The station was re-opened, briefly, at 10:30 a.m. on May 22, 1939, when King George VI and his consort, Queen Elizabeth (mother of Queen Elizabeth II), arrived for their first visit to Toronto. This was the "first visit to Canada by a reigning British monarch." The king was also officially a Canadian monarch, marking the first visit by one to the city. The royal couple departed Toronto through Union Station. Shortly after World War II, returning soldiers passed through the station; they were its last rail passengers.