Time to abolish fading monarchy
With apologies to my monarchist friends who are gearing up for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in early June, it’s time Canada took a hard look at ditching the monarchy.
True, Queen Elizabeth II has served with grace and honour during her 70-year reign and deserves all the praise she’s receiving these days.
But make no mistake, the monarchy is in steep decline.
That’s particularly true in Canada, despite what monarchists would like us to believe. Falsely, they claim support for the monarchy remains strong, contrary to what polls show. They also insist it’s just too hard to change our constitution to remove the British queen or king as Canada’s head of state, so why even bother to try. Rubbish!
The issue of the future of the monarchy has gained increased attention recently, not just in Canada where Prince Charles is currently on a three-day royal tour, but elsewhere throughout the former British Empire.
Last year, Barbados removed the Queen as its head of state. Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness told the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge a few weeks ago that his country was “moving on” from the Commonwealth. Both Antigua and Belize are also making noises about dumping the monarchy.
In the 70 years since Elizabeth took the throne, Canada has changed dramatically.
Today, we are a multicultural society whose colonial ties with Britain are a distant relic. We need to ask ourselves why we cling to anachronistic practices, such as having new citizens and our elected politicians swear or affirm loyalty to a ruler who lives in another country, and why we still tolerate being a constitutional monarchy with a foreign queen or king as our head of state.
Yes, we still have a Queen of Canada — and soon we’ll have a King of Canada.
Try singing this out loud: “God save our gracious king! Long live our noble king! God save the king! Send him victorious, happy and glorious, long to reign over us; God save the king!” Ridiculous in a modern country, eh?
Polls consistently show eroding support for the monarchy, especially if and when Charles succeeds his mother. A survey in April by the Angus Reid Institute indicated 51 per cent of Canadians support abolishing the monarchy.
Royalists dismiss such polls as superficial. They note that support for dumping the monarchy in the Angus Reid survey barely exceeds 50 per cent. What they ignore, though, is that only 26 per cent of Canadians favour keeping the monarchy. In fact, not a single province or region in Canada has more people supporting the continuation of the monarchy than opposing it, according to the poll.
Importantly, the poll showed that barely 10 per cent of us would strongly support Prince Charles as King and Canada’s official head of state.
Hard-core monarchists and constitutionalists also try to derail any move to dump the monarchy by claiming it would be too hard.
Yes, such a move would be difficult because it would require the approval of the House of Commons, the Senate and all 10 provincial legislatures. We’d also have to find a new way of selecting a head of state. But these aren’t reasons not to try! In fact, 92 per cent of Canadians want us to try to change the Constitution to cut ties with the monarchy even it is difficult, according to the Angus Reid survey.
We could start the process by holding a national referendum with a simple yes-or-no question on cutting ties with the monarchy. If the vote is yes, then a special commission could look at how best to select a head of state. Then a second referendum could be held on the panel’s recommendations, before the process is handed over to the provinces for approval.
Given that more people in every province and region favour dumping the monarchy than keeping it, the outcome seems clear.
What are we waiting for?