As Charles and Camilla arrive from England to mark his mother’s 70-year reign over Canada, Republic Now announces a national campaign to reach every federal and provincial lawmaker in the land, to ensure Elizabeth is the last monarch we ever have.
Legislators have been inert to steady shifts in opinion. They appear to not realize that two-thirds of Canadians (67%) oppose having Charles named “King of Canada”; that more than three-quarters (76%) do not want a Queen Camilla for this country. And more than half of us support leaving the British crown and becoming a republic with a head of state from our own country.
“British crowns and colonial symbols do not reflect who we are, nor our values of equality, patriotism and democracy.” says Republic Now director, Ashok Charles. “It’s time for governments to respond to the call for change voiced by a majority of Canadians.”
With the queen in natural decline, and the heir to the throne facing record disapproval, it behooves those who represent us in provincial legislatures and in Ottawa, to act now to reform our office of head of state. Our next head of state should be a Canadian who is selected, democratically, on the basis of merit and contribution to Canadian society.
Our federal system means it’s crucial to reach both the national and provincial governments. The change would affect not only the governor general, but the lieutenant-governors, all of whom act in place of the monarch in Britain. Ultimately, a majority vote from each legislature, with support from the House and Senate in Ottawa, will give our country what it’s long deserved.
Before that happens, there’s work to do, beginning with federal/provincial discussions to evaluate options and look at what other countries have done. This includes the half dozen Commonwealth nations which have recently replaced or plan to replace their borrowed British crowns with home-grown officials. Once they patriate their highest offices, the percentage of Commonwealth countries with their own heads of state will reach 80% (it’s currently 72%). Most Canadians say it’s time we joined that majority.
That is why Republic Now is reaching more than 1,100 lawmakers in every province — to underscore that Canadians want their own head of state by a 2:1 margin, and to prompt immediate action.
We hope Charles and Camilla have a nice time on their three-day jubilee jaunt. But Canada deserves a head of state who lives here, shares our citizenship, and represents Canadians.
Abolish the monarchy!
Time to do away with all royals , Governor General, Lieutenant governor whatever. All they have done is take from Canada. We as Canadians don’t need a Queen, King and all the rest of the freeloaders. Right now we could save a fortune by telling them to stay home until we can get rid of them.
Il est grand temps qu’on se débarrasse de ce poids inutile. Nous sommes un grand pays, autonome. On se fait voler à tous les niveaux par nos gouvernements, et en plus, on envoie des sommes considérables à la Reine, qui est un démon. Ici , au Québec, notre justice corrompu, est au nom de la reine, oui, petit ”r” pour ce démon qui a fait disparaître 10 enfants lors de l’un de ses voyages dans l’ouest Canadien…recherchez… des tunnels existent sous Buckingham… des fortunes volées au cours de l’histoire… ça vie au dépends de tous et demande toujours plus de sacrifices… assez, c’est assez go go go les ”juristes” (mais j’ai un gros doute… va falloir l’armée et les White Hats pour nous sortir de ce marais corrompu depuis des siècles Alléluia !!!
Colonialism is definitely past. Born to be head of state and have Charts of rights in hand where everybody is equal? Who has blue blood should see his doctor.