Plans for King Charles III's first visit to Canada as head of state are on hold following his cancer diagnosis, CBC News has learned.

Although the visit was never officially confirmed by Buckingham Palace, Canadian government sources told CBC News that King Charles III and Queen Camilla's visit was planned for May 2024. hasThis was also reported by the British media..

Earlier this month, Buckingham Palace said medical staff had discovered a form of cancer when the king, 75, underwent a hospital procedure for benign prostate enlargement, and said he had started a program regular treatments.

In the press release, the Palace does not specify the type of cancer detected or the treatment the king is receiving. He said the king “remains entirely positive about his treatment and looks forward to returning to full exercise of his public duties as soon as possible.”

In response to a freedom of information request from CBC News, a Canadian official wrote that “following the announcement of a cancer diagnosis for His Majesty the King, no further tours are planned in Canada for 2024, nor any tour planned with others.[…]members of the royal family.

Sources not authorized to speak publicly told CBC News that planning for the royal visit had been postponed.

Since no tours have been publicly announced, the royal family will not have to cancel anything publicly, said royal commentator and author Victoria Murphy.

“There's no question that there were things in the planning discussions behind the scenes that have now stopped because of this diagnosis,” he said in an interview with CBC News on Monday.

The king, crowned last May, has not visited many Commonwealth countries since his coronation.

As king, he has visited Germany, Romania, France, Kenya and, most recently, the United Arab Emirates for the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference.

“I expected that this year, under normal circumstances, the king would have made many trips abroad,” Murphy said. “Everything has changed now thanks to this diagnosis. »

His last trip to Canada was in May 2022, when he visited Newfoundland, Ottawa and the Northwest Territories. During that visit, RoseAnne Archibald, then national chief of the Assembly of First Nations, asked the Queen to apologize for the Crown's “continued violation of treaties” with Indigenous peoples.

Archibald told reporters that Charles had heard the request and was “very empathetic“.

Canada divided over severing ties with the Crown

A poll taken shortly before the king's coronation showed that Canadians were divided on whether the country should remain tied to the Crown.

A Leger poll of 1,544 Canadians finds that 56 percent of respondents agree that the country should “reconsider its ties” to the monarchy now that there is a new ruler.

The study also found that 67 percent of those surveyed felt “indifferent” to Charles' new role. Only 12 percent said it was “good news.”

Around 80 percent of those surveyed said they were not “personally connected” to the monarchy.

Any change in Canada's ties to the monarchy would require a unanimous decision by the provinces, the House of Commons and the Senate, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said there is no appetite for a debate on the elimination of the monarchy.