Sometimes the best gift is the one you pay forward and though Queen Elizabeth II’s 90th birthday was in April, Alberta’s belated birthday present was officially unveiled Sunday (Sept. 17).
The Commonwealth Walkway is a multi-path route that spans four different directions throughout Banff, reaching as far west as Vermilion Lakes, and stretching to Tunnel Mountain Summit to the east.
The pathway offers townies and tourists alike the opportunity to take in some of the best sights in town, while learning about Canada’s role in the commonwealth.
A number of dignitaries were in attendance at the opening, including the Hon. Lois Mitchell, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, and Right Hon. Patricia Scotland, Secretary General of the Commonwealth.
This was Scotland’s first visit to Alberta and she was suitably impressed with the gift.
“By walking together along these routes in Banff, we are walking alongside the richly diverse Commonwealth family in every continent and ocean,” she stated in a media release.
The path was created in collaboration with Commonwealth Walkways, an initiative by the Outdoor Trust, a charity based out of the U.K.
“There has always been a spiritual significance to Indigenous people in this part of the Canadian Rocky Mountains and the Walkway now provides a special link that can be enjoyed by the family of friends from all of the Commonwealth’s Nations and Territories,” said Hugo Vickers, chairman of the Outdoor Trust in a media statement.
Mitchell said the walkway was an appropriate gift as it mirrors the Queen’s “legacy of service that is woven into the very fabric of Canadian society.”
