 "A monarchy conducted with infinite wisdom and infinite
benevolence is the most perfect of all possible governments." ~Ezra Stiles Loyally Yours, A Kisaragi Colour As regular readers of this blog already know I often survey political parties and their candidates to discovery their views on our monarchy. The focus has often been on the federal level but on occasion I have also surveyed provincial politicians as well. Over the last month I have surveyed the Freedom Conservative Party of Alberta to get their views on the Canadian Monarchy.  The FCA is a right-wing, autonomist party operating at the provincial level in Alberta. I sent the current slate of party candidates* the following two questions. Their replies are below in roughly the order they were received. Question 1: What are your views on the monarchy? Question 2: If the worst case scenario of Alberta leaving Canada happened do you see it leaving as a monarchy or as a republic? *I was unable to find a contact for Regina Shakirova of the Calgary-Bow riding. Matthew Morrisey (Airdrie-Cochrane)I contacted this candidate before I had decided to write this article and is the only one contacted via phone. I believe his views can be summed up as liking the 'tradition of the monarchy'. Matthew noted that he swore an oath to defend Queen and country while in the Canadian Armed Forces. He was also kind enough to check with the party to see if they had any official or unofficial stances. He relayed these to me via Facebook: "Yes, they want an autonomous Alberta in a united Canada. So, we are not Republicans. Monarchy is safe." How happy I would be if most of the other candidates reached even this baseline of support. Full disclosure: Matthew is my cousin and we have helped out each other's political campaigns in the past. So while I have serious reservations about this party having any political success, my personal view is that he should win his riding. Jeff Rout (Leduc - Beaumont)What are your views on the monarchy? "I tend to feel that we should respect traditions unless those traditions are harmful. Therefore I tend to respect the tradition of the monarchy. That being said, I dislike how it has the ultimate power over law, even if that is symbolic. As to my own preference, something of a republic while honouring the monarchy without granting it final power over law would be my choice. But that's a pretty specific idea." If the worst case scenario of Alberta leaving Canada happened do you see it leaving as a monarchy or as a republic? "I am not sure what the people of Alberta would prefer. We ought to be what they prefer." Steve Goodman (Drayton Valley - Devon)What are your views on the monarchy? "My personal views as I explained to our party leader was that I personally believe that the Monarchy is out dated and has nothing to do with our daily lives. Under the Monarchy, Canada has to pay the Royal family millions of dollars a year for the figure head. I believe that times have changed and the true meaning of the Monarchy has been lost in today’s society. These are my beliefs and not necessarily that of the parties." If the worst case scenario of Alberta leaving Canada happened do you see it leaving as a monarchy or as a republic? "In a hypothetical independent Alberta or west, that would be a question TBD in a referendum." To Mr. Goodman's credit he also asked what my views were on this issue (he was the only one to do so). This I did...along with my reasons why. Which resulted in this follow up reply: "Wow! I want to thank you for the enlightenment. Honestly you have given me food for thought. My ignorance has narrowed my views on the Monarchy and what role it plays in Canada besides a figurehead. Thank you again for being passionate and believing in a huge part of our history. You make some valid points to consider when it comes to Alberta’s future." It is refreshing to see a politician who is both curious about other views and willing to question their own beliefs. This was a rare high point of working on this article. Malcolm Stinson (Fort Sask - Vegreville)What are your views on the monarchy? "I have sentimental attachments to the British monarchy.. Sue me. We are fortunate in that the present monarchy is benign." If the worst case scenario of Alberta leaving Canada happened do you see it leaving as a monarchy or as a republic? "I think a republic is the way to go." Rick Northey (Airdrie - East)What are your views on the monarchy? "The FCP has no official position on the monarchy. Canada is actually a constitutional monarchy, even though most Canadians don't realize it and the Crown had delegated most of its powers to our elected leaders. This means we don't have a system of proper checks and balances like our American neighbours. My personal feeling is that the monarchy is obsolete and should be abolished for a more Republican system of accountability to the people. Canada is a very weird country in the sense that we have a hybrid system of a written constitution and a lot of unwritten inherited British rules. Personally, I'm a big fan of actually writing down the rules. In my experience people in power don't always choose to act honorably." If the worst case scenario of Alberta leaving Canada happened do you see it leaving as a monarchy or as a republic? "In the specific case of Alberta leaving, there would have to be a discussion about what form it's government would take on. Keeping the monarchy in the short term would allow for the continuity of laws and governance. But once traditions are broken by an act of succession, I think it's highly unlikely that the people of Alberta would choose to continue as things are." Sheyne Espey (Calgary - Peigan)What are your views on the monarchy? "For the first one I am of Irish heritage(The republic not Northern) and grew up among a family that was not a fan of the monarchy or British Government for that matter, where Michael Collins was considered a hero. So me personally I would cut all ties with the monarchy." If the worst case scenario of Alberta leaving Canada happened do you see it leaving as a monarchy or as a republic? "For your second question I have always believed in the power of the grassroots so i would support whatever form that the people of Alberta wanted. But there is a growing feeling that it if we did separate it would be as a republic." Cam Khan (Calgary - Northwest)What are your views on the monarchy? "Republic, we love Canada but on equality ..." Ok, then. Derek Fildebrandt (Party Leader)What are your views on the monarchy? "I’m honestly divided on the issue, but I believe it should be up to a constitutional convention to decide if we went down that road." If the worst case scenario of Alberta leaving Canada happened do you see it leaving as a monarchy or as a republic? "I view this as an academic question at this point. In the event that Alberta moved to become independent, constitutional questions such as this should be decided by a constitutional convention." "In any case, I hope you’ll join our party." No, no, no. Concluding RemarksOverall, I was disappointed in the responses from the FCP
candidates. With the exception of a couple bright spots most respondents were negative towards the monarchy. Despite the preference expressed for either a constitutional convention or a referendum on the monarchy I don't think they have the numbers on their side to actually get a republic. Recent polling has continued the trend of Alberta having some of the highest levels of support for the monarchy in Canada. Given how support divides pretty equally along the ideological spectrum there is a good chance that the same people whose support they need to separate are the same ones who support the monarchy. Their responses are also useful for pointing out a possible deficiency in the Monarchist League of Canada's out-reach efforts. We still have Canadians who incorrectly believe that we send the Queen millions of dollars. We have Canadians that are not aware of, or look down on, the constitutional protections of having a monarch. The League should consider this a strong indication that it is not reaching all the people it needs to. After all, many of these candidates would have come to age after the League's founding. Loyally Yours, A Kisaragi Colour  The tragedy that struck New Zealand on March 15th has focused many minds on the threat posed by radicalized individuals. The responses have varied as people try to come to grip with how to prevent these sorts of acts of violence in the future. This has led many to analyze the shooter's manifesto for some clue as to how he was radicalized. The shooter actually laid out how his political beliefs changed over time: "No, when I was young I was a communist, then an anarchist and finally a r/monarchism (which has in recent months been subject to brigading from members of both communist and anarchist subreddits, with such raids often including threats of violence and discriminatory remarks towards others) has decided to bring down the banhammer on any user that comes from subreddits ascribing to the ideologies that led to the shooter's radicalization. The mods have made only one exception to this 'New Zealand Rule': "If you are coming here from such a sub in good faith, wishing to abandon the AnalysisWhile the killing of Her Majesty's New Zealand subjects should be met with a firm response I'm not sure this ban is the right one. r/monarchism's former policy was to welcome anyone who was willing to debate in good faith: "Can I say I'm opposed to monarchy? Yes, but you should elaborate on it and And with each instance of brigading we did get a few people
who were curious about what we believed. Did it make up for all the headaches that came along with being brigaded? Perhaps not. But those were some of the more interesting conversations to have. And it is those people who this rule change will effect, not those who intend to cause trouble. A second concern is that a person can be radicalized by just about anything. While this shooter's path to radicalization was through a set of ideologies that are largely unfriendly to monarchism, that may not be the case in the future. What is the subreddit to do if a shooter motivated by Catholicism or Russian Orthodoxy shows up? Fairness would dictate that either this rule would have to go or half the subreddit's membership would. Finally, the requirement to disavow the proscribed ideologies risks catching others in the same net. The main ones in this case would be anarcho-monarchists, but potentially also distributionists. Neither are particularly common but their potential exclusion narrows the range of debate. If only by a small amount. I honestly don't think the rule change will be all that effective or durable enough to remain in force permanently. Full Disclosure: I am a mid-ranking mod of r/monarchism. Loyally Yours, A Kisaragi Colour  I am told that today is International Women's Day. So it is
fitting I post a photo of an international woman. Oh, and so far We've had a female prime minister for a grand total of five months of that time. Loyally Yours, A Kisaragi Colour  In November of 2008 Her Majesty was visiting the London School of Economics. The financial crisis was well underway and the Queen took the opportunity to pose a question about the scale of the disaster that everyone had been thinking; "If these things were so large, how come everyone missed them?" It was a fair question that deserved a proper response. And on July 22, 2009, the Queen received one. A group of experts had gathered on the 17th to hammer out an answer to the Queen's question. The list of participants was actually very impressive: Professor Tim Besley, FBA, London School of Economics Professor Christopher Bliss, FBA, University of Oxford Professor Vernon Bogdanor, FBA, University of Oxford Sir Samuel Brittan, Financial Times Sir Alan Budd Dr. Jenny Corbett, University of Oxford Professor Andrew Gamble, FBA, University of Cambridge Sir John Gieve, Harvard Kennedy School Professor C. Goodhart, FBA, London School of Economics Dr David Halpern, Institute for Government Professor José Harris, FBA, University of Oxford Mr. R. Harrison, Economic Adviser to the Shadow Chancellor Professor Peter Hennessy, FBA, University of London Professor Geoffrey Hosking, FBA, University College London Dr. Thomas Huertas, Financial Services Authority Mr. William Keegan, The Observer Mr. Stephen King, HSBC Professor Michael Lipton, FBA, University of Sussex Rt. Hon. John McFall, MP, Commons Treasury Committee Sir Nicholas Macpherson, HM Treasury Mr. Bill Martin, University of Cambridge Mr. David Miles, Bank of England Sir Gus O’Donnell, Secretary of the Cabinet Mr. Jim O’Neill, Goldman Sachs Sir James Sassoon Rt. Hon. Clare Short, MP Mr. Paul Tucker, Bank of England Dr. Sushil Wadhwani, Wadhwani Asset Management LLP Professor Ken Wallis, FBA, University of Warwick Sir Douglas Wass Mr. James Watson, Dept. for Business, Innovation & Skills Mr. M. Weale, Nat. Institute of Economic & Social Research Professor Shujie Yao, University of Nottingham Having gathered and had a wide-ranging discussion Professor Tim Besley and Professor Peter Hennessy summarized the discussion into a three page letter and submitted it to the Queen. The letter is quite interesting. Or at least as interesting as economics can be. The letter is part explanation, part Mea culpa for their part in being unable to see the economic disaster unfolding. The letter promised that a future meeting would look at what could be done to prevent Her Majesty from ever having to ask her question again. And in December the promised meeting took place and a second letter was delivered to the Queen. In summarizing the discussion the group proposed a course of action which I have quoted below: "So, we end with a modest proposal. If you, Your Majesty, were to ask for a I'm actually curious if the Queen has opted to do this. It is
possible as the financial crisis did lead the Queen to start becoming more involved. For instance it led to Mervyn King being the first Bank of England governor being invited to the palace for a chat with the Queen. In the end a simple question from the Queen led a group of people to thoroughly examine the causes of the greatest economic disaster of our time and perhaps taught some economists the value of seeing the big picture. Loyally Yours, A Kisaragi Colour |
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