Canadians have been attached to Elizabeth II, their queen, until the end, but their relationship with the monarchy has become increasingly strained and her death will reignite the debate on the country’s political system, experts believe.

“Canada is a monarchical exception in the middle of a fairly republican continent,” said Marc Chevrier, professor of political science at the University of Quebec in Montreal.

In a few weeks, after the mourning period, “The debates around the relevance of continuing to be a monarchy will resurface, Pandora’s box is open”, he added.

To honor the death of its “queen for almost half of Canada’s existence”, as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recalled, the country entered a ten-day period of mourning on Thursday. Flags were lowered across the territory and a national memorial service is planned in the capital, Ottawa, on the same day as the funeral in London.

But behind the official pomp, the country maintains an increasingly ambivalent relationship with the monarchy. “Even in English-speaking Canada, support for the monarchy has declined over the years,” said Philippe Lagasse, a professor at Carleton University in Ottawa and an expert on the role of the crown in his country.

According to an April survey, a majority of Canadians (numbering 71% in the French-speaking province of Quebec) would even like to put an end to the monarchy. Sixty-seven percent said they opposed Charles succeeding his mother as Canada’s king, and his visit to the country last May went almost unnoticed.

In Canada, the British monarch is the head of state, but the role is largely ceremonial.
The one who holds the power is the governor general, representative of the sovereign in the country and appointed by the prime minister.

This position is currently held by Mary Simon, an Eskimo from northern Quebec. She is Canada’s first Indigenous Governor General.

Erase ties to the Crown

But to follow the example of Barbados, which in 2021 chose to secede from the British Crown and become a republic, Canada would have to undertake a profound reform of its institutions.

“Monarchy is the cornerstone of all constitutional law”, Chevrier explained with reference to the founding principle of the birth of Canada as a country in 1867. For example, he pointed out, “the office of Prime Minister does not even appear in the Canadian Constitution, which only mentions the monarch “.

Reforming the Constitution and abolishing the monarchy would require a titanic effort and possibly years of political negotiations, since it requires the unanimous approval of Parliament and the governments of the 10 Canadian provinces.

And in an increasingly politically divided Canada, this debate could likely spark controversy.

According to Lagasse, over time all the symbolism associated with royalty will be discussed and probably revised to continue to erase the links with the British monarchy.

The face of Elizabeth II appears on Canadian $20 bills and coins, for example.

Some protocols are also expected to change, including the citizenship oath. Currently, every new Canadian citizen must take an oath of “allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, to her heirs and successors”.

This legal provision had already been unsuccessfully challenged in court in 2014 by immigrants who argued that it violated their religious beliefs and conscience.
For a Canadian population that is increasingly diverse and multicultural, but also grappling with its colonial past, the link to the monarchy seems less and less relevant.

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