Alberta renames 64-year-old Federal Building after the late Queen Elizabeth II in ceremony
Edmonton's Federal Building is now officially known as the Queen Elizabeth II Building, following a Tuesday afternoon ceremony led by Premier Jason Kenney and Lt.-gov. Salma Lakhani.
The pair entered the venue inside the newly renamed building followed by a harpist's playing of the viceregal salute, an abbreviated combination of `O Canada' and `God Save the King.'
The name change takes effect immediately but the government says it will take a few more weeks to install permanent signage with the new title.
“After all, why would the de facto headquarters of the Government of Alberta be named the Federal Building, with all due respect to my friends in Ottawa,” Kenney said.
The premier first announced plans for the new name at a Sept. 15 special sitting of the legislative assembly to mark the death of Queen Elizabeth II during which he said her death felt as if he had “lost a grandmother or longtime friend.”
As he did then, Kenney once again paused to collect himself Tuesday while remembering the late monarch.
“She's one of the few people that gets me emotional.”
He said renaming the building in 2022 was timed to mark the 70th anniversary of the late Queen's accession to the throne, and following approval from Buckingham Palace in August.
“With the Platinum Jubilee Year, we thought that this is one of the most suitable ways that we can recognize her majesty.”
The building is the latest location in Edmonton to bear her name, joining the planetarium in Coronation Park, Queen Elizabeth High School in north Edmonton as well as Princess Elizabeth Avenue and the Queen Elizabeth II Highway between the Alberta capital and Calgary.
Queen Elizabeth Park and its pool were renamed in 1939 after the Queen's mother, Queen Elizabeth.
The Queen Elizabeth II building opened in 1958 as the home of Government of Canada offices for Western Canada.
The provincial government acquired the building in the early 80s before federal staff moved to work at Canada Place.
It sat vacant until renovation work began in 2009 and was reopened six years later. It was also the home of the infamous Sky Palace, a top-level luxury suite that became symbolic of government excess.
Lt.-gov. Lakhani told those in attendance Tuesday that those who work and visit the building could draw encouragement from the legacy of its new namesake.
“I hope that the generations to come who will spend time or work in this beautiful building … will strive to follow and be inspired by the Queen's extraordinary life of duty, service and sacrifice.”