ca. CBC Radio One will have live coverage of the funeral beginning at 5:30 a.m. ET, hosted by Matt Galloway of The Current in London and Marcia Young of World Report in Toronto. Listen to CBC Radio One and the free CBC Listen app.
