Here's What's Happening In Canada On The Day Of Queen Elizabeth II's Funeral

Canada's memorial starts this morning.

Justin Trudeau and Sophie Grégoire Trudeau. Right: Queen Elizabeth II's casket.

Justin Trudeau and Sophie Grégoire Trudeau. Right: Queen Elizabeth II's casket.

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It's the day of the Queen's funeral and a national day of mourning in Canada, and with that comes a lot of events and changes to day-to-day life across the country.

So, if you're a little unsure of what exactly is going on, here's a rundown of everything you need to know about the massively historic day.

First off, today is a federal holiday. This means that most federal employees have the day off.

This means that many federal services will be unavailable today, including passports, immigration, employment, Canada Post and more.

However, other federal services, like the banks, have said they will be operating on September 19.

Some provinces have followed suit by offering the day off but not all, some provinces have opted to recognize the day in other commemorative ways.

Provinces officially observing the holiday include B.C., New Brunswick, Newfoundland & Labrador, Nova Scotia and P.E.I. And while still recognizing the holiday, Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Quebec and Manitoba are not offering days off.

As of this writing, the official funeral taking place in London will be officially over. But, there was a sizeable Canadian presence at the funeral with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined by several former prime ministers, musician Gregory Charles, actress Sandra Oh and more.

Plus, members of the RCMP on horseback had a place in the memorial parade.

Back Canada-side, our national memorial will be taking place in Ottawa and starts at 11 a.m. eastern time. The event will feature a 96-gun salute — one for every year the queen was alive — a memorial parade and a flypast from the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Former prime ministers Brian Mulrooney and Joe Clarke will be at the service, which will also be broadcasted live across the country on CBC, CBC Gem, CBC Radio and more.

This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.

  • Creator

    Tristan Wheeler (he/him) was a Toronto-based Creator for Narcity Media. He graduated from the University of British Columbia in 2020 where he was the Blog & Opinion Editor at the campus publication, The Ubyssey, for two years. Since then, his work has appeared in publications such as Curiocity, Maclean's, POV Magazine, and The Capital Daily, delving into topics such as film, media criticism, food & drink, podcasting, and more.

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