75th Anniversary of the Quebec Conference

Transcript

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It's early August 1943. The war is raging on many fronts.

Quebec City is alive with activity but cloaked in secrecy.

It is the beginning of the Quebec Conference of 1943. 2018 marks the 75th anniversary of this historic event.

During the conference, hundreds of military advisors are housed at and work out of the Chateau Frontenac.

However, it is the Citadelle of Quebec, one of two official residences of the governor general that plays host to Winston Churchill, Franklin Delano Roosevelt and William Lyon Mackenzie King.

They and their families are hosted by Governor General Lord Athlone and his wife Princess Alice.

The Citadelle becomes, as one newspaper of the time put it, "the heart and centre of deliberation."

It is during this conference that the Normandy landings are decided upon, an operation which marks the beginning of the end of the war in Europe.

During the Conference, the Citadelle is also a place where the best of Canada is showcased.

Imagine: in rooms such as these, a colour film about the Group of Seven painter A. Y. Jackson is screened... and Canadian folk songs are sung by Mary Churchill, the daughter of Winston Churchill, and young military officers.

The significance of the Quebec conference was immediately appreciated.

These two-and-half weeks of arduous strategizing were designated a National Historical Event in 1946.

Today, the Citadelle still houses the official residence of Canada's governor general.

Year-round, it plays host to Canadians, honours recipients, international delegates and visitors from around the world.

Seventy-five years after the first Quebec Conference, the Citadelle remains a place where Canadian history continues to unfold.