No. 1: We are no longer a British colony. Canada is an independent country that deserves to have a Canadian citizen as its head of state, not a British colonial that live in a castle overseas. Iceland has an Icelandic head of state. Germany has a German head of state. Ireland has an Irish head of state. Barbados has a Barbadian head of state. The latter two deciding that they no longer wanted British colonials to reign over them! If they can do it, so can we.
No. 2: Our head of state should be democratically elected on the basis of merit, not appointed by hereditary birthright. The office of head of state should reflect the values of our Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which upholds democratic, egalitarian principles. A monarchical head of state does not reflect the values Canadians hold today. A democratically elected Canadian has a more direct link to championing the issues Canadians hold dear to them, as opposed to a more indirect link that a British colonial would have.
No. 3: Having a truly Canadian head of state would dip into the large amount of talented, exceptional Canadians who deserve to be rewarded (as some of them already have been by the Governor General ironically enough) for the contributions that they have made both at home and abroad. No matter how many pleasant letters and speeches are given by a British colonial, or how many charities they put their names to, they can never truly have a link to what the real concerns of Canadians are unless they themselves have lived here and done the work. Who would be more in touch with a food insecurity issue? A CEO of a Canadian food bank, or a British King who lives in a castle in the UK? Who would be more in touch with the issue of advancements in modern medicine? A molecular biologist, or a British King?
No. 4: Having a democratically elected Canadian head of state would remove the discriminatory requirement of needing a British head of state who is head of the Church of England, and better reflect Canada’s diversity by opening the door people of all faiths, or even those who have no faith. It also means that just like our Governors General or Lieutenant Governors, they could be compromised of individuals from all walks on life, regardless of race, creed, colour, religion, gender, etc. If a Muslim, a Jew, a Hindu, a Buddhist, a Christian, an Atheist, an Indigenous person, a woman, a person of colour, etc. met the criteria to become a candidate for head of state, they should be given that opportunity. This would be much more reflective of what Canada stands for rather than keeping the head of state position exclusively reserved for a British, Anglican monarch who does not live here, and stops by for photo ops once in a while.
No. 5: Having our own head of state would mean that our citizenship oath would be amended to better reflect Canada. Those eligible for Canadian citizenship should no longer feel the need to swear an oath to a British colonial, especially if they do not believe in doing so. The expectation should be that their loyalties are with Canada’s laws and its people, not with a British King or Queen. Even countries like Australia, who decided to retain its constitutional monarchy in 1999, have amended their citizenship oath in a similar manner.
No. 6: Canada’s currency and its postage stamps, could be changed to honour exceptional Canadians, not British monarchs. Again, who provides more value for Canadian society? Canadians or British aristocrats? Even if we retained royalty on our currency due to the historic link Canada has with the monarchy, it would not be even remotely preposterous to pay homage to Canadians that have contributed so much at home and perhaps even abroad. For example, would putting Canadians on the currency, such as the inventors of Insulin (which has been done before temporarily in 2011 and 2021) instead of King Charles III, not be a better option? We sometimes hear of arguments to put Terry Fox on Canadian currency. Again, why not someone like Terry Fox instead of a British colonial? Though it was replacing a former Canadian Prime Minister, not a monarch, did the majority of Canadians scream when Viola Desmond was put onto the $10 bill? Would Canadians (other than monarchy supporters) have been more upset had it have replaced Queen Elizabeth II on the $20 bill? Or would Canada have moved on like it always does? As it did with the new flag replacing the Union Jack, or the Charter of Rights of Freedoms being implemented to signal a repatriation of our constitution from the United Kingdom.
No. 7: Canadians are warming up to the idea of no longer having a British colonial as their head of state. An increasing number of Canadians when polled, are seeing through it. A recent Abacus Data poll in 2023 found that if a referendum were held in Canada on whether to keep the monarchy or scrap it, 64 percent of Canadians would vote to scrap it.