Future uncertain for historic ceremonial guard program in Fredericton

Fredericton Tourism has cancelled the city's long-standing ceremonial guard program for the summer and won't guarantee its return next year. 

Helmets, bayonets and other equipment used in the tourist attraction, which aims to preserve Fredericton's history as the birthplace of the Canadian military, were destroyed in a fire in March at a downtown heritage building.

That incident, coupled with difficulties hiring a ceremonial guard commanding officer, will halt the program for the summer, according to Stacey Russell, manager of tourism and events.

"It was, back in the day, Fredericton's icon. It told the story in terms of Fredericton's history," she said.

The demonstration, meant to pay homage to the 1883 establishment of the Infantry School Corps A Company in Fredericton, is now largely staffed by students. 

But Russell would not guarantee the attraction will return next summer. 

"It is important now as we look at a new Officers' Square ... we look at recognizing all our cultures, particularly our Indigenous as well as obviously our Loyalist culture, but also our Acadian culture," she said.

"It is a big program, it's something that we do need to look at."

The program's fate will be decided during the fall budget season, she said.

The March fire caused significant losses for the program, Russell said, and it has also encountered challenges finding a new commanding officer.

Doug Hall, who served as guard commander from 2012 until his recent retirement, helped put the program together two decades ago.

He believes it's a valuable attraction that sets Fredericton apart from other cities, and said it would be a big loss if it were cancelled beyond this summer.

"We tried to make the guard interactive with the public. Nowhere, nowhere was there a guard like this anywhere in the world," Hall said.

"We performed the ceremony and then we did demonstrations of what it was like in 1883 ... our uniforms were of 1883 vintage, our guns were of 1883 vintage, and we actually fired the guns for the public to see how it was done."

He noted the program was scaled back during COVID-19.

Don Wright, a political science and history professor at the University of New Brunswick, said changes to the program shouldn't be seen as a rejection of the past. 

"The city isn't changing the past. Nor is it erasing it. But it is rewriting it. And that can be a good thing," he said in an email. 

"History and the past are two different things. The past is the past. It doesn't change. But history is the representation of the past and it changes all the time, as new questions are asked and as different perspectives are included."

With more voices represented, Wright said, history becomes more accessible.

"In this moment of reconciliation, does Fredericton only want to represent itself to tourists as a British garrison, or does it want to represent itself along other lines as well?"