FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 1, 2023

Contact: Ashok Charles, director@republicnow.ca 416-653-4747

Bulletin to legislators, coast to coast:
‘Replace crown with a head of state all our own’

TORONTO — Today, every federal and provincial lawmaker in the country was sent a message urging that the British monarch be replaced, as our head of state, by a democratically-selected Canadian. This comes just over a week before Charles and Camilla are crowned the “King and Queen of Canada.”

More than 1,100 messages have been dispatched by email to every Member of Parliament, every Senator, and every representative in the 10 provincial legislatures. It is only by their action that change can happen.

“We urge every lawmaker to seize this time of transition, and give Canada an office of head of state which reflects our independence and our democracy,” says Ashok Charles, director of Republic Now, the non-partisan advocacy group which authored the message.

The call for change has public support. Polls consistently show that a majority of Canadians (52 to 56%) favour cutting our constitutional link to British monarchy, outpacing support for the crown by a 2:1 margin. Even more (60%) oppose Charles as ‘our king,’ and 66% are against Camilla as ‘our queen,’ according to an Angus Reid poll out this week.

So what replaces the crown? We need to reach a consensus before a Constitutional amendment can be written. Today’s letter presses politicians to look at options for selecting a head of state, democratically, on the basis of merit, rather than birthright.

“We don’t have to reinvent the wheel,” says Ashok Charles. “There are models around the world we can look at, and adapt the best to our federal system.”

That will generate an amendment to be passed by a simple majority of each legislature. We’ve done the math, and just 587 votes, nationwide, will carry an amendment: 364 from the provinces, and 223 from the House & Senate. Our final act of nationhood is entirely within reach.

In the meantime, Republic Now’s letter highlights changes lawmakers can make right now, some without needing legislation:

• Amending the Citizenship Oath so it pledges allegiance to Canada, not a monarch;
• Transition our coins and $20 bill to honour historic Canadians;
• Stop issuing stamps featuring British royals;
• Offer military and other patronages to deserving Canadians;
• Give the Canadian flag precedence before royal & viceregal flags;
• Cease compulsory and suggested use of the British flag & anthem;
• Design a coat of arms free of colonial symbols;
• Create a Great Seal of Canada unencumbered by monarchical motifs

It behooves leaders and representatives to ensure that this week’s coronation is the last time Canada’s head of state is a European monarch—someone who can only come from a caucasian family, and from a single church within one religion. It is time to end our political servitude to a foreign, colonial, and undemocratic throne. We hope decision-makers across the country seize their shared honour and duty to usher our highest positions into the 21st century, and make them Canadian.