Royal puck drop: King Charles kicks off street hockey game in Ottawa visit

Chants of “God Save the King” rang out as approximately 500 well-wishers packed Ottawa’s Lansdowne Park on Monday afternoon to greet King Charles and Queen Camilla on their first official visit to Canada since Charles ascended the throne.

The royal couple arrived at the park directly from the Ottawa International Airport and were welcomed by the city’s Mayor Mark Sutcliffe at a farmers market that featured a maple syrup stall, local flower sellers, and a falafel stand run by Syrian refugees.

King Charles and Queen Camilla arrive at Lansdowne Park in Ottawa on Monday, where they were greeted by Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and welcomed by hundreds of people. (Photo by Nehaa Bimal)

The King and Queen greeted vendors and community members. Union Jack flags waved, cameras flashed, and cheers rang out among the crowd.

It wasn’t all pro-royal, though: Signs with messages such as “taxation without representation” and “Charles is not my king and neither is Mark Carney” appeared in the crowd.

The couple also met Olympic soccer champion Desiree Scott, who plays for Ottawa Rapid FC in the Northern Super League, and former Ottawa Senators defenceman Chris Phillips.

Charles, 76, later dropped the puck in a ceremonial faceoff to launch a children’s street hockey game in a makeshift rink outside the Aberdeen Pavilion as Prime Minister Mark Carney and his wife, Diana Fox Carney, watched closely.

While two Indigenous dancers from Mādahòkì Farm in Ottawa performed as the King and Queen arrived, there appeared to be no Inuit presence among the performances and no Nunavut flags were visible in the crowd.

The event, held outside the park’s Horticulture Building and pavilion, marked the second stop of the royal couple’s two-day visit to the capital. After that, they headed to Rideau Hall, the governor general’s residence, for a ceremonial tree planting. While there, they were to meet with Gov. Gen. Mary Simon and Carney on Monday night.

On Tuesday, Charles will deliver the speech from the throne to open the 45th Parliament.

It’s the first time a monarch has delivered the speech from the throne since 1977 when the King’s mother, Queen Elizabeth II, did it. Most speeches from the throne are read by the governor general, the monarch’s representative in Canada.