The Freedom of the City, a living military tradition in Trois-Rivières

The Freedom of the City is granted by resolution of the city council to a military unit that has earned the trust of the local population. It entitles the unit to enter the city and march through it freely, "with drums beating, colours flying and bayonets fixed". National Defence describes it as one of the greatest honours a Canadian Armed Forces unit or a cadet corps can receive.

Today, the privilege is entirely ceremonial: it confers no special powers. It stands instead for a respectful agreement between a city and a military unit, which exercises it on special occasions such as an anniversary or a commemoration.

In French, the honour is called droit de cité, "the right of the city". The phrase goes back to antiquity, when the cité was the self-governing community of citizens and having droit de cité meant belonging to it. The military Freedom of the City is distinct from the honorary freedom a city may confer on a person, although both descend from the privileges of the free citizens of medieval towns; in London, these "freemen" are recorded as early as 1237.

The tradition is rooted in an age-old wariness of armed troops. In ancient Rome, a sacred boundary, the pomerium, surrounded the city: a general had to give up his command before crossing it, except during a triumph. In the Middle Ages, the walled cities of Europe closed their gates to armed soldiers, even those of friendly armies, to protect the safety and rights of their inhabitants.

In England, distrust of standing armies ran deep: there was strong opposition to large bodies of warlike troops disturbing the peace of the streets. According to historian E. C. Russell, the custom of granting the Freedom of the City took hold after the Restoration of Charles II in 1660. Only units that had earned the trust of the population received the honour.

In Canada, Army, Navy and Air Force units have received the Freedom of the City, and so have cadet corps and squadrons. Russell cites, for example, The Royal Regiment of Canada, in Toronto, in 1962, and Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, which received it from the Belgian city of Ypres in 1964.

The ceremony re-enacts the arrival of troops at the gates of a walled city. In the sequence E. C. Russell describes, the unit comes to the city limits, where the chief of police stands in the middle of the road to halt it and ask its business. The commanding officer is then escorted to the mayor, who calls a formal session of city council. Council then passes the resolution granting the Freedom of the City, which is presented to the unit on a scroll.

The Canadian Cadet Organizations provide their own version of the ceremony for cadet corps and squadrons:

• a city official bars the road and challenges the unit: "Identify yourself";
• the commanding officer names the unit and requests permission to march freely through the streets of the city;
• at city hall, a cadet knocks on the door three times, with a hand, the pommel of a drill cane, the pace stick or the band leader's mace;
• the mayor reads the proclamation on the scroll, and the commanding officer accepts the honour on behalf of the unit's past, current and future members;
• the flag, cased until then, is uncased: the Freedom of the City is now official;
• three cheers of "hip hip hurray" salute the city, then the unit marches past the mayor, who takes the salute.

Trois-Rivières and the 12^e Régiment blindé du Canada share a long history. The regiment was born here on March 24, 1871, when the Three Rivers Provisional Battalion of Infantry was authorized. It carried the city's name from Sicily to the Netherlands in the Second World War, and its reserve component, the 12^e RBC (Milice), still occupies the Général Jean-Victor Allard Armoury, downtown.

In 1978, the City of Trois-Rivières granted the regiment the Freedom of the City. The bond even shows on the uniform: according to the 12^e RBC Association, it is the only regiment that still wears the coat of arms of its home town on its collars. The arms include a silver chevron taken from the arms of Pierre Boucher, governor of Trois-Rivières in the 17th century, and three fish representing the three rivers.

The regiment still exercises the privilege on special occasions. For its 153rd anniversary, Le Nouvelliste announced a Freedom of the City parade on May 11, 2024: close to a hundred soldiers of the 12^e RBC (Milice), with a military band and combat vehicles, setting off from Parc Champlain.

2671 Army Cadet Corps was born within the regiment. In April 1961, the commanding officer of the Régiment de Trois-Rivières, Lieutenant-Colonel Roland Gauthier, officially announced the formation of a cadet corps, authorized on March 21 under the number 2671: the regiment wanted to "prepare the next generation". Sixty-five years later, the corps is still affiliated with the regiment, and our cadets gather in its armoury every week.

The regiment's Freedom of the City is therefore part of our heritage too. It is a reminder that a unit's place in its city cannot be decreed: it is earned, through years of presence, service and respect for the population. That is the same spirit the cadet program nurtures in young people aged 12 to 18, through citizenship, leadership and community involvement.

The tradition does not belong to the Army alone: Royal Canadian Air Force units and cadet squadrons have also received it from their cities. 772 Vanier Squadron, which shares the same armoury, carries the same spirit. Every time our cadets take part in the life of Trois-Rivières, they help sustain that bond of trust between the city and those who wear the uniform.

• 1660 – Restoration of Charles II: in England, the custom of granting the Freedom of the City takes hold.
• March 24, 1871 – The Three Rivers Provisional Battalion of Infantry, forerunner of the 12^e RBC, is authorized in Trois-Rivières.
• March 21, 1961 – 2671 Army Cadet Corps is authorized, formed within the Régiment de Trois-Rivières.
• 1962 – Toronto grants the Freedom of the City to The Royal Regiment of Canada.
• 1964 – The Belgian city of Ypres grants the Freedom of the City to Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.
• 1978 – The City of Trois-Rivières grants the Freedom of the City to the 12^e Régiment blindé du Canada.
• May 11, 2024 – A Freedom of the City parade is announced for the regiment's 153rd anniversary.

This page is based on the following sources:

E. C. Russell, "Freedom of the City", Customs and Traditions of the Canadian Armed Forces (1980), Royal Canadian Air Force

National Defence, CATO 12-03, Annex A, "Civic Recognition Ceremony"

National Defence, 120th anniversary of the Freedom of the City in Ottawa, August 27, 2014 (in French)

National Defence, "1 Field Ambulance celebrates 125 year heritage in St. Albert with Freedom of the City honour", 2023

12^e Régiment blindé du Canada Association, history and traditions (in French)

Gabriel Delisle, "Les origines trifluviennes du seul régiment blindé francophone", Le Nouvelliste, March 6, 2022 (in French)

"Défilé militaire le 11 mai à Trois-Rivières", Le Nouvelliste, May 10, 2024 (in French)

"Formation d'un corps de cadets au régiment de Trois-Rivières", La Presse, April 20, 1961 (in French)

Wikipedia, "Freedom of the City"

Larousse, "cité" (in French)