OTTAWA -- In her final speech to Canadians on her Jubilee visit, the Queen said last night that "wherever the future might take us" she wanted the country's citizens to know that her admiration for them remained "clear, strong and sure."

Her words were startlingly close to what she told Australians just before their 1999 referendum on getting rid of her as head of state, a referendum that failed.

The Queen spoke after a day in which a sparse crowd of 3,500 turned out in cold and rainy weather to see her on Parliament Hill, a venue that regularly draws crowds of 50,000 and more for Canada Day, rain or no rain.

Tomorrow morning, the Queen returns to London.

At a state dinner for the national capital's political elite last night she made no mention of herself as Queen of Canada.
She had made such mention earlier in speeches in Iqaluit and Vancouver during her 12-day Golden Jubilee tour of the country.

Rather, her reference to her Canadian constitutional role was indirect: she expressed "my profound gratitude to Canadians for their loyalty and encouragement and support" during the 50 years of her reign.

Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, in his remarks, also appeared to somewhat distance the Queen from Canada, describing her as the "most vital link" between Canada and the United Kingdom, almost as if she was a visiting foreign head of state.

The dinner was held in the Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, and marked the only time the Queen visited Quebec on the tour. About 50 protesters shouted "Queen go home" in French outside the museum as she arrived.

Just prior to the dinner, the Queen and Prince Philip sat for a new official Canadian portrait, which had been much discussed between Buckingham Palace and the Canadian protocol office. The backdrop was royal blue, with the Canadian flag and a 19th-century Ontario armoire that's part of the museum's collection.

The Queen started her Jubilee tour to Canada Oct. 4 in Iqaluit, where at least half of the 6,000 population of the Nunavut capital showed up at some point during the hours her visit lasted.

By contrast, yesterday's Parliament Hill tour was not a triumphant occasion.

The weather didn't help. A stiff wind and icy rain soaked those who did appear -- including Ottawa's diplomatic corps, war veterans and maybe 100 members of the news media.

One of those left wet yesterday was Deputy Prime Minister John Manley, seated in the open in front of the Queen, Philip, Mr. Chrétien, his wife Aline, and the speakers of the Senate and House of Commons, all of whom were under cover.

He put the Queen's tour on the front pages of the nation's newspapers by declaring on the day she arrived in Iqaluit that he hoped she would be Canada's last monarch.

He also was the minister designated to meet her Saturday when she flew into Ottawa from New Brunswick. Asked if he was nervous about greeting her, he said a very definite no.

As the Queen arrived at the foot of the gangway from her Canadian Forces plane, he smiled charmingly and said, "Welcome, Your Majesty." His wife, Judith, did a deep, expert curtsy.

Several reporters heard Philip say brusquely to him, "Stand over there," and motion to what side of the Queen he should be on, as the royal couple moved down the line of official greeters.

Mr. Manley, designated the "minister in attendance" for Ottawa, did not travel with the Queen and Philip for the drive from the airport to Rideau Hall.

The Thanksgiving service, held on a huge stage draped with Jubilee banners and large maple leaves with the photographed faces of "ordinary Canadians" in their centres, had spiritual music and dances and prayers from Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim and aboriginal religious leaders.

Philip read a passage from the Bible's Book of Proverbs.

At the end of the service, the Queen and Philip, oblivious to the rain, walked slowly from the stage down a red carpet to the centennial flame, talking to people pressed up against the barricades.

The royal couple then travelled the brief distance by car to the National War Memorial, where the Queen, now protected by what looked to be a sort of poncho, laid a wreath at Canada's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.