Support for the monarchy is at its lowest point in a generation as Canadians continue to digest the passing last September of the long-reigning Queen Elizabeth and weigh the institution’s future with King Charles on the throne.
But the sizable Canadian contingent at the King’s coronation in London on Saturday suggests there are still many faithful followers of the thousand year-old institution.
Some Canadian revellers camped out for days to catch a glimpse of the country’s new head of state and Queen Camilla.
Daniel Guenther of Winnipeg was part of a “coronation tour” with 30 other Canadian monarchists. The group travelled throughout the U.K. over the past week, with the coronation the most important stop.
“I just felt it was a wonderful opportunity to come over here and represent Canada on the ground. It was so heart-warming to see so many Canadians — it was a large contingent, walking around, exchanging pins, sharing a moment,” he said.
“Anecdotally, I would say this was the largest contingent outside the U.K. There were just a ton of Canadian flags out there,” Guenther said.
Daniel Guenther of Winnipeg is shown in London holding the official program for King Charles and Queen Camilla’s coronation service. He travelled with 30 other Canadian monarchists. (Submitted by Daniel Guenther)
Asked why he made the trek and paid handsomely for the travel, Guenther said he wanted to support the King — a man who most Canadians don’t know well, he said.
Guenther said Charles’s comparatively poor poll numbers can turn around in time.
“There’s been some discussion about the future of the monarchy, but just seeing the number of Canadians here who were engaged — and looking at supportive messages from people back home — I think it’s been understated just how excited people are for this,” he said.
“It’s going to take time for Canadians to get to know King Charles, and when they do, I think they’ll be pleasantly surprised.”
King Charles’s deep ties to Canada
Britain’s new monarch King Charles has deep ties to Canada, forging connections with some Canadians through his charitable work and outreach during his many visits to the country.
‘Once-in-a-generation thing to do’
The Canadian presence was particularly strong in the viewing areas in Hyde Park — an overflow area to accommodate the crushing crowds who couldn’t find a spot along the coronation procession route.
Those Canadians who were lucky enough to witness the gilded carriage as it rolled through central London saw dozens of Canadian Armed Forces personnel and the RCMP Musical Ride usher King Charles and Queen Camilla from their investiture at Westminster Abbey.
The RCMP recently gave the King a mare, Noble. He’ll ride the horse during Trooping the Colour, an annual celebration to mark the monarch’s birthday — continuing a long-standing tradition of Canadian equine gifts to the sovereign.
King Charles, centre, is flanked by Ralph Goodale, left, Canada’s High Commissioner to the U.K., and RCMP Commissioner Mike Duheme after Charles was officially presented with Noble, a horse given to him by the Mounties, at Windsor Castle on April 28. (Andrew Matthew/Pool/The Associated Press)
Jessica and Andrew Matthews of Toronto were among those who braved the wet London weather on Saturday to witness history.
“Our little guy is six months old. We’re going to be able to tell him and future generations that we were here — that’s just amazing,” Jessica said.
“And when I saw the Mounties, I just burst out into cheers and clapped.”
Andrew said it’s a “once-in-a-generation thing to do,” and they wouldn’t think about missing the event. The couple said they didn’t expect to see so many fellow Canadians in the crowd.
Canadian Bill Powell camps out along The Mall in London during coronation festivities on Saturday. Some Canadian revellers camped out for days. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press)
Canada’s military contingent was notably smaller than what was on display at the Queen’s coronation 70 years ago, when 700 Canadian service members were present.
But Canada’s military display this time was still one of the largest among the Commonwealth realms in Charles’s purposely scaled-down version of the event.
Canadian flag prominent in London
The prime spot to view Charles and Camilla, as they stood on the balcony at Buckingham Palace after the ceremony, was appropriately named Canada Gate.
The flags along The Mall — the street that leads to that storied residence — also reveal Canada’s prime position in the Commonwealth. The maple leaf flies second only to the Union Jack — a testament to the country’s long-standing ties to the Crown.
The Canadian flag also held a prominent position in Westminster Abbey — directly across from Charles in the church nave as he took his oath to serve.
A Canadian flag is displayed along The Mall in London, as people wait to catch a glimpse of King Charles and Queen Camilla. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press)
Canada is a senior member of the Commonwealth — the group of mostly former British colonies that was first led by a Canadian, Arnold Smith — and it’s also a country where the republican movement is comparatively quiet.
Unlike in Australia, for example — where there’s already been a failed referendum on the royals, and the prime minister is an avowed anti-monarchist — Canada has so far avoided a serious conversation about a future without the monarchy.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, an admirer of the late Queen who is ideologically in sync with the climate-focused King, has repeatedly said he’s unwilling to engage in protracted constitutional talks to end Canada’s ties with the royals.
Canadian monarchists on a coronation tour paid tribute to George VI and the late Queen Mother, sang the national anthem and unfurled a giant Canadian flag in London. (Submitted by Monarchist League of Canada)
It’s unlikely all provinces, along with the House of Commons and Senate, will agree to remove the sovereign any time soon — if ever.
That constitutional reality has prompted the federal Liberal government to put King Charles in a new light.
The Canadian delegation at Saturday’s celebration reflected the image the government wants to project when people think of the monarch. There were Indigenous leaders, a large youth delegation, climate activists, scientists and an astronaut — Jeremy Hansen, who’s headed to the moon with the Artemis II mission.
King Charles won’t be known as ‘defender of the faith.’ Does it matter?
King Charles will have a new title in Canada now that the government has dropped “defender of the faith” — part of a push to redefine the head of state’s role.
Under Trudeau, Canada has also dropped the “defender of the faith” position from Charles’s Canadian title — a signal that, unlike in the U.K., the head of state is strictly secular in Canada’s religiously diverse country.
“The issues that matter most to Charles, they resonate with Canadians,” Winnipeg’s Daniel Guenther said. “Environmental sustainability, historical preservation, Indigenous reconciliation — those are issues that are at the forefront at home. There’s a total overlap.”
He said this year’s event was “quite a different coronation” than the one staged for Queen Elizabeth in 1953.
The inclusion of different faith leaders in the church service, the presence of Indigenous groups and a selection of racially and ethnically diverse performers shows that the “world has really changed and the monarchy is willing to change with that,” Guenther said.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.
Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.
A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”
Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.
“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.
In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”
“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”
Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.
Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.
Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.
“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.
“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.
“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”
Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.
“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”
NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”
“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.
Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.
She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.
Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.
Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.
The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.
Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.
“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.
“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”
The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.
In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.
“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”
In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.
“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”
Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.
Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.
“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”
In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.
In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.
“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”
Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.
“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”
The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.
“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.
“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
