After the death of Queen Elizabeth II (and the ascension to the throne of Charles III), the question comes up in the news: has the time come for Canada (and Quebec) to cut its ties with the monarchy? Patrick Taillon, professor of constitutional law at Laval University, explains how Canada could achieve this.
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The complex way
The first way to get rid of the monarchy would be to review the Canadian Constitution. However, this is easier said than done.
To change the Constitution, Ottawa indeed needs the unanimous agreement of parliamentarians in Ottawa, but also that of all the parliaments of the provinces and territories. This path is complicated because it would be enough for a single province to decide that the abandonment of the monarchy is not a priority to derail everything, explains Patrick Taillon.
Provinces could also decide to blackmail by demanding something from the federal government in return, such as a reform of equalization, he adds.
“It’s almost doomed in advance because one of the partners is very likely to find a raison d’être against abolition”, specifies the professor.
The easy way
The easiest way to abolish the monarchy at home would be for the British government to decide to abolish it itself.
In Canada, when a king (or queen) is crowned in the United Kingdom, he automatically becomes king (or queen) of Canada, under the Succession to the Throne Act 2013 introduced under the government of Stephen Harper. This is not the case in all Commonwealth countries.
“So if the British Parliament recognized Paul McCartney as the new president of the United Kingdom, he would automatically become the new president of Canada,” says Patrick Taillon.
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Paul McCartney and Queen Elizabeth II in 2012.
But if the United Kingdom passed a law to abolish the monarchy, the new head of state of the “Republic of the United Kingdom” would de facto also become the head of state of Canada, explains the expert in constitutional law to demonstrate all the absurdity of Canadian law.
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Could Quebec act alone?
The idea that Quebec (or another province) could act alone and get rid of the monarchy is not impossible, although far-fetched (and difficult to envisage), affirms Patrick Taillon.
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First, all the other provinces would have to accept, which is unlikely to happen. The mere fact that this scenario could give a special status to Quebec would “probably be enough to chill several provinces”. But at the risk of displeasing the sovereignists: a Quebec freed from the monarchy would not necessarily be independent.
And if several provinces were to get rid of the monarchy, “one could imagine republics within the Canadian kingdom”.
It is in Quebec that public opinion with regard to the monarchy is the least favorable to the country, while 81% of Quebecers say they do not feel attached to it.
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The example of Barbados and Australia
The Republic of Barbados elected its very first president in October 2021 after saying goodbye to the monarchy 13 months earlier.
The country’s parliamentary institutions, however, remained the same: the Governor General became President of Barbados. Although her role is the same, the President was appointed by Parliament rather than the Queen.
Rather than bickering about what the monarchy would be replaced by, Barbados insisted on the slavery past of the British Empire, and this is what explains why the country has succeeded in its constitutional reform, advances Patrick Taillon.
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Barbados President Sandra Mason with King Charles III, who was then Prince of Wales.
Australia for its part held, in 1999, a referendum on the future of the Crown. The debate on the choice of the political system to replace the monarchy, however, divided the citizens and led to the failure of the process.
“The less the debate on the replacement of the political system engages, the easier it is to agree”, affirms the professor.
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