Liberal Leader Ignatieff meets Queen

Queen Elizabeth shakes hands with Canadian House of Commons Opposition Leader Michael Ignatieff at Rideau Hall the official residence of the Governor General, in Ottawa, Friday July 2, 2010. THE CANADIAN PRESS /Fred Chartrand/

By The Canadian Press: OTTAWA - Hoping for insights from one of the world's most adept public figures, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff met privately with the Queen on Friday as the royal couple took a break from their hectic visit to Canada.

The Queen requested the meeting. And although Ignatieff wasn't sure why she asked, the leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition said he jumped at the chance.

"You're looking at the most experienced political figure in the world," Ignatieff said shortly after his audience.

"Any time you get a chance to meet the Queen, you say 'yes' right away."

The Queen arrived first, in the large drawing room at Rideau Hall, wearing a light purple flowered dress.

She casually remarked she had noticed the night before that "the ground hogs were busy" in the gardens around the Governor General's residence.

Ignatieff then arrived, thanking her for seeing him on her day off.

"I was very touched by that and appreciate it very much," he said as the two sat down to their private meeting.

Ignatieff later said "she's an absolute joy to meet" and that she "has a wonderful sense of the absurd."

"You have to in her job, because she sees a lot of amusing things happen. What is astounding about her is how … that sense of the comedy of life has survived 60 years of gruelling public service."

The Queen and Prince Philip were to depart Ottawa on Saturday for a whirlwind trip to Winnipeg before flying to Toronto to take in the Queen’s Plate.

One of the highlights of the visit came Thursday as the Queen addressed a crowd estimated at 100,000 during Canada Day celebrations on Parliament Hill.

With discontent brewing over his leadership, Ignatieff used the Friday meeting to garner any insight from a long-serving public figure.

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Ignatieff's personal leadership poll numbers recently have been well below those of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and NDP Leader Jack Layton. Some Liberal MPs have also openly criticized the way Ignatieff has been doing his job, and how the party has dealt with controversial issues.

Ignatieff has a full summer travel schedule that will see him in China and on a bus tour across every Canadian province and territory.

The Opposition leader acknowledged Friday he has had difficulty resonating with voters — his party languishes below the Conservatives in the polls — but insisted he can improve Liberal prospects in time for an election.

"Every time I sit down with Canadians and talk to Canadians and I'm with Canadians, it seems to work," he said.

"I have to earn this, vote by vote, press scrum by press scrum, interview by interview."

During his six-day trip to China, Ignatieff will meet government and Communist Party officials in Beijing before travelling to Shanghai, where he'll deliver a speech at the China Institute of International Studies.

Ignatieff is hoping to underscore the different tactics his party would use, compared with the Conservatives, to enhance trade links with China while raising human-rights issues.

"I don't go to China thinking Canada's perfect. There are things on our (human rights) conscience as well, so I'm willing to have a very frank dialogue with the Chinese," he said.

"But I'm not going to start, you know, finger pointing."