Queen Elizabeth II arrives in Winnipeg

OTTAWA, July 3 (UPI) -- British Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Philip, the duke of Edinburgh, continued their trip through Canada Saturday with a stop in Winnipeg.

The royal couple became the first official passengers to the city's new airport terminal when they landed at the James Armstrong Richardson International Airport shortly before 12:30 p.m., the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

Elizabeth then signed a letter addressed to Ontario's youth. The letter was placed in a time capsule that is to remained closed for 50 years.

The queen also was feted at a luncheon at Winnipeg's Government House where she was to rededicate a statue of herself created by the late Manitoba artist Leo Mol, the CBC said. She also was to present the Canadian Museum for Human Rights with its cornerstone, taken from the fields of Runnymede near Windsor Castle where the original Magna Carta was signed in 1215. She also was to deliver a speech at a concert dedicated to human rights.

In Ottawa earlier, Elizabeth met with opposition leader Michael Ignatieff.

"She has a wonderful sense of the absurd," Ignatieff told the Toronto Star after his conversation with the queen Friday. "What is astounding about her is how that sense of humor, that sense of the absurd, that sense of comedy of life has survived 60 years of grueling public life. You have to in her job, because she sees a lot of amusing things happen."

During her time in Ottawa, the 84-year-old British monarch also sat for a photo shoot for artist Phil Richards, who will spend the next six months painting a portrait for her Diamond Jubilee next year.

The queen will travel to Toronto for Sunday's 151st running of the Queen's Plate horse race.

She will also visit BlackBerry manufacturer Research In Motion's headquarters in Kitchener/Waterloo.