Since When is a Foreign King a Symbol of Sovereignty?

 

Yesterday, the lucky winner of the last federal election, the new Prime Minister Carney, welcomed with great fanfare Charles Windsor (or, as he’s quaintly titled, King Charles III). Today around noon, the King delivered the throne speech and opened Parliament with “an emphasis on Canadian sovereignty”—a message aimed at both President Donald Trump and trade-war-weary Canadians. Faced with annexation provocations from the White House, Carney has chosen to assert Canada’s sovereignty by… having the reigning monarch of England perform a hollow ceremony on Parliament Hill.

Speaking in front of the Commons today, Mr. Windsor said the Crown “represents stability and continuity from the past to the present. As it should, it stands proudly as a symbol of Canada today, in all her richness and dynamism.” But allow us to doubt that.

Let's take a look at Canada's relationship with the Crown and what it says about the state of the country.

As a member of the British Commonwealth, alongside countries like Australia or New Zealand, the foundations of Canada's existence are based in British colonial law. The British North American Act (BNA) was the law passed in 1867 that birthed the Canadian confederacy.

Some changes and amendments were made over the course of over a century. In 1982, Queen Elizabeth II proclaimed the Constitution Act in Ottawa, transferring all legislative power over Canada from London to the federal and provincial governments.

Today, the Crown has no practical power over Canadian governance, but all Canadian governance is in the name of the Crown. It serves as a symbolic figure that, according to the government, acts “to unite Canadians and give a collective sense of belonging to our country.” That is to say, the Crown serves to differentiate Canada from the United States.

There is a distinct irony in using Canada's history as a subject of Britain to respond to the threat that Canada be made a subject of the USA. Parading last century's monarch doesn't scream “unified and sovereign state.” Rather, it recalls the bygone era of Canada's dependence on Britain and highlights fissures between and within Canada's nations.  (more...)

Since When is a Foreign King a Symbol of Sovereignty?