Debate on the monarchy in Canada

[2] The Monarchist League of Canada's chief executive officer, Robert Finch, stated the greatest threat to the monarchy is not republicanism, "it is indifference.

Their causes were countered by the lieutenant governors and members of the executive councils at the time, as well as a majority of the colonists, who did not espouse a break with the Crown,[5] Still, in the lead-up to Confederation in 1867, there did take place debate over whether the new polity should adopt a republican or monarchical form of government.

[6] Alistair Horne observed in the late 1950s that, while Canada's cultural mix grew, the monarchy remained held in high regard: "At its lowest common denominator, to the average Canadian—whether of British, French or Ukrainian extraction—the Crown is the one thing that he has that the rich and mighty Americans have not got.

However, at the same time, he noted that the institution was coming more into question in Quebec and that it was sometimes perceived as having a "colonial taint", but theorized that this was because Canadians had an inferiority complex in relation to the British.

Co-operative Commonwealth Federation Member of Parliament Frank Howard agreed with Davidson, but, many more did not,[9] with some demanding Prime Minister John Diefenbaker "do something".

[citation needed] Republican options were discussed following the sovereigntist Parti Québécois' (PQ) election to power in Quebec, but, only specifically in relation to the province.

"[12] The Cabinet, in June 1978, put forward the constitutional amendment Bill C-60 that, among other changes, potentially affected the sovereign's role as head of state by vesting executive authority in the governor general and renaming the position as First Canadian.

[13][14] Some academics, such as Ted McWhinney, supported these proposals; though, they were opposed by others, like the editorial board of The Globe and Mail and Senator Eugene Forsey, who said that the government had managed to "[stir] up a hornet's nest with a short stick.

"[15] From that year's First Ministers' conference in Regina, Saskatchewan, the provincial premiers (including that of Quebec[16]) issued a statement against what they saw as a unilateral attempt by the federal government to push through alterations to the monarchy and expressed their opposition to "constitutional changes that substitute for the Queen as ultimate authority a governor general whose appointment and dismissal would be solely the pleasure of the federal Cabinet"—a message reiterated at the conclusion of the 1979 meeting.

[14][15] Decades later, David Smith stated that the federal government at the time had "misperceived the complexity of the Crown [and] failed [...] to recognize its federalist dimension.

[22] After Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's press secretary, Peter Donolo, in 1998 unaccountably announced through a media story that the prime minister's office was considering the abolition of the monarchy as a millennium project,[23] Chrétien stated that he was open to a public debate, but never pursued the matter and expressed concerns about resulting divisions,[23] saying that he "already had enough trouble on [his] hands with the separatists of Quebec, and didn't want to take on the monarchists in the rest of Canada, too.

"[24] Other media at the time noted that, though there was "no longer any strong idea behind the Canadian monarchy and its representative", in the absence of which "there can be no pulse in common between the people and their constitution",[25] there simply was no debate about any republic among the general populace, with discussion limited to a political and journalistic few.

[n 1] An inadequate number of willing participants was pointed to as a reason for this phenomenon—which was seen as a manifestation of what Carolyn Tuohy had called Canada's "institutionalized ambivalence"—as well as a lack of alternate model to be discussed, with no method put forward by which the powers of the Crown could be soundly transferred to a president, no definitive solution to where Canadian sovereignty would be placed should the sovereign be removed from Canada,[n 2][25] nor any means by which the constitutionally required consent of all 11 parliaments (one federal and 10 provincial) could be achieved.

[16] It was also theorized that Canadians had a growing sense of distrust for politicians (which a president would be), more pressing issues to deal with, and no appetite for nationally divisive constitutional change.

[30] Into the 2020s, the Monarchist League of Canada claimed, "opponents of the Canadian Crown frequently criticize the monarchy without fully being aware of the facts.

"[31] Peter Woolstencroft, a retired political science professor from the University of Waterloo, opined in 2021 that "the optimal republican pathway seems to rest upon attrition through rising indifference."

After Elizabeth passed, however, "remarkably little talk of abolishing the monarchy" was heard and what was uttered was a repeat of what had "been written months or years ago.

[38] Retired University of Ottawa professor John E. Trent proposed in the Ottawa Citizen that the governor general be made head of state and, recycling an idea proposed by "a Toronto newspaper" years before, asserted Officers of the Order of Canada should select who occupies the office,[39] something Chris Selley argued in the National Post would politicize both the head of state and the Order of Canada, itself.

Selley also opined that "the strangest argument in favour of reform is the notion that it [the monarchy] reflects an 'immature' nation" and, in response, quoted Andrew Wudrick, of the Macdonald-Laurier Institute: "We don't have fighter jets or ships for our military.

[58] EKOS Research Associates concluded in 2002, the year of Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee, there were "highly polarized views" on the monarchy, with "little consensus for moving forward with institutional renewal."

[64] The same poll found that 58 per cent of respondents felt "the issue of the monarchy and the form of Canada's government isn't important to them and if the system is working OK why go through all the fuss to change it?

"[64] A 2005 poll by The Strategic Counsel reported Canadians to be uncertain "about the legitimacy and role of the British monarchy remaining as Canada's head of state".

"[67] An August 2009 poll commissioned by the group Canadian Friends of the Royal Family found that the majority of those who answered, more than 60%, felt that a constitutional monarchy was outdated.

"[71] In November, another poll by Angus Reid found that two-thirds of those questioned would like to see a Canadian serving as Canada's head of state, while 18 per cent disagreed.

)[72] A poll by Ipsos-Reid, also in June, found that two-in-three of those asked agreed the royal family should not have any formal role in Canadian society and reported growing sentiment that Elizabeth II should be Canada's last monarch.

[73][74] A fifth poll, conducted by Harris-Decima for The Canadian Press a few days ahead of the Queen's nine-day tour in June, found that nearly half of respondents considered the monarchy to be "a relic of our colonial past that has no place in Canada today."

[77] A 2012 poll by Harris-Decima found that the respondents, as a whole, were "relatively evenly split" over whether the monarchy should remain or be abolished, but, those from English Canada demonstrated a "growing consensus" in favour of the Crown.

Respondents of all ages were also less keen on Elizabeth's successor, Charles, becoming king, with 67 per cent saying they moderately or strongly opposed recognizing him as Canada's next head of state.

[88] Nanos Research's poll a month later, conducted primarily around the question of whether or not Queen Elizabeth II should apologize for the Church of England's role in the Canadian Indian residential school system, found that 48 per cent of those polled opposed "cutting ties with the British monarchy" and replacing the head of state with the prime minister, while 43 per cent supported the idea.

[89] Research Co. took a poll in September 2022, finding more than a third of those questioned (36 per cent) said they would prefer for Canada to have an elected head of state, down 13 points since February.