Canada Under Laurier [excerpt]

     The year was otherwise notable to Canadians for the visit of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York, afterward Prince and Princess of Wales, who came to Canada on their way home from Australia, after taking part in the opening of the First Parliament of the new Commonwealth of Australia. The [1030][1031] royal party landed at Quebec and received a royal welcome in all the cities of Canada, traveling throughout the entire Dominion, from Quebec to Vancouver and back again, closing their visit on October 21st at Halifax. This was a tremendous event to Canada, and gave the country its first view of a royal family since the visit of the Prince of Wales in 1860. There were the usual parades and banquets and receptions and balls and outpouring of people. There were also the usual heartburnings and regrets. For the reception at Montreal the city had made great preparations, only to have the great event—a ball—canceled because of the death of President McKinley. The honors that were distributed after the visit were not as great as had been expected, and much disappointment was felt.
     Among the other events of the year was the purchase, by the Dominion Government, of the Plains of Abraham, site of the Tercentenary ceremonies.
     The assassination of President McKinley of the United States, occurring as it did in Buffalo, just across the Niagara River from Canada, brought vividly home to Canadians the nearness of their interests to those of the United States. President McKinley, although typifying a policy which was antagonistic to Canada commercially, was much respected by the Canadian people. His private and personal virtues were fully appreciated and highly esteemed, and the integrity of his public life and the high ideals that he held on men and measures were admired by the vast body of Canadians. Hence the sorrow over his death was almost as pronounced in Canada as in the United States, and the tragedy was regarded by the Canadians in many places as a be- [1031][1032] reavement second only to that of the Queen, which they had suffered the same year.