Majority of Canadians want to ditch the British monarchy. How feasible is it? - Globalnews.ca | Canada News Media
Connect with us

News

Majority of Canadians want to ditch the British monarchy. How feasible is it? – Globalnews.ca

Published

 on


Canada’s ties with the British monarchy are under scrutiny once again after Barbados officially removed Britain’s Queen Elizabeth as its head of state and became a republic this week.

For Barbados, the transition on Tuesday marked an end to its last remaining colonial bonds nearly 400 years after the first English ships arrived at the Caribbean island.

Read more:

Barbados celebrates as it officially becomes a republic, cuts ties with British monarchy

There is now renewed debate in Canada over whether to follow Barbados’ lead, with a majority of Canadians saying the monarchy is becoming less relevant or is no longer relevant at all, new polling shows.

According to an Angus Reid survey published Tuesday, more than 50 per cent say Canada should not remain a constitutional monarchy indefinitely, while one-quarter say it should.

The same poll also suggests that as long as Queen Elizabeth II continues to reign, 55 per cent of Canadians support continuing to recognize her as the official head of state.






2:15
Rising number of Canadians support dropping monarchy: poll


Rising number of Canadians support dropping monarchy: poll – Mar 1, 2021

However, that support has declined over the years, polling shows.

In an Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for Global News in March 2021, two in three Canadians, or 66 per cent of respondents, said the Queen and the Royal Family should not have any formal role in Canadian society, as they are “simply celebrities and nothing more.”

That was up two per cent over last year and six per cent since 2016, according to Ipsos.

The waning support comes amid uncertainty around the 95-year-old monarch’s health that has recently limited her public appearances.

Challenges for Canada

Despite Canadians’ dwindling enthusiasm for the royals, eliminating the monarchy in Canada will be a “complicated process,” experts say.

To make any change to the role of the Queen or her representatives in Canada, there must be unanimous consent from the House of Commons, the Senate and each of the provincial legislatures to change the constitution — a process that could take years to complete.

Read more:

How Canada could break up with the monarchy

“Under our constitution, all 10 provinces would have to agree on changes to the office of the Queen and it’s very difficult for all 10 provinces to be on the same page at the same time,” said Carolyn Harris, historian and author of Raising Royalty: 1,000 Years of Royal Parenting.

Because Canada’s Indigenous communities have their own treaties with the Crown, First Nations would need to be consulted as well for any transition to take place, Harris said.

“So in Canada, it would be a very complicated process compared to the comparatively straightforward process in Barbados,” she told Global News.






2:42
Queen responds to Harry and Meghan’s tell-all interview


Queen responds to Harry and Meghan’s tell-all interview – Mar 9, 2021

​Citizens for a Canadian Republic (CCR), a non-profit group, acknowledges there would be challenges when it comes to amending the Constitution but still encourages the discussion.

Among the hurdles it highlights on its website is “an unfair amending formula.”

“Compounding these difficulties is the subject of how Canadians should choose their new head of state and what role it would play in the federal system,” CCR states.

In the practical sense, abolishing the monarchy would not change much for Canada, as the Queen has no political authority, argued Melanie Newton, an associate professor of history at the University of Toronto.

“And the federal government could become a republic without the Indigenous people necessarily having to give up those symbolic ties to the British monarchy,” she said.

Barbados breaks free

Barbados’ move to becoming a republic was the culmination of a more than two decades-long push to ditch the monarchy.

A “major shift” took place last year spurred on by the racial inequalities of the COVID-19 pandemic response, access to vaccines and the Black Lives Matter protest movement across the world, said Newton.

Read more:

53% of Canadians skeptical of the monarchy’s future beyond the Queen’s reign: Ipsos poll

In a historic throne speech in Sept. 2020, governor-general Dame Sandra Mason told the world Barbados was removing Queen Elizabeth as its head of state.

A two-thirds majority vote was needed to amend the country’s constitution.

The parliament unanimously passed the Constitution (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, 2021 last month, effectively transferring the responsibilities of the governor general to a new position of president.

Mason was elected as the island’s first president by the Barbados parliament on Oct. 20 and formally sworn in on Nov. 30.






5:46
Barbados becomes a republic and parts ways with the Queen


Barbados becomes a republic and parts ways with the Queen

Cynthia Barrow-Giles, professor of political science at the University of West Indies, said the transition to the republic represents a “moment of pride for many Barbadians.”

“This move is very emblematic of overthrowing the yoke of British colonialism and with it some of the negative connotations that people have been dealing with more recently with respect to the character of British colonialism,” she told Global News.

But there is still a “significant amount of work” left to do in terms of the constitution and governance, Barrow-Giles added.

The process of becoming a republic is “far easier” when there is a centralized system of government, as was the case with Barbados, she noted.

“Canada’s situation compared to the Caribbean situation is a little more complex,” she said.

What about other Commonwealth nations?

Other Caribbean nations have also left the monarchy to become republics, including Trinidad and Tobago, but the last country to remove the Queen as head of state was Mauritius in 1992.

With Barbados cutting ties, that leaves 15 Commonwealth countries that have the Queen as their monarch, including Canada.

Read more:

Barbados becomes a republic: What it means for the Crown, the Commonwealth and Canada

However, Barbados will remain part of the Commonwealth, a grouping of 54 countries across Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe.

Other Caribbean nations, including Jamaica and St. Lucia, have also discussed breaking away from the monarchy.






7:36
The details on the Queen’s mounting health concerns


The details on the Queen’s mounting health concerns – Nov 16, 2021

Now, Barbados’ move may fuel republicanism within the Commonwealth, experts say.

“It’s certainly something that will be discussed and debated in the Commonwealth realms, especially as this transition does not mean a departure from the Commonwealth,” said Harris.

Barrow-Giles concurred, saying, “I would think that for a lot of the other Caribbean countries, the conversation would resume, and hopefully we’ll get that transition going.”

— with files from Global News’ Redmond Shannon

© 2021 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

Adblock test (Why?)



Source link

Continue Reading

News

RCMP end latest N.B. search regarding teenage girl who went missing in 2021

Published

 on

 

BATHURST, N.B. – RCMP in New Brunswick say a weekend ground search for evidence related to the disappearance of a teenage girl in 2021 didn’t reveal any new information.

In an emailed statement, the RCMP said 20 people participated in the search for evidence in the case of Madison Roy-Boudreau of Bathurst.

The release said the search occurred in the Middle River area, just south of the girl’s hometown.

Police have said the 14-year-old’s disappearance is being treated as a homicide investigation.

The RCMP said the search “did not reveal any new information regarding the circumstances of her disappearance.”

There are no plans for another search until police receive a tip or a lead pointing to a new search area.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

News

Man Tasered after trespassing in Victoria school, forcing lockdown

Published

 on

 

VICTORIA – A middle school in Victoria was forced into a lockdown after a man entered the building without permission, and police say they had to use a stun gun to make an arrest.

Victoria police say officers received multiple calls around noon on Monday of an unknown male entering Central Middle School, leading staff to set off emergency procedures that put the building under lockdown.

Police say its emergency response team arrived within minutes and found the suspect, who “appeared to be in a drug-induced state,” in the school’s library.

A statement from police says the suspect resisted arrest, and officers had to use a Taser to subdue the man.

He’s being held by police and has been assessed by emergency medical staff.

Police say the man was not armed and there were no continuing safety concerns for students and staff following the arrest.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Source link

Continue Reading

News

B.C. Greens’ ex- leader Weaver thinks minority deal with NDP less likely than in 2017

Published

 on

 

VANCOUVER – Former B.C. Green leader Andrew Weaver knows what it’s like to form a minority government with the NDP, but says such a deal to create the province’s next administration is less likely this time than seven years ago.

Weaver struck a power-sharing agreement that resulted in John Horgan’s NDP minority government in 2017, but said in an interview Monday there is now more animosity between the two parties.

Neither the NDP nor the B.C. Conservatives secured a majority in Saturday’s election, raising the prospect of a minority NDP government if Leader David Eby can get the support of two Green legislators.

Manual recounts in two ridings could also play an important role in the outcome, which will not be known for about a week.

Weaver, who is no longer a member of the Greens, endorsed a Conservative candidate in his home riding.

He said Eby would be in a better position to negotiate if Furstenau, who lost her seat, stepped aside as party leader.

“I think Mr. Eby would be able to have fresh discussions with fresh new faces around the table, (after) four years of political sniping … between Sonia and the NDP in the B.C. legislature,” he said.

He said Furstenau’s loss put the two elected Greens in an awkward position because parties “need the leader in the legislature.”

Furstenau could resign as leader or one of the elected Greens could step down and let her run in a byelection in their riding, he said.

“They need to resolve that issue sooner rather than later,” he said.

The Green victories went to Rob Botterell in Saanich North and the Islands and Jeremy Valeriote in West Vancouver-Sea to Sky.

Neither Botterell nor Valeriote have held seats in the legislature before, Weaver noted.

“It’s not like in 2017 when, you know, I had been in the (legislature) for four years already,” Weaver said, adding that “the learning curve is steep.”

Sanjay Jeram, chair of undergraduate studies in political science at Simon Fraser University, said he doesn’t think it’ll be an “easygoing relationship between (the NDP and Greens) this time around.”

“I don’t know if Eby and Furstenau have the same relationship — or the potential to have the same relationship — as Horgan and Weaver did,” he said. “I think their demands will be a little more strict and it’ll be a little more of a cold alliance than it was in 2017 if they do form an alliance.”

Horgan and Weaver shook hands on a confidence-and-supply agreement before attending a rugby match, where they were spotted sitting together before the deal became public knowledge.

Eby said in his election-night speech that he had already reached out to Furstenau and suggested common “progressive values” between their parties.

Furstenau said in her concession speech that her party was poised to play a “pivotal role” in the legislature.

Botterell said in an election-night interview that he was “totally supportive of Sonia” and he would “do everything I can to support her and the path forward that she chooses to take because that’s her decision.”

The Green Party of Canada issued a news release Monday, congratulating the candidates on their victories, noting Valeriote’s win is the first time that a Green MLA has been elected outside of Vancouver Island.

“Now, like all British Columbians we await the final seat count to know which party will have the best chance to form government. Let’s hope that the Green caucus has a pivotal role,” the release said, echoing Furstenau’s turn of phrase.

The final results of the election won’t be known until at least next week.

Elections BC says manual recounts will be held on Oct. 26 to 28 in two ridings where NDP candidates led B.C. Conservatives by fewer than 100 votes after the initial count ended on Sunday.

The outcomes in Surrey City Centre and Juan de Fuca-Malahat could determine who forms government.

The election’s initial results have the NDP elected or leading in 46 ridings, and the B.C. Conservatives in 45, both short of the 47 majority mark in B.C.’s 93-seat legislature.

If the Conservatives win both of the recount ridings and win all other ridings where they lead, Rustad will win with a one-seat majority.

If the NDP holds onto at least one of the ridings where there are recounts, wins the other races it leads, and strikes a deal with the Greens, they would have enough numbers to form a minority government.

But another election could also be on the cards, since the winner will have to nominate a Speaker, reducing the government’s numbers in the legislature by one vote.

Elections BC says it will also be counting about 49,000 absentee and mail-in ballots from Oct. 26 to 28.

The NDP went into the election with 55 ridings, representing a comfortable majority in what was then an 87-seat legislature.

Jeram, with Simon Fraser University, said though the counts aren’t finalized, the Conservatives were the big winners in the election.

“They weren’t really a not much of a formal party until not that long ago, and to go from two per cent of the vote to winning 45 or more seats in the B.C. provincial election is just incredible,” he said in an interview Monday.

Jeram said people had expected Eby to call an election after he took over from John Horgan in 2022, and if he had, he doesn’t think there would have been the same result.

He said the B.C. Conservative’s popularity grew as a result of the decision of the BC Liberals to rebrand as BC United and later drop out.

“Had Eby called an election before that really shook out, and maybe especially before (Pierre) Poilievre, kind of really had the wind in his sails and started to grow, I think he could have won the majority for sure.”

He said he wasn’t surprised by the results of the election, saying polls were fairly accurate.

“Ultimately, it really was a result that we saw coming for a while, since the moment that BC United withdrew and put their support behind the conservatives, I think this was the outcome that was expected.”

— With files from Darryl Greer

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.

Source link

Continue Reading

Trending

Exit mobile version