Straight Talk

Will Canadians accept King Charles III as their head of state? If not, it's a tough slog getting rid of him

A poll last April showed that he was held in low esteem in comparison to his mother

by Charlie Smith on September 10th, 2022 at 8:09 AM
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      Less than four months ago, the Angus Reid Institute released a poll revealing profound discomfort among Canadians over the prospect of then Prince Charles replacing Queen Elizabeth as their monarch.

      It showed that 67 percent would strongly oppose or moderately oppose the Queen's eldest son becoming Canada's official head of state.

      Yet today, King Charles III has been proclaimed to this position in a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa. The document was signed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Governor General Mary Simon.

      Under the Canadian constitution, executive authority over Canada is vested in King Charles III.

      King Charles III is also the head of the Parliament and commander-in-chief of the Canadian Armed Forces, though these duties are performed by his surrogate, the governor general.

      This is despite the Angus Reid Institute poll in April showing that half of respondents felt the Royal Family is not relevant to them personally.

      Nationally, 51 percent of Canadians favoured dumping the monarchy whereas only 26 percent wanted to keep it. The rest were unsure.

      While Queen Elizabeth was viewed favourably by 63 percent of respondents, only 29 percent felt this way about then Prince Charles.

      He had the second highest "unfavourable" rating in his family—54 percent. That was only eclipsed by the 68 percent unfavourable rating for his brother, Prince Andrew, who was a friend of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

      It's clear that most Canadians, at least in April, did not want Charles as their king. Yet they're stuck with him as a result of the Constitution Act.

      When the constitution was updated in 1982, it included an amending formula. Any change requires the approval of the Parliament of Canada, the Senate, and at least seven provincial legislatures representing at least 50 percent of the country's population.

      However, that did not apply to changing the role of the King or Queen. This would require the approval of all legislatures, as well as the Parliament of Canada and the Senate. It's spelled out in section 41.

      That's not likely to happen, at least not in the lifetime of King Charles III.

      So it appears that Canadians are stuck with him as their head of state no matter how much they may dislike it.

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