Time to leave our colonial past behind
In the end, the split was painless!
Despite excessive hand-wringing and warnings in advance of dire consequences, Barbados this week cut its 396-year-old ties with the British monarchy.
In a ceremony filled with pomp and celebrities, including Barbados superstar singer Rihanna, the Caribbean nation officially became a republic — 55 years to the day after it declared independence from Britain.
Even Queen Elizabeth didn’t object to yet another country — the 17th under her reign — dispensing of her as its head of state. In fact, she despatched her son Charles, the future king of England, to participate in the ceremony.
Now that Barbados has ditched the British monarchy, what’s stopping Canada from doing the same thing?
Isn’t it time Canada shed the last vestiges of our British colonial past that sees us still beholding to a queen or king living in England, that bars any Canadian from being our head of state and that demands new citizens swear an oath to the queen. For Barbados, often called “Little England,” the switch was ultimately easy.
Dame Sandra Mason, who had been the island’s governor-general, became the country’s first president. She was elected to the new post in October by Barbados’ Parliament. It’s a largely ceremonial job, with Barbados’ Prime Minister Mia Mottley and the ruling party handling the day-to-day business of government.
The biggest change is that it’s now possible for a Barbadian to become head of state, signalling that the country has fully left its colonial past behind.
With Barbados now a republic, only 15 countries outside of Great Britain still hold the Queen as the head of state: Canada, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu.
In Canada, most people want to dump the monarchy — and that number is growing rapidly.
A study released this week by the non-profit Angus Reid Institute found 52 per cent of those surveyed say Canada should not remain a constitutional monarchy indefinitely compared with 25 per cent who say it should.
Quebec had the highest level of opposition to keeping the monarchy, with 72 per cent saying it’s time for a change.
In Ontario, 46 per cent favoured ending ties with the monarchy and 25 per cent wanted to keep it.
The national results reflect “a significant decline in support for the system as Canadians grow increasingly weary of their relationship with the crown,” the institute said in a press release. Barely five years ago, more than 40 per cent of Canadians favoured the country remaining a constitutional monarchy for generations in the future.
Also, most Canadians say the monarchy is less relevant than it was a few years ago or isn’t relevant at all.
Still, while Queen Elizabeth is on the throne, most Canadians don’t want to ditch the monarchy or any of its symbols, such as swearing oaths to her or having her image on our currency.
However, that support plunges when the prospect of Prince Charles becoming king is added to the mix.
One Canadian group thrilled that Barbados has made the move is Citizens for a Canadian Republic.
Tom Freda, head of the group, says, however, it is “disappointed, even embarrassed, that Canada has relinquished its leadership role in the Commonwealth in moving away from anachronistic colonialism and empire to a country that has traditionally followed us.”
Freda said he expects Barbados to be an inspiration to “the millions of Canadians who believe it’s time for our country to also sever its last colonial link.”
No disrespect to the queen, but the dwindling number of monarchists in Canada need to get over it. It’s time to move forward — just as Barbados has done.