A majority of Canadians would like Canada to cut ties with the British monarchy for good, a few days before the coronation of a King Charles III who is much less popular than his late mother. Notwithstanding this sentiment, Justin Trudeau once again rejected holding a debate on the issue.
“Canada is one of the most stable democracies in the world,” said the Canadian Prime Minister, visiting New York on Friday. “Obviously there are a lot of people who feel that a different system would serve us better. These people can make those arguments. But these same people cannot come to an agreement when it comes time to choose the alternative that would be preferable,” Mr. Trudeau insisted, when a journalist asked him why Canada could not simply hold a referendum on the issue.
Because it would be a bad idea “to plunge into constitutional negotiations on such a question”, he decided, insisting that his government prefers to deal with other priorities and citing the aid measures provided for in its latest budget. “Those are the things we will continue to focus on. »
Little support for the king
Just over half (52%) of respondents to a survey by Angus Reid said earlier this week that they would like Canada not to remain a constitutional monarchy in the future.
This proportion is unsurprisingly highest in Quebec (66%), but it also exceeds 50% in Alberta (54%) and Manitoba (56%). People in Ontario (45%) and British Columbia (46%) are the most reluctant to reject the British monarchy.
If Queen Elizabeth II remained popular until the end of her life, her son, Charles, did not enjoy the same sympathy.
The death of the queen had also revived the debate on the monarchy in Canada. But at that time too, Justin Trudeau – who had shown himself visibly saddened by the death of the sovereign and who will go to London to attend the coronation of the new king – had refused to discuss Canada’s attachment to the British monarchy.
The oath to the king therefore remained in place in the Canadian Parliament, even if it was abandoned in the National Assembly of Quebec.
King Charles III was also officially recognized once again in the last federal budget implementation bill, which came to update the royal titles.
However, the latter is not very popular in Canada. The same Angus Reid poll revealed that 60% of Canadians oppose his recognition as king, whether by recognizing him as head of state, by taking the oath to him or by displaying his portrait on Canadian currency. Two-thirds of Canadians also do not want to recognize his wife Camilla as Queen.