Canadian republicanism is a movement for the replacement of the

monarchy of Canada The monarchy of Canada is Canada's form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is at the core of Canada's constitutional federal structure and Westminster-style parliamentary democracy. The monarchy is the f ...

and a monarch as

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and ...

with a

parliamentary republic A parliamentary republic is a republic that operates under a parliamentary system of government where the executive branch (the government) derives its legitimacy from and is accountable to the legislature (the parliament). There are a number ...

and a democratically-selected Canadian as head of state. Republicans are driven by various factors, such as a perception of inequality in the concept of excluding all but members of the

royal family A royal family is the immediate family of kings/queens, emirs/emiras, sultans/ sultanas, or raja/ rani and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term pa ...

from the position or the argument that Canadian independence will not be achieved until Canadians can choose their own head of state independently and democratically. As with monarchism in Canada, strong

republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasises the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. ...

is not a prevalent element of contemporary Canadian society. The movement's roots precede

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Dominio ...

and it has emerged from time to time in Canadian politics, but has not been a dominant force since the Rebellions of 1837, which Canadian republicans consider their efforts to be a continuation of.

National identity

Republicans in Canada assert that because of its

hereditary Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic informa ...

aspects, the monarchy is inherently contrary to

egalitarianism Egalitarianism (), or equalitarianism, is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds from the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all h ...

and

multiculturalism The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for " ethnic pluralism", with the two terms often used interchang ...

. Further, though it diverges from both the official position of the

Canadian government The government of Canada (french: gouvernement du Canada) is the body responsible for the federal administration of Canada. A constitutional monarchy, the Crown is the corporation sole, assuming distinct roles: the executive, as the ''Crown-in ...

and the opinions of some judges, legal scholars, and members of the

themselves, republicans deem the King or Queen of Canada to be either a solely British or English individual representing a British institution foreign to Canada. Founded on this perception is the republican assertion that national pride is diminished by the monarchy, and it "prolongs a sense that Canada "is a colony" and is "subservient to Britain." This questioning of the monarchy's role in Canadian identity arose as a part of wider cultural changes that followed the evolution of the British Empire into the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the C ...

, the rise of

anti-establishment An anti-establishment view or belief is one which stands in opposition to the conventional social, political, and economic principles of a society. The term was first used in the modern sense in 1958, by the British magazine ''New Statesman'' ...

ism, the creation of

as an official policy in Canada, and the blossoming of

Quebec separatism The Quebec sovereignty movement (french: Mouvement souverainiste du Québec) is a political movement whose objective is to achieve the sovereignty of Quebec, a province of Canada since 1867, including in all matters related to any provision ...

; the latter becoming the major impetus of political controversy around the Crown. Quebec nationalists agitated for an independent Quebec republic and the monarchy was targeted as a symbol of anti-

Anglophone Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the ''Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest language ...

demonstration, notably Quebecers turned their backs on her procession when she toured

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...

that year. In a 1970 speech to the Empire Club of Canada, Governor General

Roland Michener Daniel Roland Michener (April 19, 1900 – August 6, 1991) was a Canadian lawyer, politician, and diplomat who served as Governor General of Canada, the 20th since Canadian Confederation. Michener was born and educated in Alberta. In 1917 he se ...

summed up the contemporary arguments against the Crown: From its opponents, he said, came the claims that monarchies are unfashionable, republics—other than those with oppressive regimes—offer more freedom, people are given greater dignity from choosing their head of state, the monarchy is foreign and incompatible with Canada's multicultural society, and that there should be change for the sake of change alone. This fits into the argument that the monarchy is not representative of the people of its countries. This has been argued to be the case with Canada having a head of state that is of a foreign nationality and living in another country. However, though it was later thought the Quiet Revolution and the period beyond should have inspired more republicanism amongst Canadians, they did not. Reg Whitaker blamed this on a combination of Quebec nationalists having no interest in the monarchy (as full sovereignty and their own form of government was their ultimate goal) with the remainder of the population simultaneously struggling with "bilingualism, dualism, special status, distinct society, asymmetrical federalism, sovereignty-association, partnership, and so on." Even the rise in multi-ethnic immigration to Canada in the 1970s did not inspire any desires to alter or remove the role of the Crown in Canada, the ethno-cultural groups not wanting to push constitutional change over a matter they had little concern for. Instead, until the appointment of

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...

as prime minister, successive governments made subtle efforts to diminish the stature of the Canadian monarchy—as David Smith said: "the historic Crown with its anthem, emblems, and symbolism made accessible a past the government of the day rejected"—though never, since the reaction to some of Prime Minister

Pierre Trudeau Joseph Philippe Pierre Yves Elliott Trudeau ( , ; October 18, 1919 – September 28, 2000), also referred to by his initials PET, was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 15th prime minister of Canada from 1968 to 1979 and ...

's proposals for alterations to the monarchy and its role in Canada, publicly revealing their stances on the Crown. Following

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states durin ...

's death in September 2022, Canadian Prime Minister

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since ...

publicly expressed support for the British monarchy's continued status in Canada.

Democratic principles and governmental role

Canadian republicans view their country's monarchy as "outdated and irrelevant" and an undemocratic institution because the incumbent sovereign is neither elected, nor a citizen once on the throne; republicans will phrase this argument as "no Canadian citizen can become head of state." In contrast to monarchist arguments, those against the Crown assert that it is possible to have an elected head of state be an apolitical individual and there would be no possibility of a clash with the prime minister over differences in political persuasion, though some republicans do desire an empowered chief executive who could hold the Cabinet in check for political reasons. Others feel an appointed Canadian president would be more democratic than the Crown. The range of often contradictory proposals highlights the fact that Canadian republicans are not fully united on what sort of republican form of government they believe the nation should adopt. The Westminster-style parliamentary republican model, which is advocated by other Commonwealth republican movements, has been embraced by Citizens for a Canadian Republic as the preferred model for Canada. Towards that end, Citizens for a Canadian Republic proposed in March 2004 that the federal

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...

be made an elected position as a first step towards some form of republic. As the normal channels of appointment would follow after the election, no constitutional reform would be necessary. However, as monarchists point out, the scheme does not take into consideration any provincial input, especially concerning the relationship between the provincial and federal crowns and thus the lieutenant governors; an issue that would weigh heavily in any constitutional debate on the Crown, regardless of the selection process of the governor general. Further, a 2013 ruling by the Supreme Court of Canada disallowed similar consultative elections for senators, stating that such would be a change to how senators are selected and would thus require a constitutional amendment.

History of issue

Colonial era and Confederation

Reformists began to emerge in the Canadian colonies during the early 19th century and by two decades into that century had begun to cohere into organized groups, such as the Upper Canada Central Political Union. The idea of

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

was viewed by a number of British North Americans as an innovation of the United States, being "anti-British and of a republican tendency." Colonists were warned about "a few individuals, who unfortunately, are led by those, whose hostility to the British constitution is such, that they would sacrifice any and every thing to pull it down, in order that they might build up a Republic on its ruins." It was believed that the persons agitating for republican change and their supporters were of American origin and had been taught to admire republican government as the best in the world and ridicule monarchism. The first open uprisings in Canada against the monarchical system came in 1837, with the

Lower Canada Rebellion The Lower Canada Rebellion (french: rébellion du Bas-Canada), commonly referred to as the Patriots' War () in French, is the name given to the armed conflict in 1837–38 between rebels and the colonial government of Lower Canada (now south ...

—led by

Louis Joseph Papineau Louis-Joseph Papineau (October 7, 1786 – September 23, 1871), born in Montreal, Quebec, was a politician, lawyer, and the landlord of the ''seigneurie de la Petite-Nation''. He was the leader of the reformist Patriote movement before the Low ...

and his

Parti Patriote The Parti canadien () or Parti patriote () was a primarily francophone political party in what is now Quebec founded by members of the liberal elite of Lower Canada at the beginning of the 19th century. Its members were made up of liberal prof ...

—and the

Upper Canada Rebellion The Upper Canada Rebellion was an insurrection against the oligarchic government of the British colony of Upper Canada (present-day Ontario) in December 1837. While public grievances had existed for years, it was the rebellion in Lower Canada (p ...

—led by

William Lyon Mackenzie William Lyon Mackenzie (March12, 1795 August28, 1861) was a Scottish Canadian-American journalist and politician. He founded newspapers critical of the Family Compact, a term used to identify elite members of Upper Canada. He represented Yor ...

. Though their main motives were for more representative government in their respective colonies, Mackenzie was inspired by the American model and wished to establish the same in Canada. Papineau originally expressed loyalty to the Crown in his Ninety-Two Resolutions, but turned when the

British parliament The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

instead adopted the Earl Russell's Ten Resolutions, which ignored all 92 of the requests from the Parti Patriote. Most colonists, however, did not espouse a break with the Crown and the rebellions ultimately failed. Mackenzie fled

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

with 200 supporters and established, with the help of

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

sympathizers, the short-lived and never recognized Republic of Canada on Navy Island, while Papineau and other insurgents fled to the United States and proclaimed the

Republic of Lower Canada The Republic of Lower Canada was a break-away state proclaimed in the aftermath of the 1837 Rebellions. The defeat of the rebellion meant that the state could never be properly established. History Origins A British colony since 1760, Canada ...

. After living in the US in order to avoid arrest in Canada, Mackenzie eventually became dissatisfied with the American republican system and gave up plans for revolution in the

British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland, then further south at Roanoke and Jamestow ...

n provinces, though he theorized, near the end of his life, on Canadian annexation into the United States, should enough people in the former country become disillusioned with

responsible government Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability, the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy. Governments (the equivalent of the executive br ...

. Similarly, by 1849, Papineau was advocating the absorption of the

Province of Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...

(formed in 1840) into the American republic to the south. He echoed a significant minority of conservatives in Upper Canada who critiqued Canada's imitation of the British parliamentary

constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...

as both too democratic and too tyrannical, theorizing that it simultaneously destroyed the independence of the appointed governor and legislative council and further concentrated power in the Cabinet. Instead, these "republican conservatives" preferred the American federal-state system and the US constitution, seeing the American model of checks and balances as offering Canada a more fair and conservative form of democracy. They debated constitutional changes that included an elected governor, an elected legislative council, and a possible union with the US, within this republican framework. Some decades later, in 1869, a rebellion in the Red River area of Rupert's Land erupted under the leadership of

Louis Riel Louis Riel (; ; 22 October 1844 – 16 November 1885) was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political leader of the Métis people. He led two resistance movements against the Government of Canada and its first ...

, who established in the Red River settlement a

provisional government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, or a transitional government, is an emergency governmental authority set up to manage a political transition generally in the cases of a newly formed state or ...

under John Bruce as president, with the intent of negotiating a provincial relationship with the federal government of Canada. As negotiations proceeded, Riel was eventually elected as president by the provisional government's council. His delegation to

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the c ...

was eventually successful in having the federal Crown- in-Council in 1870 found the province of Manitoba with the same parliamentary

as existed in the other provinces.

Post-Quebec sovereignty movement

The

Parti Québécois The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establis ...

rose to power in Quebec on the support of nationalists, with views towards the monarchy that ranged from hostility to indifference. In February 1968, during a constitutional conference in Ottawa, delegates from the Union Nationale-governed Quebec indicated that a provincial president might suit the province better than the appointed viceroy. Two years later,

(PQ) members of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...

refused to recite the constitutionally mandated

Oath of Allegiance An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to a monarch or a country. In modern republics, oaths are sworn to the country in general, or to the country's constitution. Fo ...

to the sovereign before taking their seats in the legislature. Sovereignists protested against the Queen's role in officially opening the

1976 Montreal Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phil ...

, with

René Lévesque René Lévesque (; August 24, 1922 – November 1, 1987) was a Québécois politician and journalist who served as the 23rd premier of Quebec from 1976 to 1985. He was the first Québécois political leader since Confederation to attemp ...

asking Elizabeth to refuse the advice from Prime Minister

and not open the games. Republican options were discussed following the election of the sovereigntist Parti Québécois to government in Quebec, but only specifically in relation to the province. Continuing talks of constitutional reform led to the role of the monarchy in Canada coming under scrutiny in the lead up to the

patriation Patriation is the political process that led to full Canadian sovereignty, culminating with the Constitution Act, 1982. The process was necessary because under the Statute of Westminster 1931, with Canada's agreement at the time, the British parl ...

of the Canadian constitution in 1982. However, proposals for change were thwarted by the provinces, including Quebec. The notion of a republic was raised publicly in the early 1990s, when

Peter C. Newman Peter Charles Newman (born May 10, 1929) is a Canadian journalist and writer. Life and career Born in Vienna, Austria, Newman emigrated from Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia to Canada in 1940 as a Jewish refugee. His parents were Wanda Maria and ...

wrote in ''Maclean's'' that the monarchy should be abolished in favour of a head of state "who would reflect our own, instead of imported, values." Then, in 1997,

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

John Manley John Paul Manley (born January 5, 1950) is a Canadian lawyer, businessman, and politician who served as the eighth deputy prime minister of Canada from 2002 to 2003. He served as Liberal Member of Parliament for Ottawa South from 1988 to ...

echoed Newman when he expressed at the end of a television interview his opinion that Canada should abolish its monarchy, citing Australia's contemporary discussions around the Australian Crown. Then, in December of the following year, the Prime Minister's press secretary,

Peter Donolo Peter Donolo (born October 1959) is a Canadian communications and political strategist. From 1993 to 1999, he was the Director of Communications in the office of Prime Minister Jean Chrétien - the longest tenure of any prime ministerial communic ...

, who also complained that the monarch made Canada appear as a "colonial outpost", unaccountably announced through a media story that the Prime Minister's Office was considering the abolition of the monarchy as a millennium project, though no definitive plans had been made. Donolo later supported Manley when, on

Victoria Day Victoria Day (french: Fête de la Reine, lit=Celebration of the Queen) is a federal Canadian public holiday celebrated on the last Monday preceding May 25. Initially in honour of Queen Victoria's birthday, it has since been celebrated as the off ...

2001, Manley said on CBC Radio that he believed that hereditary succession was outdated, and that the country's head of state should be elected. Then, just prior to the Queen's pan-country tour to celebrate her Golden Jubilee the following year, Manley (at that point the designated minister in attendance for the sovereign's arrival in Ottawa) again stated his preference for a "wholly Canadian" institution to replace the present monarchy after the reign of Queen Elizabeth II; he was rebuked by other Cabinet members, a former prime minister, and the Leader of the Opposition, as well as a number of prominent journalists. In 2002, the group Citizens for a Canadian Republic was established to promote the abolition of the Canadian monarchy in favour of a republic, at approximately the same time ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'' newspaper began a campaign against the monarchy, with three republican journalists on staff

Margaret Wente Margaret Wente (born 15 February 1950) is a Canadian journalist and was a long-time columnist for '' The Globe and Mail'' until August 2019. She received the National Newspaper Award for column-writing in 2000 and 2001. In 2012, Wente was foun ...

, Jeffrey Simpson, and Lawrence Martinthough the editorial board argued Canada could dispose of its monarchy without becoming a republic. Tom Freda, chairman and co-founder of Citizens for a Canadian Republic, called for simply replacing the monarchy with the governor general, saying that he's not in favour of destroying Canada's identity or cultural institutions: "All we're advocating is that the link to the monarchy, in our Constitution, be severed. Our governor general for the past 60 years has performed all the duties of a head of state, and there's no reason we shouldn't make our governor general our official head of state." Freda also, however, called the governor general and lieutenant governors "redundant". At approximately the same time, the editors of ''The Globe and Mail'' began calling for the governor general to be made head of state under the guise of "patriating the monarchy", and arguing that Canada could rid itself of its Crown without becoming a republic, and backing their journalist Jeffrey Simpson's preference for the Companions of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the cen ...

to choose the head of state in a Canadian republic. Lawrence Martin called for Canada to become a republic in order to re-brand the nation and better its standings in the international market, he cited

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

– a constitutional monarchy – as an example to be followed. In 2007, Quebec sovereignty again collided with the monarchy, when Quebec separatists threatened to mount demonstrations should the Queen be in attendance at the ceremonies for the

400th anniversary of Quebec City Quebec City's 400th anniversary, celebrated in 2008, commemorated the founding of Quebec City in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain. Quebec City is the oldest francophone city in North America. Along with Acadia, the city represents the birthplace of F ...

;

Mario Beaulieu Mario A. Beaulieu (; born February 1, 1959) is a Canadian politician. An advocate for nationalism in Quebec, he served as leader (2014–2015), interim leader (2018–2019) and president (2014–2018) of the Bloc Québécois (BQ); Beaulieu ...

, then Vice-President of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society announced that the Queen's presence would be a catalyst for action, saying: "You can be sure that people will demonstrate in protest... We are celebrating the foundation of

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spa ...

, not its conquest. The monarchy remains a symbol of imperialism and colonialism. Her presence will not be welcomed", and Gérald Larose, president of the Quebec Sovereignty Council, stated that the monarchy was "the most despicable, appalling, anti-democratic, imperial, colonial symbol against which all social and individuals rights were obtained through the course of history." At the

Liberal Party of Canada The Liberal Party of Canada (french: Parti libéral du Canada, region=CA) is a federal political party in Canada. The party espouses the principles of liberalism,McCall, Christina; Stephen Clarkson"Liberal Party". ''The Canadian Encyclopedia' ...

convention in January 2012, its members debated on a motion to include severing ties with the monarchy as a party platform. The proposed motion was rejected by 67 per cent. On October 26, 2022,

Bloc Québécois The Bloc Québécois (BQ; , " Quebecer Bloc") is a federal political party in Canada devoted to Quebec nationalism and the promotion of Quebec sovereignty. The Bloc was formed by Members of Parliament (MPs) who defected from the federal Prog ...

(BQ) Leader Yves-François Blanchet moved a motion calling for the severing of "ties between the Canadian State and the British monarchy" in the Federal

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

, It was rejected 44 to 266.

Activities

As abolition of the monarchy would require a constitutional amendment made only after the achievement of unanimous consent amongst the federal parliament and all ten provincial legislatures, republicans face difficulty in achieving their goal. Further, though republicans have pointed to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

as models that could be adapted to Canada, no specific form of republic or selection method for a president has been decided on, and the Canadian populace remains largely indifferent to the issue. Up until 2010, most republican action had taken the form of protests on

the Canadian sovereign's official birthdayin

, lobbying of the federal and provincial governments to eliminate

Canadian royal symbols Canadian royal symbols are the visual and auditory identifiers of the Canadian monarchy, including the viceroys, in the country's federal and provincial jurisdictions. These may specifically distinguish organizations that derive their authority fr ...

, and legal action against the Crown, specifically in relation to the Oath of Citizenship and the

Act of Settlement 1701 The Act of Settlement is an Act of the Parliament of England that settled the succession to the English and Irish crowns to only Protestants, which passed in 1701. More specifically, anyone who became a Roman Catholic, or who married one, be ...

. Today, most of Citizens for a Canadian Republic's activities are educational, providing commentators to the media and networking with supporters in all political parties. Ted McWhinney has argued that Canada can become a republic upon the demise of the current monarch by not proclaiming a successor; according to McWhinney, this would be a way for the constitution to evolve "more subtly and by indirection, through creating new glosses on the Law of the Constitution as written, without formally amending it." However, Ian Holloway, Dean of Law at the

University of Western Ontario The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thames R ...

, criticized this proposal for its ignorance of provincial input, and opined that its implementation "would be contrary to the plain purpose of those who framed our system of government."

Public opinion

A poll of 1,001 Canadians aged 18+ by Ipsos conducted on behalf of

Global News Global News is the news and current affairs division of the Canadian Global Television Network. The network is owned by Corus Entertainment, which oversees all of the network's national news programming as well as local news on its 21 owned-an ...

in September 2022, reported that 54% of Canadians said that Canada should end ties to monarchy. When broken down between English Canada and Quebecers the poll suggested that 46% of English Canada support ending ties to the monarchy, in comparison to 79% of Quebecers. It also reported that 58% of Canadians agree that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should hold a referendum on the future of the monarchy.

Notes

References

External links

Citizens for a Canadian Republic websiteNow , République du Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Republicanism in Canada Political movements in Canada Monarchy in Canada

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...