King and Queen get lavish welcome as they touch down for whistlestop Canada tour
King Charles and Queen Camilla have arrived in Canada for a 24 hour visit to North America and were welcomed by the Governor General, prime minister Mark Carney and other dignitaries
The King and Queen received a ceremonial welcome as they touched down in Canada for a whirlwind visit to the nation's capital to attend the State Opening of Parliament tomorrow.
Charles - making his first trip as head of state - and Camilla touched down in the capital Ottawa at 1.30pm local time, on board a Royal Canadian Air Force jet dispatched to bring them across the Atlantic. The Queen wore a pale pink fringed Anna Valentine coat dress, Chanel shoes and, in a diplomatic nod to her hosts, a diamond maple leaf brooch, which was originally a gift from King George VI to the Queen Mother.
The historic trip, lasting just 24 hours, was brought together after newly elected Prime Minister Mark Carney, former head of the Bank of England, invited the King to attend the state opening of parliament.
Charles will on Tuesday attend the event and deliver the objectives of the new Canadian government, much the same as he would do in the UK, but without the formality or royal regalia.
Schoolchildren from Ontario and Quebec joined dignitaries including the Governor General, prime minister Carney and representatives of Canada's three indigenous groups, to welcome the King and Queen before they were taken to a local park to kick off a community event.
Senior aides at Buckingham Palace said although the visit was indeed short, the King would hope its impact would be felt deeply by Canadians amid rising tensions with the United States.
President Donald Trump provoked outrage after taking aim at Canada with a trade war and threats to annex the country as America's 51st state. Royal sources said the trip would be 'soft power in action' while Ralph Goodale, the High Commissioner for Canada in the UK, said Their Majesties visit would 'reinforce the power and the strength of the message' to Donald Trump that 'Canada is not for sale'.
The King and Queen will travel to the state opening tomorrow in the 1902 State Landau carriage, while Charles will sit on a throne carved from a walnut tree from Windsor Great Park.
The late Queen Elizabeth II was the first sovereign to deliver the speech at the state opening of the Canadian parliament on October 1957, her first visit to the country as head of state.
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson commenting about the trip has said: "The King and Queen are very much looking forward to the programme, mindful that it is a short visit but hopefully an impactful one."
Steven Guilbeault, Canada's minister of identity and culture, said: "His Majesty's delivery of the Speech from the Throne to open the 45th Parliament is a momentous occasion, one that brings Canadians together in celebration of our rich history, our democracy and the institutions that serve us all.
"This visit offers an opportunity to showcase the special relationship between Canada and the Crown, while also highlighting the strength, diversity and unity that define us on the world stage."
Steven Guilbeault, Canada's minister of identity and culture, said: "His Majesty's delivery of the Speech from the Throne to open the 45th Parliament is a momentous occasion - one that brings Canadians together in celebration of our rich history, our democracy and the institutions that serve us all.
"This visit offers an opportunity to showcase the special relationship between Canada and the Crown, while also highlighting the strength, diversity and unity that define us on the world stage."
Arriving in Ottawa on a Royal Canadian Air Force Airbus CC-330 Husky, Charles and Camilla stepped out of the aircraft to an impressive display of pomp and pageantry, with a rousing musical performance by the Central Band of the Canadian Armed Forces and a 25-member Guard of Honour from the Royal Canadian Dragoons, for which the King is Colonel-in-Chief.
Almost a dozen dignitaries waited to greet them at the bottom of the steps as they stepped out onto Canadian soil for the first since the King ascended the throne in September 2022.
Among those waiting in the beaming sunshine included newly elected Prime Minister Mark Carney and his wife, Diana, who the King greeted warmly and kept a prolonged handshake.
Representatives of Canada's First Nations communities were among the welcoming party, including Cindy Woodhouse Nepinak, National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, who was wearing a rare treaty medal that was given to one of the original signatories of Treaty 2 - which established land reserves, education and other provisions for the First Nations.
Cindy showed the King the silver medal, which show two people shaking hands and were a gift given on behalf of Queen Victoria to the 9 First Nations who signed the treaty - one of which was her ancestor, Chief Richard Woodhouse..
Fourteen-year-old Lila Graham from Carleton Place, Ontario, who since the age of four has asked for food bank donations in lieu of birthday presents, presented the Queen with a posey of flowers.
'They're beautiful,' she said while the King enquired about the Coronation medal pinned to her navy blue dress.
In March, Lila became one of the youngest recipients of the King Charles III Coronation medal for her community service, having helped secure over 771kg (1,700lbs) of donations for Lanark County Food Bank.
The King and Queen, who flew from the UK earlier on Monday, then went over to listen to an Algonquin group playing drums. Speaking to Governor General Mary Simon, Charles said 'the drum has a lovely skin on it,' before going on to greet dozens of schoolchildren from Ontario and Quebec who had gathered to greet the royal couple.
One of the school groups comprised of pupils enrolled in the Duke of Edinburgh Award, a youth achievement programme that encourages personal development and was founded by the King's father, Prince Philip, in 1956.
After shaking as many hands as they could, the King and Queen got into the waiting car and headed to their next engagement at Lansdowne Park.
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She said the fact the UK sends more people to Australia, Canada and New Zealand than it receives from them 'probably results from the fact that the UK has a much larger population than they do, so we just have more young people potentially interested in moving'. With the EU scheme, Ms Sumption said, the population sizes are flipped – that is to say the EU's population is much bigger than the UK, leaving more young people who might be willing to come here. Therefore the smaller the cap on the number of visas is, the more likely both the EU and UK will fill their quotas. If both fill their quotas – and the quotas going both ways are the same – then the impact on net migration will be zero. However if the cap is large then it is more likely that there will not be as many Britons going to Europe as are coming in the opposite direction, which will bring up net migration. But, as with the existing schemes, both Britons in Europe and Europeans in the UK will eventually have to leave unless they find another visa, which over the long run should mean that the programme has a neutral impact on net migration. Links BBC – Today, 19/05/2025 Migration Observatory – What is the Youth Mobility Scheme and how does it work? (archived) – Entry clearance visas granted outside the UK (archived page and spreadsheet, using tab Data_Vis_D02) Australian Department of Home Affairs – Visitor visa statistics (archived) Australian Department of Home Affairs – Working Holiday Maker visa program report (archived) New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment – Migration data explorer (archived page and downloaded spreadsheet. To download the correct spreadsheet, instructions can be found at (archived): In dataset select 'W1 work decisions', in time period select 'calendar year' and in variables select 'application substream', 'application criteria' and 'decision type')
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Asked 'how do you know there will be fewer people coming here than leaving?' Mr Reynolds said: 'Well, I've got 13 schemes in action already and that's the evidence of them.' He later added: 'I tell you the evidence of the current schemes just so you know is that they're a net negative on immigration.' Around 24,400 youth mobility visas were issued to people wanting to come to the UK in 2024. Although figures are patchy for how many Britons go abroad, data from just three countries – Australia, New Zealand and Canada – suggests that 68,495 British citizens travelled to those countries in 2024 (the Australian data is for the 12 months to the end of June 2024). That would suggest that Mr Reynolds is right. However it does not take into account that Britons going abroad on these temporary visas will sooner or later come back, as will those who come to the UK. It is also not clear that this pattern will repeat in any similar deal with the EU. The UK population is much larger than those of Australia, New Zealand and Canada, so there are more Britons who can go to those countries than can come here. With the EU that is reversed. How many people come to the UK on a youth mobility visa? Government data shows there were 24,437 people who were handed a youth mobility visa last year. Most of these were from one of the 13 countries with which the UK has a reciprocal arrangement. A small handful of visas – 131 in total – were for people from countries other than the 13. The Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford has suggested that these are the result of errors in data recording, or due to people having dual nationalities. The top three countries that sent people to the UK on youth mobility visas between January and December 2024 were Australia (9,754 visas), New Zealand (4,304 visas) and Canada (3,060 visas). How many Britons go abroad on youth mobility type schemes? Figures are patchy on how many British people have gone abroad on a youth mobility scheme. The Department for Business and Trade was unable to share data. Australia publishes a twice-yearly report into what it calls its working holiday visa programme. That is the Australian equivalent to the UK's youth mobility scheme. The latest such report covered the 12 months to the end of June 2024. That report showed that Australia issued 48,973 working holiday visas to UK citizens. Data from New Zealand is available on the website of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. Using its migration data explorer produces a spreadsheet which shows that there were 9,486 working holiday visas granted by New Zealand to UK citizens in between January and December 2024. Canadian data does not appear to be publicly available, but the figures were provided to the PA news agency by the Canadian Department for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship. The data shows that in 2024 there were 9,972 work permits issued to UK and UK overseas territories citizens under the country's working holiday scheme, and a further 64 people had their permits extended. How do incoming youth mobility visas compare to outgoing? Net migration is a figure which subtracts the number of people coming into the country from the number of people leaving. The data cited above suggests that while 9,754 Australians came to the UK on youth mobility visas, 48,973 Britons went in the opposite direction. It must be noted that the time periods measured here are different, the Australian data is for the 12 months ending June 2024, while the UK data is for the 12 months ending December 2024. Meanwhile the data suggests that 4,304 New Zealanders came to the UK while 9,486 Britons went in the other direction. Data further shows that 3,060 Canadians came to the UK in 2024, while 9,972 Britons went in the other direction. This suggests that for each of these three countries the youth mobility schemes are – as Mr Reynolds suggested – reducing net migration. In fact Australia alone appears to receive twice as many Britons (48,973) as all people who the UK receives from all 13 countries added together (24,437). However, it should be noted that because youth mobility schemes are time-limited, Britons going abroad and people who have come to the UK on such visas will eventually be forced to return. This means the UK's inbound migration figures should take into account not just Australians and Canadians – for example – coming to the UK, but also Britons returning from Australia and Canada after their youth mobility visas expire. If it is assumed that everyone returns then over a longer time frame the youth mobility programmes will have a neutral impact on net immigration because every Briton who leaves the UK will come back and every non-Briton who comes to the UK will leave. This does not take into account the people – both Britons abroad and non-Britons in the UK – who apply for a different visa to stay in their adopted country. Do these conclusions also apply to the EU scheme? The impact on net migration of the potential EU scheme will depend on the details of the agreement between London and Brussels. Madeleine Sumption, director at the Migration Observatory, told the PA news agency that the size of the cap on the programme would be vital for the impact on net migration. She said the fact the UK sends more people to Australia, Canada and New Zealand than it receives from them 'probably results from the fact that the UK has a much larger population than they do, so we just have more young people potentially interested in moving'. With the EU scheme, Ms Sumption said, the population sizes are flipped – that is to say the EU's population is much bigger than the UK, leaving more young people who might be willing to come here. Therefore the smaller the cap on the number of visas is, the more likely both the EU and UK will fill their quotas. If both fill their quotas – and the quotas going both ways are the same – then the impact on net migration will be zero. However if the cap is large then it is more likely that there will not be as many Britons going to Europe as are coming in the opposite direction, which will bring up net migration. But, as with the existing schemes, both Britons in Europe and Europeans in the UK will eventually have to leave unless they find another visa, which over the long run should mean that the programme has a neutral impact on net migration. BBC – Today, 19/05/2025 Migration Observatory – What is the Youth Mobility Scheme and how does it work? (archived) – Entry clearance visas granted outside the UK (archived page and spreadsheet, using tab Data_Vis_D02) Australian Department of Home Affairs – Visitor visa statistics (archived) Australian Department of Home Affairs – Working Holiday Maker visa program report (archived) New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment – Migration data explorer (archived page and downloaded spreadsheet. To download the correct spreadsheet, instructions can be found at (archived): In dataset select 'W1 work decisions', in time period select 'calendar year' and in variables select 'application substream', 'application criteria' and 'decision type') Canadian data provided to PA news agency (archived) Madeleine Sumption profile (archived)
