Mayor Peter Chirico has invited King Charles III and Queen Camilla to visit North Bay during its centennial celebrations in 2025.
In a letter sent to mark the occasion of their coronation and dated May 6, 2023, Mayor Chirico extended an open invitation for a royal visit to North Bay but the King's health concerns that have emerged since that time could see travel across the pond, with good health, pushed to 2025.
The City of North Bay "respectfully requests the opportunity to host The King and The Queen on a future Royal Tour to Canada to demonstrate our City’s utmost respect for Canada’s continued role in the Commonwealth. North Bay is a short 45-minute flight from Toronto’s Pearson Airport to North Bay’s Jack Garland Airport (with a 10,000-foot runway capable of landing any aircraft).
"It would be of the greatest honour to host both The King and the Queen in the near future. The City of North Bay’s 100th Anniversary of its incorporation as a City is in 2025. A Royal Visit in that year would be a cherished event in a City that has always shown the highest affection for Canada’s Sovereign."
In February, King Charles, 75, was diagnosed with cancer following a January hospital stay to treat an enlarged prostate. According to a Canadian Press report, due to the treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer, King Charles will not travel to Canada for his first royal tour as Canada's monarch this year. Buckingham Palace stated on Feb. 5 that the cancer was "a separate issue of concern" that was detected by testing during the monarch's January hospitalization.
See related: King Charles III is doing 'extremely well' after cancer diagnosis, queen says at charity event
There have been two royal visits to North Bay, one by Princess Elizabeth and Prince Phillip in 1951, and the second by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip in 1997.
Mayor Chirico notes in his letter Memorial Gardens "proudly located Queen Elizabeth II’s portrait at the head of the arena between the flags of Canada and Ontario since its construction in 1955. The portrait location is currently covered as per protocol until the City receives The King’s portrait for display in the same location."
A large committee of community representatives has begun the process of planning the celebration for North Bay's centennial. Sub-committees have been formed to cover legacy; community outreach; and, marketing and promotion. A fourth sub-committee will reflect the direction of the celebration once determined.
See also: Centennial Committee launches 2025 celebration planning
In recent budget talks, the community services department requested $915,000 total over 2024 and 2025 for the year-long event. Some of that money will form a funding pool, to be made available to community groups and service clubs to add a grassroots aspect to the celebration.
"We are looking at enhancing our event-hosting program by $100,000 for 2025," said Melinda Fry, the manager of sports and events, in going line-by-line during a recent budget meeting.
Fry continued, "The annual municipal funds for our events would be increased by $26,500. New potential events that the committee might like to host, at $20,000.
"We've flagged a homecoming week, we haven't committed to anything for that celebration, we're kind of leaving it open ... at $685,000.
"We have a contract staff in place for '24 and '25, so there is a $56,000 cost there and then we put $27,000 aside for a legacy project.
In discussion around the budget table, it has been pointed out the centennial year only happens once and there is potential for a healthy economic impact and wide community participation. The City is already writing grant requests to help offset the initial ask.
"We haven't heard back," Chirico recently said about any potential royal visit, "but if King Charles is dropping by Canada, come by North Bay and say hello for our hundredth. Who knows? You don't ask, you don't find out."
Only time will tell if this funding is fit for a king.
