HMCS Malahat exercises Freedom of the City

HMCS MALAHAT conducts Freedom of the City parade and ceremony at Centennial Square, Victoria, BC on 23 Sept 2023.
Photo: Master Sailor Valerie LeClair, MARPAC Imaging Services

Lt(N) Donald Den
HMCS Malahat PAO

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Last Saturday, the sounds of traditional ceremonial marching music and marching boots echoed through the streets of downtown Victoria.

Over 90 sailors, including members of HMCS Malahat, Victoria’s Naval Reserve Division (NRD), and musicians from the Naden Band, marched downtown and into Centennial Square to exercise Malahat’s Freedom of the City. 

HMCS Malahat joined several other NRDs across Canada in exercising their Freedom of the City in parades and ceremonies in celebration of the Naval Reserve Centennial, as 2023 marks 100 years since the creation of the Naval Reserve in 1923. In addition, the event held special significance for Victoria, as the precursor for the Naval Reserve, the Royal Naval Canadian Volunteer Reserve (RCNVR), got its start right here in 1914.

HMCS MALAHAT conducts Freedom of the City parade and ceremony at Centennial Square, Victoria, BC on 23 Sept 2023. Photo: Master Sailor Valerie LeClair, MARPAC Imaging Services

Granted initially to HMCS Malahat in 1983 and exercised again in 1998 to coincide with the 75^th anniversary of the Naval Reserve, the tradition of granting Freedom of the City to a military unit goes back more than three centuries. The Freedom of the City means, in the physical sense, granting the privilege for all time for a specific military unit to march through the city with ‘drums beating, colours flying, and bayonets fixed’. It is a most prized honour, for it recognizes the record of the military unit and demonstrates the affection and esteem with which the community holds it and the trust the citizenry has in it to safeguard their democratic institutions.

Leading the contingent from HMCS Malahat through the streets of downtown and into Centennial Square was Lieutenant-Commander (LCdr) Anne Gardam, Malahat’s Commanding Officer. Upon arriving in Centennial Square and bringing the parade to a halt, LCdr Gardam ascended the steps to City Hall and, as per Freedom of the City tradition, knocked on the door with the pommel of her sword to be greeted by Her Worship Marianne Alto, the Mayor of Victoria.

HMCS MALAHAT conducts Freedom of the City parade and ceremony at Centennial Square, Victoria, BC on 23 Sept 2023. Photo: Master Sailor Valerie LeClair, MARPAC Imaging Services

Following this was an Indigenous land acknowledgment and the playing of O Canada. Mayor Alto and LCdr Gardam then inspected the Ship’s Company, speaking briefly to several members about their service with the Naval Reserve.

Next, Her Worship presented HMCS Malahat with two proclamations endorsed by the City Council, one granting HMCS Malahat the right to exercise its Freedom of the City and the other proclaiming September 23, 2023, as ‘Naval Reserve Day’ in honour of the Naval Reserve Centennial. Mayor Alto concluded her remarks by thanking HMCS Malahat for their years of service in Victoria, noting their conduct ‘has been exemplary’, and ending with ‘how impressive it is to see you here today and know that because of your commitment we all have an opportunity to feel a little safer in our communities and in our lives’.

Upon conclusion of the ceremony, the parade conducted a March Past for Mayor Alto before exiting Centennial Square and marching down Government Street to the sound of clapping and cheers from the nearby crowd.

For those members of HMCS Malahat’s Ship’s Company in attendance, it was a day to remember. Due to the rarity with which Freedom of the City is exercised, this will likely be their only participation in such an event for the remainder of their Naval careers.

“As a truly naval city, the bond between Victoria and HMCS Malahat is a special one,” noted LCdr Gardam. “We are deeply grateful to the City of Victoria for allowing us the honour and privilege of exercising our Freedom of the City in this momentous year, the 100th Anniversary of the Naval Reserve.”