By CBC News, cbc.ca, Updated: July 6, 2010 1:44 PM
Queen Elizabeth departs Canada
Queen Elizabeth departed from Canada on Tuesday afternoon, after a nine-day tour that began in Halifax and included visits to Ottawa, Winnipeg, Toronto and Waterloo, Ont.
The Queen, with her husband, Prince Philip, flew from Toronto Pearson International Airport just after 1 p.m. ET, as Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other dignitaries looked on.
The royal couple shook hands with Jean and Harper before climbing the stairs to the waiting Canadian Forces plane, then turned around and waved a final time before boarding.
The royal couple is flying to New York City, where the Queen will address the United Nations and meet with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon.
The head of state of the United Kingdom, Canada and 14 other UN member countries, the Queen has addressed the 192-member General Assembly only once, in 1957.
She is also scheduled to view Ground Zero and visit a park honouring British citizens killed during the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
Visit to Queen's Park
On Tuesday morning, several thousand people waited in sweltering heat outside Ontario's legislature at Queen's Park in Toronto to bid farewell to the Queen.
The Queen and Prince Philip took part in a number of events there, culminating in an official departure ceremony that included a 21-gun salute on the front lawn.
The Queen unveiled a plaque commemorating the 150th anniversary of the dedication of Queen's Park by her great-grandfather, before he was crowned King Edward VII.
She greeted Jean, who had just returned from a trip to China, and Harper. Toronto Mayor David Miller and David Onley, Ontario's lieutenant-governor, were also on hand for the departure ceremony.
Crowds of eager onlookers cheered as the 84-year-old monarch toured the grounds and waved at the public.
Queen unfazed by blackout
On Monday, the Queen seemed unfazed by a massive power outage that rippled across Toronto.
Staff at the Royal York Hotel scrambled to light candles and install makeshift lamps — but before the state dinner, the power returned and the occasion went ahead as planned.
The Queen lauded Canadian values of freedom and fairness in a speech Monday night that also noted Canadian sacrifices in Afghanistan.
"In my lifetime, Canada's development as a nation has been remarkable," she said.
"This vast, rich and varied country has inspired its own and attracted many others by its adherence to certain values. Some are enshrined in law, but I should imagine just as many are simply found in the hearts of ordinary Canadians."
Harper presented the Queen with a display to be housed in the Hockey Hall of Fame, which includes pictures of the monarch attending a hockey game in Toronto in 1951 and dropping the puck in 2002 at a game in Vancouver.
The display includes a Canadian Olympic hockey jersey for the Queen, whom Harper called "Canada's most valuable player."
With files from The Canadian Press
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