Name/Title
Canada’s Ceremonial Guard in Ottawa, 1959–PRESENT (Updated July 2026)Scope and Content
Canada’s Ceremonial Guard in Ottawa, 1959–PRESENT (Updated July 2026)
Canada’s modern Changing of the Guard began on 2 July 1959, when the Regiment of Canadian Guards mounted the first ceremony on Parliament Hill during Queen Elizabeth II’s extensive Canadian tour. The Canadian Guards carried out Ottawa public duties through tp 1969, inclusive. In that year the Canadian Guards, Canadian Grenadier Guards (CGG) and Governor Generals Foot Guard (GGFG) each supplied one third of the Detachment. CGG and GGFG assumed full responsibility in 1970 on parade. In 1972, reservists took over the training of the Detachment. While women served in the Detachment in an admin. support role, in 1979, they were permitted on parade on the Hill.
The present Ceremonial Guard (CG) organization was established in 1980. In 2007, recruiting for CG became a national CF process. In short, with a cadre of representatives of CGG and GGFG forming the nucleus of CG, recruits were to henceforth come from units cross Canada. While on parade, they continued to wear Guards full dress uniforms and our colours were also to be used on parade. In 2016 it became a sub-unit of the Governor General’s Foot Guards, drawing personnel from across the Canadian Armed Forces.
Three different ceremonies are sometimes confused:
1. The Changing of the Guard is the public summer ceremony normally held on Parliament Hill.
2. The Annual Inspection of the Ceremonial Guard is conducted by the Governor General as commander-in-chief, often at Rideau Hall.
3. Visiting sovereigns, presidents and dignitaries may receive a separate Guard of Honour, which is not necessarily part of the daily Changing of the Guard.
Consequently, a royal or presidential visit to Ottawa does not prove that the visitor reviewed the Parliament Hill ceremony. The chronology below identifies a reviewer only where the available record supports that connection. The royal-visit entries are principally drawn from Canadian Heritage’s official royal-tour chronology; they do not constitute a complete list of every foreign president or monarch who entered Canada.
1959–1979: Canadian Guards and the two Reserve Guards regiments
Year Guard activity and confirmed reviewer Royal or VIP connection
1959 First Guard Mount, 2 July, performed by the Regiment of Canadian Guards for Queen Elizabeth II on Parliament Hill. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip undertook a 45-day Canadian tour. This is the clearest founding connection between the Sovereign and the ceremony.
1960 Canadian Guards summer public duties; no named ceremony reviewer located. Prince Philip made an Ottawa stopover; no Changing-of-the-Guard review confirmed.
1961 Regular Canadian Guards season; no named reviewer located. No directly linked royal reviewer located.
1962 Regular season; no ceremony review confirmed. Ottawa visits by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, Princess Mary, the Princess Royal, and Prince Philip.
1963 Regular season; no named reviewer located. Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, visited Ottawa; no review connection confirmed.
1964 Regular season; no explicit Guard review located. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited Charlottetown, Quebec City and Ottawa, 5–13 October.
1965 Regular season; no named reviewer located. No directly linked royal reviewer located.
1966 Regular season; no review connection established. Prince Philip made an official Ottawa visit.
1967 Centennial-year public duties on Parliament Hill; no explicit review record located. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were in Ottawa and Montreal for the Centennial and Expo 67; Princess Alexandra also visited Ottawa during the year.
1968 Regular season; no named reviewer located. Prince Philip made an Ottawa stopover.
1969 Regular season; no review connection established. Prince Philip made an official Ottawa visit.
1970 Final year in which the Canadian Guards carried out Ottawa public duties before the regiment was reduced to nil strength. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip stopped in Ottawa on 2–3 March; no summer ceremony review confirmed.
1971 Canadian Grenadier Guards and Governor General’s Foot Guards assumed responsibility, each providing a company for summer duties. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip toured British Columbia, but no Ottawa Guard-review connection is recorded.
1972 CGG–GGFG summer detachment; no named reviewer located. No directly linked royal reviewer located.
1973 CGG–GGFG public duties; no explicit ceremony review found. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were in Ottawa from 31 July to 4 August for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
1974 Regular summer duties; no named reviewer located. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip made an Ottawa stopover on 27 January.
1975 Regular summer duties; no named reviewer located. No directly linked royal reviewer located.
1976 Regular Ottawa public duties. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip attended the Montreal Olympic period, including events outside Ottawa; no Parliament Hill review established.
1977 Silver Jubilee-year summer duties; no explicit Changing review located. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited Ottawa, 14–19 October, during the Silver Jubilee tour.
1978 Regular summer duties; no named reviewer located. Prince Andrew visited Ottawa; the Queen’s principal Canadian tour that year was outside the capital.
1979 Final season before creation of the unified Ceremonial Guard organization. No directly linked royal reviewer located.
*** 1980–1999: ESTABLISHMENT OF THE CEREMONIAL GUARD
Year Guard activity and confirmed reviewer Royal or VIP connection
1980 The Ceremonial Guard was formally created to organize summer public duties in the National Capital Region. Ottawa-related visits by Prince Philip, Princess Margaret and Princess Alexandra; no specific review of the Changing confirmed.
1981 Regular Ceremonial Guard season; no named reviewer located. Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and Princess Margaret visited Ottawa.
1982 Constitution-year ceremonial season. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were in Ottawa, 15–19 April, for the proclamation of the Constitution Act, 1982; no summer Changing review confirmed.
1983 Regular season; no named reviewer located. Prince Philip visited Ottawa.
1984 Regular season; no specific reviewer located. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip included Ottawa in their September–October Canadian tour.
1985 Regular season; no direct ceremony review confirmed. Ottawa visits by Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and Princess Alexandra.
1986 Regular season; no named reviewer located. No directly linked royal reviewer located.
1987 Regular season; no named reviewer located. Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother visited Ottawa; Queen Elizabeth II’s Canadian tour did not centre on the capital.
1988 Regular season; no named reviewer located. No directly linked royal reviewer located in the consulted record.
1989 Regular season; no explicit review located. Ottawa visits by Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and Prince Andrew, Duke of York.
1990 Regular season; no ceremony review confirmed. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited Ottawa during the 27 June–1 July tour.
1991 Regular season; no formal inspection connection located. The Prince and Princess of Wales—Charles and Diana—together with Princes William and Harry, visited Ottawa.
1992 Canada 125 ceremonial season; no explicit review located. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited Ottawa and Hull, 30 June–2 July.
1993 Regular season; no named reviewer located. No directly linked royal reviewer located.
1994 Regular season; no named reviewer located. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited Canada, but their tour did not include Ottawa.
1995 Regular season; no named reviewer located. No directly linked royal reviewer located.
1996 Regular season; no named reviewer located. No directly linked royal reviewer located.
1997 Regular season and first year of the Parliament Hill Fortissimo military-music event. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip included Ottawa in their June–July Canadian tour.
1998 Regular season; no named reviewer located. No directly linked royal reviewer located.
1999 Regular season; no named reviewer located in the accessible digital record. No directly linked royal reviewer located.
2000–2026: Annual inspections and better-documented reviews
Year Confirmed Ceremonial Guard reviewer or status Head of state or notable VIP connection
2000 Regular summer duties; no named annual reviewer located. No directly linked royal reviewer located.
2001 Regular summer duties; no named reviewer located. No directly linked royal reviewer located.
2002 Golden Jubilee ceremonial season; no explicit Guard inspection located. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited the National Capital Region during the Golden Jubilee tour.
2003 Regular season; no named reviewer located. No directly linked royal reviewer located.
2004 Governor General Adrienne Clarkson conducted the annual inspection. This is among the earliest annual inspections clearly documented in the Rideau Hall digital record.
2005 No named inspection record located. Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited Alberta and Saskatchewan, not Ottawa.
2006 Governor General Michaëlle Jean, annual inspection, 28 June. No visiting head of state has been directly connected to that inspection.
2007 Governor General Michaëlle Jean, annual inspection on Parliament Hill, 25 June. A confirmed viceregal review on the Hill, although distinct from an ordinary daily Guard change.
2008 Governor General Michaëlle Jean inspected the Ceremonial Guard at the beginning of its public-duties season. Confirmed in the Governor General’s annual reporting.
2009 Governor General Michaëlle Jean, Rideau Hall inspection, 18 June; season marked the Guard’s 50th anniversary. Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko of Japan spent four days in the capital in July; Charles and Camilla visited Ottawa in November. Neither visit is proven to have included a review of the summer Changing.
2010 Governor General Michaëlle Jean, inspection on Parliament Hill, 22 June. Queen Elizabeth II inspected a Guard of Honour mounted by the Ceremonial Guard on Parliament Hill on 1 July. This is the strongest documented modern royal review. King Harald V and Queen Sonja of Norway had visited Ottawa in March.
2011 Governor General David Johnston, annual inspection at Rideau Hall, 22 June. Prince William and Catherine, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, attended Canada Day activities in Ottawa; a former Guard member recalled performing before them, but not a formal inspection.
2012 Governor General David Johnston, annual inspection, 25 June. President Shimon Peres of Israel made a state visit in May; Charles and Camilla also visited Canada. No evidence located that either reviewed the Changing.
2013 Governor General David Johnston, annual inspection, 20 June. No visiting head of state was directly tied to the inspection.
2014 Governor General David Johnston, annual inspection, 23 June. No visiting head of state was directly tied to the inspection.
2015 Governor General David Johnston, annual inspection, 27 June. No directly linked visiting reviewer located.
2016 Governor General David Johnston reviewed the Guard season beginning 26 June. The Ceremonial Guard was reorganized as a sub-unit of the Governor General’s Foot Guards. No directly linked visiting head of state located.
2017 Governor General David Johnston, annual inspection at Rideau Hall, 25 June. Charles and Camilla visited the National Capital Region for the Canada 150 celebrations; no formal review of the Changing has been established.
2018 Governor General Julie Payette, annual inspection, 20 August. The inspection marked the end portion of the summer season.
2019 Governor General Julie Payette, Rideau Hall inspection, 22 June. The Changing temporarily operated at Rideau Hall before returning to Parliament Hill on 6 July. The Royal Air Force Red Arrows conducted a flypast over spectators on 13 August, but did not review the Guard.
2020 Entire Ceremonial Guard summer season cancelled because of COVID-19. No Parliament Hill Changing or annual inspection.
2021 No annual inspection or full Parliament Hill Changing located in the accessible official record; COVID-era disruption continued. No directly linked visiting reviewer located.
2022 No annual Ceremonial Guard inspection located in the consulted official record. Charles and Camilla visited the National Capital Region during the Platinum Jubilee tour, but no Parliament Hill Changing review is documented.
2023 Governor General Mary Simon, annual inspection at Rideau Hall, 23 June. The Guard’s documented duties included ceremonial and sentry functions; no visiting head of state was identified as reviewer of the inspection.
2024 Governor General Mary Simon, annual inspection at Rideau Hall, 28 June. The public program emphasized weekend Relief of the Sentries at Rideau Hall rather than a full daily Parliament Hill parade. No visiting head of state was directly connected to the inspection.
2025 Governor General Mary Simon, annual inspection, 27 June. The Changing of the Guard returned to Parliament Hill from 1 July to 20 August, with full parades Wednesday through Sunday and band performances Monday and Tuesday. King Charles III and Queen Camilla visited Ottawa in May. Their arrival guard was furnished by the Royal Canadian Dragoons, and the King’s Senate guard of honour by the 3rd Battalion, Royal Canadian Regiment—not by the summer Ceremonial Guard. King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden made a state visit in November, outside the summer season.
2026 Governor General Louise Arbour was scheduled to conduct the annual inspection at Rideau Hall on 26 June. The official advisory describes the parade, inspection of the Guard and band, and Viceregal Salute; a post-event confirmation was not located in the consulted record. No visiting head of state has yet been directly connected to the 2026 Parliament Hill Changing in the available official record.
QUEEN ELIZABETH II - until her death in 2022 was COLONEL IN CHIEF OF THE CANADIAN GRENADIER GUARDS
Queen Elizabeth II has the two clearest sovereign connections to the Ottawa Ceremonial Guard tradition:
The inaugural Changing of the Guard was mounted for her on Parliament Hill in 1959.
She formally inspected the Ceremonial Guard 'Guard of Honour' on Parliament Hill on Canada Day 2010.
From the surviving digital records, most formally identified annual reviewers have been Governors General acting as commanders-in-chief, particularly Adrienne Clarkson, Michaëlle Jean, David Johnston, Julie Payette, Mary Simon and, for the scheduled 2026 inspection, Louise Arbour.
A fully exhaustive register of every foreign monarch, president, prime minister or military dignitary who reviewed or was honoured by the Guard since 1959 would require comparison of the Ceremonial Guard’s unit records, Rideau Hall daily programs, Department of National Defence ceremonial returns, Library and Archives Canada holdings and contemporary Ottawa newspaper coverage. The table above avoids treating an Ottawa visit as a Guard review unless that connection can be substantiated.Created By
Lieutenant Michael Hayes-Rivet, retired.Create Date
July 12, 2026Updated By
Lieutenant Michael Hayes-Rivet, retired.Update Date
July 13, 2026
