'Historic but also very sad time': Manitobans pay tribute as Queen Elizabeth II laid to rest
CBC
Cannons boomed across the Assiniboine River in downtown Winnipeg on Monday in a deafening salute to Queen Elizabeth II as she was laid to rest 6,000 kilometres away.
About 200 people showed up on the grounds of the Manitoba legislative building to watch as a haze of smoke filled the air.
The 96 rounds fired — 24 each from four cannons — was a tribute to the Queen's age when she died last Thursday afternoon, having served as the constitutional monarch of the United Kingdom for 70 years, the longest rule in British history.
Karen Kroft was expecting a much shorter and traditional 21-gun salute.
"We're surprised … 96 is long but you know, we owe her," she said. "Seventy years is a long time. She's a wonderful example to all of us."
Kroft said the Queen's death "was surprisingly impactful" to her so she wanted to be there Monday to offer her respects.
Lisa Bland was more conflicted about being there.
"At first I was like, 'Celebrate the Queen? Why?'" she said, noting her daughter suggested they go.
Bland said the strained historical relationship between the Crown and First Nations was the reason for her mixed emotions.
Many First Nations signed treaties that made promises — such as pledges to share resources — that the Crown later violated.
"For me, it's kind of a bittersweet thing. I sympathize for the family and I feel their loss and their pain, but I'm torn about it," Bland said.
Sept. 19 was designated a one-time national day of mourning in Canada in salute to the Queen as a state funeral that drew presidents and kings, princes and prime ministers — and crowds who massed along the streets of London — was broadcast around the world.
Some six hours after the funeral, the Queen's coffin was lowered into a vault through an opening in the floor at Windsor Castle's chapel, ahead of a private burial service for members of the Royal Family.
Dwight MacAulay, the former chief of protocol for the Manitoba government who oversaw the monarch's visits to the province in 2002 and 2010, said his emotions were equally mixed as he watched Monday's ceremony, but not due to any historical or political undercurrents.
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