Brazil was once an empire. And in
terms of economic, military, and social
​development it ranks as a golden age of
that country. Embodying this period of
progress was Emperor Pedro II (who I
will need to write a full profile of at
some point). Between suppressing the
slave trade, and eventually abolishing
it, he was also an ardent patron of the
arts and sciences. This would lead
Charles Darwin to comment, "The
Emperor does so much for science, that
every scientific man is bound to show him the utmost
respect". He was also somewhat curious about Canada.

The Emperor's attention would first turn to Canada in 1866
when the colonies of British North America sent a trade
mission to Brazil. At the time only Nova Scotia had any direct
trade with the country. When the trade delegation met with
the Emperor he questioned them about the future of the
Dominion of Canada, Montreal's Victoria Bridge, railways,
canals, the Canadian climate, agriculture and other topics.
Despite the warm welcome from the Emperor no agreement
for free trade between the Empire of Brazil and the future
Canadian Dominion was forthcoming. Back in Canada the
trade delegation concluded that the Canadian market was too
​small to develop direct trade with Brazil.

​In 1876 the Emperor embarked on a state visit to the United
States and Europe with a delegation that included members of
his family and court. His goals for the US leg of the trip was to
learn more about the country, improve economic ties, and
attend the Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition. He would
then proceed onto the European leg of his trip.

The trip to Canada had an unofficial character and occurred
between the Emperor's arrival in the United States and his
​appearance at Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition. He
​crossed into Canada at Niagara Falls and on June 5th made
his way by train to Hamilton and Kingston. Apparently, his
arrival caused a fair amount of curiosity and his train car was
often surrounded by locals when it arrived at each station.
When the train arrived in Toronto the mayor of the city went
down to the train station and, after being granted an
audience, requested the Emperor stay and enjoy the
hospitality of the city. This offer was refused as he had already
made plans to head on to Montreal. At some point after
arriving in Canada the Governor General learned of the
Emperor's visit and sent his respects. 

On June 6th the Emperor departed for Montreal on the ship
Spartan. About one hundred people were on the Kingston
wharf to see him off. It is reported that the Emperor could
not be distinguished among the other passengers as a group
of men were inquiring about his travels and he in turn was
asking many questions about Canada. The captain of the
Spartan was unaware of his special passenger as the Emperor
had not allowed word to be sent ahead.

Upon arriving at Montreal the Emperor was the "recipient of
many cheers, which lasted until he entered a carriage, when
he responded by raising his hat". That evening the Emperor
went to the Academy of Music where he was received
warmly. June 7th had an intense schedule (for an unofficial
visit). He started at the Notre Dame Cathedral and then went
to Bonsecours Market at around 7am. The Emperor spent
some time examining the meat and poultry. This astonished
the butchers as they could not believe a living emperor would
visit their stalls, and at such an early hour in the morning.
Afterwards the Emperor visited many places in Montreal
including Bonsecours Church, Mount Royal, the Deaf and
Dumb Institute, the Natural History Museum, and McGill
College.

On June 8th the Emperor decided not to proceed on his
planned trip to Quebec City due to the poor health of the
Empress. It had been a good trip and the Emperor was left
with a positive impression of Canada. He is recorded to have
commented on the superiority of the Canadian political
system in comparison to the American system. But no closer
trade ties developed from this trip.

The imperial delegation made their way slowly back
​to ​Philadelphia where the Emperor officially opened the
​exhibition with President Ulysses S. Grant and joined by
another man they served as judges of the various scientific
exhibits present. At this exhibition was noted Canadian
inventor Alexander Graham Bell who was demonstrating his
newest invention; the telephone. The two men had met at
in Boston at an earlier date. It is fortunate that the Emperor
remembered him as the judges for the exhibition were about
to adjourn without having examined Mr. Bell's exhibit.

The Emperor insisted the judges see it. The
Emperor held the receiver up to his ear as
Mr. Bell recited a few lines of Shakespeare.
The Emperor exclaimed "It talks!" and it
made a great impression on the other
judges as well. It is impossible to say how
this chance meeting affected the future
prospects of the telephone but a mere 14
years later the Empire would have its first
telephone company. The Emperor and Mr. Bell would
continue to write each other and become friends.

Ultimately, the Emperor's visit to Canada would be forgotten
and it would not be until World War Two that the two
countries began seeking closer economic ties.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

I have spoken before of how much I like the
site openparliament.ca. There are few
better ways to keep track of what Canadian
politicians are actually saying. I used it a
great deal during my surveys of the
Conservative and NDP leadership
candidates. But then I didn't check it for
almost a year. And that is how I missed this
great comment by Liberal MP Alexandra
Mendès back in November: 

She had also made another comment in 2016 thanking Her
Majesty on her birthday stating: "Our Queen has devoted her
entire adult life to service, a word so often scorned and yet so
notably lived by a sovereign who brilliantly has reinvented
the role to which she was born." These comments are positive
to see when many politicians would not make it a point to
come right out and say they are monarchists. It is especially
rare for a Quebec politician to do so (which is unfortunate). I
will be watching Alexandra Mendès' career with interest going
forward.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

On September 14th former Conservative
Party leadership hopeful Maxime Bernier
announced the founding of a new party. 
This 'People's Party' still has not fully
defined its party policy. Mr. Bernier doesn't
give me much to go on either. As some
might recall I surveyed all of the
Conservative Party leadership candidates a
while back. Bernier's response left his
own feelings pretty much unknown. This is
of small, but persistent, concern to me.

I am concerned as he is essentially creating the new party's
identity himself. While, in the past, he stated he would not do
anything ​to change the position of the monarchy in Canada,
that was during a leadership race for a party that has a ton of
monarchist members. The makeup of this new party will also
be in flux for a while. With so many unknowns I have written
the party and asked for clarification on their stance. I will post
an update should I receive a response.

While this blog takes no stance on which
party people should vote for (there are
monarchists in every party after all), it
would be preferable for this new party to
have a strongly supportive stance in regards to Canada's
monarchy. As such, if you are a monarchist as well as a
member (or supporter) of the PPC consider making your voice
​heard that you want a party that respects Canada's
monarchical traditions.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

For those watching Australian politics
August was an exciting month. After
two leadership votes in the governing
Liberal Party Malcolm Turnbull has
​been turfed.

This is good news for all loyal subjects
of Her Majesty as Malcolm Turnbull
was a noted republican. He was
replaced by Scott Morrison who is seen
as being more monarchy-friendly. It 
should be noted that I haven't found
any public statement to that effect but
potential monarchist is still better than
confirmed republican. But, as exciting
as all this is its not the point of this
article. A reader has asked for my
thoughts on what effect Australia
becoming a republic would have on Canada. So as that ugly
possibility slowly ebbs away once again lets play a little game
of 'what-if'.

So the referendum results are in and Australia is on its way to
becoming a republic. The first thing you will likely see are
interviews with individuals associated with the republican
movement in Canada. They have been handed a free soapbox
and they will make use of it I'm sure. The only saving grace
being that in the interest of balance representatives of the
Monarchist League of Canada would also likely be
interviewed as well.

The media would simultaneously want politicians to weigh in
on the future of the Canadian Monarchy. This is a little bit
harder to predict the outcomes of. True, no party has ever
made abolishing the monarchy part of their platform and
outspoken republicans have tended to spiral away from the
center of power within their own parties rather than nesting
there. The default position of most MPs is one of 'polite
regard' for the monarchy without much in the way of passion.
There are exceptions, of course, but they don't tend to end up
near the center of power either.

This strategic neutrality likely arose due to:
1. Its unclear if there are any votes to gain from advocating
for a republic, and 
2. The process of becoming a republic, at best, consumes the
party's agenda for the term and gives them little to actually
run on other than having turned Canada into a republic. At
worst a great deal of political capital is spent, the effort fails,
and the party ends up like the Tories in 1993.

In short, party leaders don't, as a rule, see any good reason to
​pick this issue as the one they will champion. But unlike other
events that prods the media into talking about the monarchy
this is a story that would be alive for months. At the very least
you have a spike in media interest just after the referendum
as well as when Australia officially becomes a republic. The
media will poll Canadians at least once (likely more) on their
thoughts on the Canadian Monarchy. These polls generally
show strong support at either end of the debate with a large
section of Canadians not caring either way. I would predict at
least one politician calling for a republic. We might even see
noted republican John Manley give some interviews on the
issue.

If I might be a bit mean for a second I have to point out that it
would be in Canada's interest for Australia's transition to a
republic to be as chaotic and divisive as possible. Both
because it would confirm the political belief in Canada that
the issue isn't worth the trouble (and constitutional reform is
in fact more difficult in Canada than it is in Australia) and the
negative effect it would have on public opinion about trying to
​abolish the monarchy.

Even under a worst case scenario of wide public support for a
republic and political parties championing the issue it is still
likely to come to nothing. Changing Canada into a republic
requires the consent of every province. The provinces have
typically tried to get as much out of the federal government
as possible during these negotiations. Quebec in particular 
as a list of demands it wants implemented. It would be
somewhat ironic but the Canadian monarchy might be saved
by Quebec nationalists trying to blackmail the federal
​government.

But even if we somehow worked out
an agreement between all the provinces
there is an unofficial requirement (that
the government would ignore at its
peril) that the resulting agreement go to
a referendum. Referendums typically
favour the status quo and this one
would be no different.

So to sum up I think Australia becoming a republic would
create some chatter but would result in little success for
Canadian republicans. 

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour