Last Tuesday, Barbados became a republic, putting an end to its allegiance to the British crown and its current representative, Queen Elizabeth II, 55 years to the day after this small country of 295,000 inhabitants declared its independence. from the United Kingdom.
The Barbadians therefore cut the links with this symbol of colonial oppression more than 350 years after English colonists had landed to transform this island of the Antilles into a vast sugar exploitation based on the labor of slaves of African origin. Last year, in announcing its intention to cease being a monarchy, Barbados removed the statue of an English vice-admiral, Horatio Nelson, from a park in its capital, Bridgetown. Soon, their gendarmerie will no longer be “royal” and their state will no longer be referred to as the “Crown”.
We must not believe that the British monarchy was offended by this abandonment. Heir to the British crown, Prince Charles attended the ceremony held in Bridgetown to celebrate the creation of the republic. It must be said that Barbados remains one of the 54 Commonwealth countries, an association whose head is still Queen Elizabeth II.
On Wednesday, the Parti Québécois presented a motion to congratulate Barbados on its accession to republic status, a motion of no consequence that was not embarrassing for the Caquist government. Let us judge: “May the National Assembly congratulate Barbados for having abandoned the monarchist political system, inherited from British colonialism, and adopted republicanism. “
However, in a gesture that may appear surprising, the CAQ parliamentary leader, Simon Jolin-Barrette, refused to give his consent for the motion to be put to the vote of the deputies. The parliamentary leader of the Parti Québécois, Joël Arseneau, was right to write on Twitter that the CAQ’s attachment to the monarchy is as “puzzling as it is imperturbable”.
Of course, there are fierce federalists among the CAQ delegation. In her constituency office, the Deputy Prime Minister, Geneviève Guilbault, bought a Canadian flag to compete with the Quebec flag provided by the National Assembly, like Éric Caire, Éric Lefebvre and Samuel Poulin, we noted on the side of the PQ opposition. It makes beautiful and proud photos.
In the House of Commons, Bloc member Stéphane Bergeron presented a similar motion, which met the same fate while many elected Conservatives sang the God Save the Queen, it has been reported, to the chagrin of the President of the House, who intervened to recall that it is forbidden to sing in the enclosure, except to push the note on the O Canada.
However, one can be a fervent federalist and consider that it is necessary to cut the bridges with the British monarchy. Moreover, whether in Ottawa or Quebec City, elected officials will have to seriously ask themselves the question. Queen Elizabeth II is not eternal. This year she celebrated her 95e birthday and is experiencing health problems. In recent weeks, the sovereign has had to cancel her presence at several events, including the Remembrance Day ceremony in mid-November.
Do Canadians want Prince Charles to become the monarch of Canada and have his face on the banknotes? You have to believe not. Released Tuesday, an Angus Reid Institute Internet poll of 1,898 respondents indicates that two-thirds of Canadians oppose him becoming Canada’s head of state. A little more than half of the respondents believe that the country should not keep its constitutional monarchy in the long term: they were only 38% last April. A change is taking place in English Canada.
Australia, where the abolition of the monarchy is desired by 60% of the population, is only waiting for the end of the reign of Elizabeth II to become a republic. New Zealand should follow suit. Soon, with the exception of the United Kingdom, Canada will be the only developed country to retain this monarchy, a symbol of colonial subjection.
The Angus Reid poll confirms that in Quebec, the case is heard. As with other soundings, more than 70% of Quebecers want to end the monarchy. Usually sensitive to the opinion of the population, the Legault government, on this issue, seems paralyzed. It is all the more curious that the CAQ, in its nationalist project, demands the abolition of the office of lieutenant-governor. The way to do that is for Canada to renounce the monarchy. It is therefore not for the CAQ members to sell their federalist soul.