A recent royal tour intensified a spotlight on Britain’s colonial history, renewing questions about how much longer Commonwealth countries — including Canada — will have a monarch as their head of state.
The week-long tour, which wrapped up last weekend, saw Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, visit Belize, Jamaica and the Bahamas in a bid to shore up ties between Britain and those countries.
In doing so, Jamaica would become the second Caribbean country to cut ties with Queen Elizabeth in recent years — following the lead of Barbados, which did so in 2021.
People calling for slavery reparations protest outside the entrance of the British High Commission last week during the visit of Prince William and Kate in Kingston, Jamaica. (Ricardo Makyn/AFP/Getty Images)
But more countries in the region seem to be considering the possibility.
Gaston Browne, the prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda, told the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper last week that he believes “each country within the Commonwealth Caribbean all aspire to become a republic.”
The question about the future of the monarchy is also on the minds of many Canadians — including those already convinced it’s time to go in a new direction.
“Jamaica and Barbados are ahead of Canada,” tweeted Kulpreet SIngh, reacting from Vancouver to the headline-making news out of Jamaica.
“Come on Canada. Ditch the monarchy.”
‘It can’t continue’
Selwyn Pieters, a Toronto lawyer and civil-rights activist, said he sees no reason for the monarchy to remain in Canada.
“[Canada] doesn’t need a monarchy supervising it,” he said in a telephone interview last week.
Royals’ visit has sparked protests in the country
The Royal Family’s visit to Jamaica this week is sparking protest in the country, and unhappiness here in Canada among members of the Jamaican diaspora in Manitoba. 2:21
A recent poll by the Vancouver-based Research Co. suggests a lot of Canadians would agree.
Slightly less than half of those surveyed said they wanted the country to have an elected head of state, according to the online poll of 1,000 adults that was taken over a three-day period in February.
Mario Canseco, the president of Research Co., said that figure — now “a whisker away from 50 per cent” — has been climbing in polls he’s conducted in recent years.
“It’s the highest we’ve ever had,” said Canseco, referring to his prior polls.
A further 18 per cent of those surveyed said they did not have a preference as to whether Canada remained a constitutional monarchy or not. Just 21 per cent of those surveyed said they preferred for Canada to remain a monarchy.
CBC cannot accurately calculate a margin of error for online surveys. A probabilistic sample of the same size would yield a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
A woman is seen holding up a protest sign in Nassau, Bahamas, last Friday. (Toby Melville/Getty Images)
A Canadian Heritage spokesperson told CBC News that “the Crown in Canada contributes to a sense of unity, stability, and pride among Canadians. As a constitutional monarch, the Queen is Canada’s Head of State and an essential part of Canada’s system of government.”
The spokesperson further said that “no changes to the role of the Crown in Canada are being considered.”
But Ashok Charles, the executive director of Republic Now, a group that advocates for Canada to become a republic, said he believes that day will come.
“I find it appalling that we’re holding onto the vestiges of the monarchy in the 21st century,” said Charles.
“It can’t continue.”
Pandemic may be a factor
Canseco said there have been fewer royal visits during the pandemic and he believes that’s one factor in what is being reflected in the polls.
“They always find the opportunity to say that the monarchy has been popular because there’s a lot of people lining up to shake hands with them,” he said.
“But because of COVID and the lack of travel, they haven’t been able to establish that emotional connection with the monarchy. And I think that is also partly responsible for the numbers dropping.”
It would have been her first in-person public engagement since her medical team advised her to rest after being hospitalized for undisclosed reasons in October.
Prince William and Kate attend an event at a Nassau primary school last Friday — the second-last day of a tour that saw the couple also visit Belize and Jamaica, before the final part of their tour in the Bahamas. (Toby Melville/Getty Images)
There are those in Canada who believe a shift away from the current system isn’t the answer.
Rob Wolvin, who lives in Toronto, said he believes a constitutional monarchy provides a stability that is one of its advantages as a system. But that’s not to say it needs to stay static.
“We need to allow our system to be tweaked,” said Wolvin, adding he believes a shift to a republic does not guarantee a stronger or better democracy.
A history not so far removed
While in Jamaica, Prince William spoke about the “profound sorrow” he felt about the legacy of the transatlantic slave trade.
Prince William stops short of apology for slavery in Jamaica visit
In a speech to Jamaicans, Prince William expressed ‘profound sorrow’ for Britain’s role in the slave trade, but stopped short of offering an apology. 2:02
His words were watched closely by many people, including in Canada.
“If there was an apology, I really think that it would definitely allow us to basically view them in a different light,” said Reece, who travels frequently to Jamaica to visit family.
“Of course, you cannot change the past but, I mean, it’s this generation that is going to be the change.”
In Toronto, Pieters said he and others were still “processing and reflecting” on what the prince had to say about the painful history of transatlantic slavery.
Singh said he viewed an apology as being “the bare minimum” of what was necessary.
“If we talk about Prince William’s ancestors, it’s not so far removed that he can simply say … this was something in our ancient history,” said Singh.
“It wasn’t — it was in the 17th and 18th centuries. And so he has benefited from the legacy of that slavery.”
‘It’s not going to be that easy’
If Canada were to pursue a split from the monarchy, it would involve changing the constitution to replace the Queen as head of state. To do that, it would have to enact article 41(a) of the Constitution Act of 1982, which requires a majority approval from “Senate and House of Commons and of the legislative assembly of each province.”
“It’s not going to be that easy, but it might be something worth exploring if we continue to see this climbing the charts,” said Canseco, who intends to keep tracking the issue in polls.
However difficult that process would be, Republic Now’s Charles said he believes it’s an “inevitable” step for Canada and he’s hopeful that the current moment can help drive the desire for change.
Chester Cooper, deputy prime minister of the Bahamas, walks with Prince William and Kate en route to a sailing race at Montagu Beach in Nassau last Friday. (Chandan Khanna/AFP/Getty Images)
“We need to have more committed action to facilitate the change,” he said.
Singh said he doesn’t expect that kind of change to happen in the short term, in part because of the degree to which Canada is mired in its colonial traditions.
“I feel we are still behind on freeing ourselves from those shackles,” said Singh, whose ancestors from western Punjab were displaced by the British Empire.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A linebacker at Division II West Virginia State was fatally shot during what the university said Thursday is being investigated by police as a home invasion.
The body of Jyilek Zyiare Harrington, 21, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was found inside an apartment Wednesday night in Charleston, police Lt. Tony Hazelett said in a statement.
Hazelett said several gunshots were fired during a disturbance in a hallway and inside the apartment. The statement said Harrington had multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said they had no information on a possible suspect.
West Virginia State said counselors were available to students and faculty on campus.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Jyilek’s family as they mourn the loss of this incredible young man,” West Virginia State President Ericke S. Cage said in a letter to students and faculty.
Harrington, a senior, had eight total tackles, including a sack, in a 27-24 win at Barton College last week.
“Jyilek truly embodied what it means to be a student-athlete and was a leader not only on campus but in the community,” West Virginia State Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Nate Burton said. “Jyilek was a young man that, during Christmas, would create a GoFundMe to help less fortunate families.”
Burton said donations to a fund established by the athletic department in Harrington’s memory will be distributed to an organization in Charlotte to continue his charity work.
West Virginia State’s home opener against Carson-Newman, originally scheduled for Thursday night, has been rescheduled to Friday, and a private vigil involving both teams was set for Thursday night. Harrington previously attended Carson-Newman, where he made seven tackles in six games last season. He began his college career at Division II Erskine College.
“Carson-Newman joins West Virginia State in mourning the untimely passing of former student-athlete Jyilek Harrington,” Carson-Newman Vice President of Athletics Matt Pope said in a statement. “The Harrington family and the Yellow Jackets’ campus community is in our prayers. News like this is sad to hear anytime, but today it feels worse with two teams who knew him coming together to play.”
DETROIT (AP) — Joe Schmidt, the Hall of Fame linebacker who helped the Detroit Lions win NFL championships in 1953 and 1957 and later coached the team, has died. He was 92.
The Lions said family informed the team Schmidt died Wednesday. A cause of death was not provided.
One of pro football’s first great middle linebackers, Schmidt played his entire NFL career with the Lions from 1953-65. An eight-time All-Pro, he was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and the college football version in 2000.
“Joe likes to say that at one point in his career, he was 6-3, but he had tackled so many fullbacks that it drove his neck into his shoulders and now he is 6-foot,” said the late Lions owner William Clay Ford, Schmidt’s presenter at his Hall of Fame induction in 1973. “At any rate, he was listed at 6-feet and as I say was marginal for that position. There are, however, qualities that certainly scouts or anybody who is drafting a ballplayer cannot measure.”
Born in Pittsburgh, Schmidt played college football in his hometown at Pitt, beginning his stint there as a fullback and guard before coach Len Casanova switched him to linebacker.
“Pitt provided me with the opportunity to do what I’ve wanted to do, and further myself through my athletic abilities,” Schmidt said. “Everything I have stemmed from that opportunity.”
Schmidt dealt with injuries throughout his college career and was drafted by the Lions in the seventh round in 1953. As defenses evolved in that era, Schmidt’s speed, savvy and tackling ability made him a valuable part of some of the franchise’s greatest teams.
Schmidt was elected to the Pro Bowl 10 straight years from 1955-64, and after his arrival, the Lions won the last two of their three NFL titles in the 1950s.
In a 1957 playoff game at San Francisco, the Lions trailed 27-7 in the third quarter before rallying to win 31-27. That was the NFL’s largest comeback in postseason history until Buffalo rallied from a 32-point deficit to beat Houston in 1993.
“We just decided to go after them, blitz them almost every down,” Schmidt recalled. “We had nothing to lose. When you’re up against it, you let both barrels fly.”
Schmidt became an assistant coach after wrapping up his career as a player. He was Detroit’s head coach from 1967-72, going 43-35-7.
Schmidt was part of the NFL’s All-Time Team revealed in 2019 to celebrate the league’s centennial season. Of course, he’d gone into the Hall of Fame 46 years earlier.
Not bad for an undersized seventh-round draft pick.
“It was a dream of mine to play football,” Schmidt told the Detroit Free Press in 2017. “I had so many people tell me that I was too small. That I couldn’t play. I had so many negative people say negative things about me … that it makes you feel good inside. I said, ‘OK, I’ll prove it to you.’”
VICTORIA – British Columbia’s Environment Assessment Office has fined Coastal GasLink Pipeline Ltd. $590,000 for “deficiencies” in the construction of its pipeline crossing the province.
The office says in a statement that 10 administrative penalties have been levied against the company for non-compliance with requirements of its environmental assessment certificate.
It says the fines come after problems with erosion and sediment control measures were identified by enforcement officers along the pipeline route across northern B.C. in April and May 2023.
The office says that the latest financial penalties reflect its escalation of enforcement due to repeated non-compliance of its requirements.
Four previous penalties have been issued for failing to control erosion and sediment valued at almost $800,000, while a fifth fine of $6,000 was handed out for providing false or misleading information.
The office says it prioritized its inspections along the 670-kilometre route by air and ground as a result of the continued concerns, leading to 59 warnings and 13 stop-work orders along the pipeline that has now been completed.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
