Time for the Republic of Canada
I consider myself to be a bit of a traditionalist. I grew up in a family where my grandmothers on both sides were (are) enamoured by our monarch, the Queen of Canada, Elizabeth II. Somewhat an oddity considering my late-grandmother on my Father’s side was of Polish-German descent, and my grandmother on my Mother’s side is French-Canadian – neither, of course, being Anglo-Canadian. Regardless, I was raised to respect and honour Her Majesty the Queen for her grace, her service to Canada, the bravery she displayed in serving in the British Armed Forces as a young woman during World War II (the only current head of state who served in WW2), the courage she exhibited in taking on the role of monarch after the death of her father King George VI at only 25 years old, and the strength she has shown throughout the many crises facing the Commonwealth over the time she has served as the Crown: the Cold War, the death of Princess Diana, the end of British colonialism in many parts of the globe, 9/11 and the subsequent War on Terror, and now Brexit and the rise of populist nationalism. However, over the past several months, my opinion on the monarch – and the monarchy as a whole – has transformed dramatically. First, accusations of sexual-assault against minors levelled at the Queen’s second-born son, Andrew, who has a long and storied history of friendship with the disgraced (and now dead) predatory monster Jeffrey Epstein. Now, the Queen’s grandson, Harry, seemingly deciding that royalty is nothing more than a fashion accessory – something that can be worn, and taken off, at will. As such, it seems that now would be as good a time as ever for Canadians to re-examine our relationship with the monarch and her family, and our place in the world as a free, sovereign, and mature nation.
The monarchy of Canada is at the core of our constitutional federal structure and our Westminster-style parliamentary democracy. The monarchy forms the foundation of both our federal and provincial levels of government and their branches of co-equal government, such as the executive (Queen-in-Council), legislative (Queen-in-Parliament), and judicial (Queen-on-the-Bench). No piece of legislation in Canada can become law without the assent of the monarch, represented by the Governor General at the federal level, or one of the ten Lieutenant Governors at the provincial level. Our Indigenous peoples are largely governed within a framework established by a number of treaties between the various and diverse Indigenous nations and the Crown. Even many of our cities, towns, and villages feature references to the monarch – think King St, Queen St, Princess St, George St (after King George VI), Victoria St (after Queen Victoria), Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) highway, and so on. In fact, we have many population-centres themselves with royal-connections in their names – Victoria, B.C.; Regina, Saskatchewan; and Kingston, Ontario – just to name a few.
Yet the monarchy, and the “royal family” by extension, are a seeming oddity for such an advanced democratic Western nation like Canada. We see many commentators in the news media speak disparagingly about, say, how North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un’s family rule North Korea “like a royal family,” or how US President Donald Trump “acts like a King.” Likewise for Russian President Vladimir Putin, or Chinese President Xi Jinping. How strange is it then that we would stick our noses up at the aforementioned figures when we ourselves have an actual royal family that underpins our constitution and the legitimacy of our form of government? And our monarch isn’t even from Canada! Of course, it should be mentioned that there are other democracies which have monarchs – one immediately thinks of Spain, the Netherlands, and Japan – however, at the very least, their monarchs serve their duties domestically.
Nonetheless, just because a monarchy makes sense in other jurisdictions does not mean it still makes sense for Canada. Canadians believe in the values of hard work, equality, diversity, merit, and politeness. The monarch, and the royal family, exhibit none of these qualities. First and foremost, to address the value of hard work, and the monarchists who will undoubtedly take issue with me claiming the monarch is not hard-working: meeting your “subjects” at local town halls, shaking hands, kissing babies, and taking pictures is NOT hard work. To call it hard work is to spit in the face of folks employed in virtually any other non-royal profession. Give me a break. Second, equality. The monarch and any “royal family” by its very function represents the complete opposite of equality – it represents a rigid class-based society, and the idea that there are those of us in society who by the merit of the womb we were born from are either less, or more. Third, diversity. Much like equality, this is self-explanatory; a family like the Windsors (the surname of the “royal family”) whom have maintained power through the centuries by marrying their own distant relatives, and whom have just lost the first and only core member of the family who is of a multi-racial background, Meghan Markle, can make no claim to represent a modern, diverse populace. Fourth, merit. Much like equality, a monarchy stands in direct opposition to the idea of a society which values merit. The monarch did not gain her position due to any particular skills or wisdom she has, or any election she won. Rather, she gained her position solely through being the daughter of the King. Likewise, after her regrettable passing, the next-in-line to the throne, Charles, will be crowned King also based solely on who his parents are, and not merit. Finally, politeness. Exactly what is polite about audacious mansions, scandals, weddings featuring Hollywood stars, telling the media what they can and cannot report on, and demanding that those around you may only act according to some bizarre subjective protocol?
Still, I would have been willing to turn a blind eye toward much of this, until on Monday, January 13th, the Queen seemingly decided that the (estranged?) Prince Harry and his wife Meghan would be allowed to keep their royal titles, and their state-funded protective detail, despite their announcement that they were stepping away from their royal duties to find a quieter life in North America (read: Canada). Uh, no, that’s not how this works.
The Queen made a critical error when she acquiesced to the demands of Harry and Meghan. I don’t wish to re-litigate the many tabloid stories surrounding the couple, and I truly wish them the best of luck in their new life. My bone to pick is not with them at all, but rather, the Queen. So let’s be very clear: the only reason many Canadians are content with our monarch (and likewise for the British and the Australians) is that the monarch serves both a constitutional purpose, and protects the traditions of the Commonwealth. All fair and well. However, in exchange for allowing them to live in fancy mansions and estates, and referring to them as our royalty, we expect – no, demand – two things: for the “royals” to dedicate their lives to public service, and further, to not embarrass us, or themselves. In stepping out of the “royal family” Harry has failed on both accounts – he has stated explicitly he will not be dedicating his life to public service, and further, this entire Kardashian-style affair has embarrassed the monarch and the public at-large. Even more infuriating is that the monarch seems to expect, according to media reports, that the Canadian and British governments will continue to foot the bill for Harry and Meghan’s security detail (despite their claims that they are seeking “financial independence”). The implied suggestion that Canadians should waste one single penny on the protective detail of what now amounts to nothing more than a celebrity couple (we provide no such publicly funded security for say, Justin and Hailey Bieber) is an absolute outrage, and is proof enough alone that the monarch has lost touch with her “subjects” and her role.
I am glad that Harry and Meghan have shown the world that there is indeed, apparently, an “opt-out” option for the royal family. I think it would be wise for Canada to consider using it ourselves. I’ll leave sorting out the details for a Canadian Republic for another time, but for now I’ll leave it at this: my name is Corey LeBlanc, and this is just my opinion.