Oath of Allegiance (Canada)

The Oath of Allegiance has also been slightly altered and made or removed as a requirement for admission to other offices or positions through act of Parliament or letters patent, to which proposals have been put forward for further abolishment or modification.

"[n 1] The oath thus currently reads as follows: I, [name], do swear, that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles III.

It signifies that, here in Canada, justice is done—not in the name of the prime minister, or the mayor, or the police chief, as in totalitarian nations—but by the people, in the name of the Queen,"[16] while James Robertson stated that the oath was the way elected members of Parliament—who are assuming positions of public trust—promise to carry out their duties "patriotically and in the best interests of the country.

"[17] The Federal Court also expressed that giving allegiance to the sovereign was "a solemn intention to adhere to the symbolic keystone of the Canadian constitution, thus pledging an acceptance of the whole of our constitution and national life,"[18] though, also reflecting, "it may be argued that it strikes at the very heart of democracy to curtail collective opposition and incentive for change by demanding loyalty to a particular political theory.

Generally, these individuals are appointed by the monarch or relevant viceroy, meaning they serve at His Majesty's pleasure and are charged with creating or administering the law.

Twice, however, the oath has been delivered in front of the reigning monarch: In 1967, the year of Canada's centennial, the provincial premiers then in office were sworn in as members of the Privy Council before Elizabeth II in a ceremony on Parliament Hill and, during her tour of Canada to mark the 125th anniversary of Confederation, new appointees to the Privy Council recited the oath before the Queen at her Ottawa residence.

[81] As early as 1867, this notion was tested: Joseph Howe was an opponent to Confederation; but, was elected to the House of Commons and took the Oath of Allegiance, after which he continued to work towards dissolving the union.

[82] Later, in 1976, members of the sovereigntist Parti Québécois (PQ) were elected to the National Assembly of Quebec; according to press reports, some of those persons swore the oath with their fingers crossed and others later added flippant commentary to their oath,[83] such as, "et aussi au roi de France" ("and also to the king of France"), and, "Vive la république" ("live the republic!

[6] In 2003, Premier of Quebec Bernard Landry, leader of the PQ, added to the oath, "for the duration of the present constitutional order, which will hopefully change one day in a democratic fashion.

[85] Allegiance and loyalty to the monarch, and the manner in which they are expressed, are specifically outlined in the Canadian Armed Forces regulations and subordinate orders.

Pierre Vincent, speaking for Citizens for a Canadian Republic called the oath "colonial, medieval stuff" comparable to a former Mexican tradition of "sacrificing virgins", while John Fraser, President of the Institute for the Study of the Crown in Canada, called the bill "a stupid idea" and "all based on emotionalism", saying "I don't think we should marginalize something [the Crown] that is an integral part of our system of government."

Barbara Messamore, a professor of history at the University of the Fraser Valley and an expert on the Canadian Crown, defined the move as a "profound change by stealth" and allegiance to Canada's constitution and system of government as "pretty significant.

[90] All members of the federal Civil Service were previously required to take the Oath of Allegiance before being officially hired; a stipulation that prompted Vincent, who is of Acadian descent and, at the time, a civil servant who refused to swear the oath, to undertake a three-year legal challenge against the Public Service Commission.

Thirty two law professors in Alberta sent a letter to Minister of Justice Tyler Shandro, in July 2022, asking that the Executive Council table legislation in the legislature that proposes to remove the requirement that prospective lawyers recite the Oath of Allegiance before being admitted to the provincial the bar.

This followed Prabjot Singh Wirring, an articling student in Edmonton, suing the province on the basis that swearing the oath would contradict his religious beliefs.

One of the women, Anita Cardinal, a member of the Woodland Cree First Nation, claimed the Canadian Crown does not have sovereignty over Indigenous peoples, contrary to multiple rulings by the Supreme Court of Canada.

It read: I [name] do sincerely promise and swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King George and him will defend to the utmost of my power, against all traitorous conspiracies and attempts whatsoever, which shall be made against his person.

Crown, and dignity; and I will do my utmost endeavor to disclose and make known to His Majesty, his heirs and successors, all treasons and traitorous conspiracies and attempts, which I shall know to be against him, or any of them; and all this I do swear without any equivocation, mental evasion, or secret reservation, and renouncing all pardons and dispensations from any power or person whomsoever to the contrary.

[102]In 1970, the recently elected members of the sovereigntist Parti Québécois (PQ) refused to recite the Oath of Allegiance before taking their seats in the National Assembly of Quebec.

[110][111] In response, the President of the National Assembly, François Paradis, asserted that the PQ and Québec Solidaire MNAs were required to recite the oath or risk expulsion from the legislature.

[112] While QS members eventually did swear allegiance, on 1 December 2022, PQ MNAs continued to refuse and were stopped from entering the legislature.