The sovereign will read the government's speech from the throne for the first time in nearly 50 years, as King Charles attends the opening of Canada's 45th Parliament.
Follow CPAC and cpac.ca for full coverage on Tuesday, May 27
Nearly 500 people are expected in the Senate chamber, including former governors general and prime ministers.
King Charles will arrive in Canada's State Landau, accompanied by horses from the Royal Canadian Police's Musical Ride.
He will receive a a royal salute, a 100-member military guard of honour, and a 21-gun salute before going inside the Senate building.
The King's procession into the chamber will include Governor General Mary Simon, Prime Minister Mark Carney, Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Jennie Carignan, and RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme.
Speech From the Throne: How it Looks
Parliament begins each session with stately pageantry that includes a speech setting out the government's agenda and priorities.
Traditions surrounding the speech trace their lineage back several centuries.
The Senate speaker will send Greg Peters, the Usher of the Black Rod, to summon MPs to the temporary upper chamber just east of Parliament Hill. Peters, known colloquially as Black Rod, will knock three times on the main door of the temporary House of Commons chamber in West Block. (The door is closed to symbolize the independence of MPs from the Crown.)
The House sergeant-at-arms informs the newly-elected speaker that Black Rod is carrying a message from Governor General Mary May Simon. Black Rod asks the speaker and MPs to "attend" the King in the Senate, since neither the sovereign nor the Governor General goes inside the House of Commons.
When King Charles reads the Speech from the Throne to open Canada's 45th Parliament, it will be in the Senate chamber. CPAC's Andrew Thomson explains why the King — and the Governor General — are not in the House of Commons.
The Governor General almost always reads the Speech from the Throne. The previous two occasions when a monarch (Queen Elizabeth II) performed the duty:
- October 14, 1957: opening the 23rd Parliament
- October 18, 1977: opening the 3rd session of the 30th Parliament
(King George VI gave Royal Assent to bills in the Senate in 1939, but did not deliver a speech from the throne.)
Whether a king, queen, or governor general delivers the speech, its text is entered onto parchment and presented to the Crown by the Speaker of the House.
Watch CPAC's coverage of the 2021 Speech from the Throne:
Why it Happens
What's the constitutional basis for the Speech from the Throne?
From House of Commons Procedure and Practice:
Section 38 of the Constitution Act, 1867 provides for the summoning of Parliament: "The Governor General shall from Time to Time, in the Queen's Name, by Instrument under the Great Seal of Canada, summon and call together the House of Commons."
The "Instrument" consists of a series of proclamations issued by the Governor General on the advice of the Prime Minister and published in the Canada Gazette.
On the day that Parliament is dissolved or prorogued, a proclamation is issued summoning Parliament to meet on a given day. It is issued at the end of the preceding session, in keeping with the principle of the continuity of Parliament, whereby a session ends with provision made for its next meeting. A second proclamation confirms or changes the date and may set the time for Parliament to meet for the 'Dispatch of Business' (the date can later be advanced or put back). A third proclamation is issued if the time for Parliament to meet was not announced in the second proclamation.
And, MPs and senators need to know why they were officially summoned by third part of Parliament: the Crown. Hence the speech.
The government writes the speech -- aside from an introduction by the King or Governor General -- and sets the date.
After the Speech
Once MPs return to the House of Commons, a backbench member of the government caucus typically move a motion to consider an Address in Reply: a short statement of thanks to the King or Governor General for providing the speech.
Debate can last up to six days, beginning with “Leaders' Day.” The official opposition leader speaks and typically moves an amendment to the Address in Reply. By tradition the prime minister speaks next, followed by the other party leaders.
Other procedural matters to watch for in the new Parliament:
- Prime Minister Mark Carney will introduce Bill C-1, the traditional pro forma legislation that affirms the House's independence and its ability to address issues not contained in the speech from the throne.
- The new speaker announces membership for the Board of Internal Economy and the appointment of deputy speaker and two assistant deputy speakers.
- Government House Leader Steven MacKinnon moves the appointment of members to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, which is charged with creating membership for other standing committees.
