Queen Elizabeth

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Special Canadian toonie marks death of Queen Elizabeth II
Some five million of the coins will gradually be circulated

Author of the article:Liz Braun
Publishing date:Dec 07, 2022 • 1 day ago • 1 minute read
The 2022 “toonie” to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II is gold with a black outer ring to indicate mourning. The Canadian $2 coin is usually gold with a silver outer ring.
The 2022 “toonie” to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II is gold with a black outer ring to indicate mourning. The Canadian $2 coin is usually gold with a silver outer ring. PHOTO BY HANDOUT /Royal Canadian Mint
A new Canadian coin will honour the late Queen Elizabeth II.


The 2022 “toonie” is gold with a black outer ring to indicate mourning. The Canadian $2 coin is usually gold with a silver outer ring.


The Royal Canadian Mint has issued the coin to honour the late monarch and her service to Canada during her historic 70-year reign.

A release Wednesdayfrom the Royal Mint states that the black band echoes the loss felt by millions of Canadians upon the Queen’s death.

In a statement, Marie Lemay, Royal Mint president and CEO said, “Queen Elizabeth II served as Canada’s head of state for seven decades and for millions of Canadians, she was the only monarch they had ever known.

“Our special $2 circulation coin offers Canadians a way to remember her.”

A special 2022 “toonie” to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II is gold with a black outer ring to indicate mourning. The Canadian $2 coin is usually gold with a silver outer ring.
A special 2022 “toonie” to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II is gold with a black outer ring to indicate mourning. The Canadian $2 coin is usually gold with a silver outer ring. PHOTO BY HANDOUT /Royal Canadian Mint
The coin has Canadian portrait artist Susanna Blunt’s image of the Queen on one side and wildlife artist Brent Townsend’s polar bear on the other.

Some five million of the special $2 coins will gradually be circulated in Canada starting this month.
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Much-delayed Elizabeth II statue finally coming to Queen's Park
Author of the article:Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Jordan Omstead
Published Aug 02, 2023 • 3 minute read
A statue of Queen Elizabeth is coming to the Ontario legislature grounds, ending the project's years-long delay and reigniting a debate. The Canadian Press
Another royal is soon set to grace the grounds of Queen’s Park.


A statue of the late Queen Elizabeth is expected to be raised on the grounds of Ontario’s legislature by the fall, the government said, ending a years-long delay and reigniting a conversation about the commemoration of historical figures.


The statue was conceived as a privately backed project to be unveiled in 2017, marking the queen’s Sapphire Jubilee and the 150th anniversary of Confederation. But when a local heritage trust’s fundraising efforts for the project faltered, the sculpture artist and the foundry were left unpaid.

Legislative Affairs Minister Paul Calandra said he learned about the stalled project last year before the queen’s death in September and had the government allocate $1.5 million to get it over the finish line.


“We made the decision to step in and we’re just quite excited to bring it to completion,” he said.

Contractors broke ground on the foundation in late July and Calandra is hopeful the bronze statue will take its place by the fall.

It depicts the queen in 1977 on her throne in the Senate, where she delivered a speech exalting Canadian unity against the backdrop of an ascendant Quebec separatist movement.



Calandra, who also serves as the long-term care minister, said the statue marks an opportunity to honour the queen and her 70-year reign.

“We always contemplated recognizing and celebrating her majesty’s service not only as the longest-serving head of state, but everything that she in her time represented to Canada,” he said.


But opinions vary on what — and who — the queen represents.

For NDP MPP Sol Mamakwa, a member of the Kingfisher Lake First Nation, the monarch stands as an enduring symbol of colonization and the failure of the Crown to uphold its treaty obligations to Indigenous Peoples.

“There’s a housing crisis, a mental-health crisis, a water crisis. That’s what it represents,” he said, speaking to conditions on First Nations across the country. “The Queen represents, to me, anyways, colonialism, oppression.”

Mamakwa said the government should have held consultations with Indigenous Peoples before going ahead with a plan to install a statue of the queen.

The statue’s planned unveiling, he noted, comes at a time when the government has yet to follow through on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s 2015 call to action to install a provincial residential schools monument to honour survivors and children who were lost to their families and communities as a result of the residential school system.


The grounds of Queen’s Park feature a number of statues and monuments, including a statue of Queen Victoria.

The decision to approve the location of the Queen Elizabeth statue on the legislature grounds was made by the Board of Internal Economy, which includes Calandra, NDP MPP John Vanthof and Speaker Ted Arnott.

Sculpture artist Ruth Abernethy called the queen a “very interesting woman” who was “remarkable at her job,” while recognizing the way the statue has renewed a conversation about reconciliation.

“There are all kinds of ramifications and there are all kinds of portraits I think should still be done and I know that they are being done,” Abernethy said. “And I know a lot of hard questions are being asked and answered of everyone and that’s a brilliant part of the process.”


Meanwhile, a decision has still not been made about what to do with a John A. Macdonald statue on the legislature grounds that’s been boarded up for three years after being the target of repeated vandalism. The issue has been referred to a legislative standing committee, but hearing dates have not been set.

Calandra said he supported a monument to residential school survivors and victims at Queen’s Park and expected consultations with Indigenous communities would form part of the standing committee’s work.

He said a statue of the queen could celebrate her legacy, while also initiating a conversation about the role of the Crown in Canada.

“Not only can we do both, but we should do both,” he said. “The problem with us right now in this country is we’re so afraid to do it, whether it’s the good or the bad parts of our history and what has made us who we are.”