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Happy Victoria Day & a Few Odds and Ends

5/19/2025

Happy Victoria Day!

The health of the Canadian Monarchy has had its ups and
downs since this blog began. On this blog's 11th anniversary it
is nice to see the monarchy's popularity on a bit of an
upswing with two recent polls showing a turn-around of
declining support for the institution and its members. You
love to see it. The rallying around the monarchy in light of
Trump's threats has been a delightful surprise amidst a rather
stressful situation. It has also led to King Charles being
scheduled to give the Speech from the Throne later this
month. This will be only the third time a monarch has done
this with the last instance being in 1977.

The Progressive Bloggers are
currently celebrating 20 years as a blog
aggregator. This blog has been a
member for quite a few years now. I wrote a whole article at
the time going over why I wanted a pro-monarchy blog to join
an aggregator for progressive blogs but to summarize; the
institution of monarchy has benefits for both conservative and
progressive movements. Further, unlike Australia, where the
monarchy has become highly politicized, in Canada the
monarchy has support across the political spectrum (if recent
polls are to be believed, higher support from the left). So I
would like to congratulate Progressive Bloggers on the
milestone and wish them continuing success.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

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Liberal Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Frank Baylis

5/6/2025

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I received a rather unexpected email the
other day from former Liberal leadership
candidate, Frank Baylis. He is apparently
working his way through all of his
campaign correspondence. While outside
of the focus of these surveys it is always
nice to see politicians taking
communication seriously, especially when
they have nothing to gain from it. Here is
what Mr. Baylis had to say in response to
my questions:

"I have not reflected in detail about the institution of the monarchy.
Having said that, I do believe that we should respect the fact the
monarch is still our head of state."

Short and to the point. This is also his most substantial
statement on the monarchy to date (ie. the only one). His
Crown & Cap score has been adjusted on the page dealing
with the Liberal Leadership Election.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

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2025 Federal Election Leaves NDP with a Mixed Bag of Survivors

4/29/2025

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To say the recently concluded federal election was bad for the
New Democratic Party is like saying the Hindenburg had a
minor accident. The NDP has suffered their single worst
result ever. The ups and downs of partisan politics isn't really
relevant to this blog but any potential effects on the monarchy
certainly are. So to that effect I will give a brief overview of
where the NDP's seven survivors stand.

Also note that, as I predicted in my last article, Jagmeet
Singh did not win re-election. Although unexpectedly Nicki
Ashton joined Singh and Angus in retirement. All three were
openly republican and their passing from the political scene
will not be missed.

So, with that out of the way, here are the survivors:

Gord Johns - We'll start on a high note. Mr. Johns wrote a
lovely tribute to the Queen after her passing. It does not
appear he was present to vote on the Bloc's motion to abolish
the monarchy for whatever reason.

Lori Idlout - Voted in favour of the Bloc's abolition motion.
In terms of public statements she has said the coronation of
King Charles III was a good opportunity to reset the
relationship with Canada's First Nations.

Heather McPherson - It has been hard to find anything
regarding Ms. McPherson's stance on the monarchy. She does
not appear to have been present for the Bloc's motion.

Jenny Kwan - Another party member who voted in favour of
the Bloc's motion. She did however post a tribute to the late
Queen when she passed.

Don Davies - Voted in favour of the Bloc motion but has
made no other substantial statements on the topic.

Leah Gazan - Voted in favour of the Bloc motion and has
made negative statements regarding the monarchy.

Alexandre Boulerice - Voted in favour of the Bloc motion
and has made numerous calls to end the monarchy. Probably
the most vocal republican left in the NDP caucus.

Its unclear who will end up as the next NDP leader (or even if
it will be someone from caucus). Alexandre Boulerice is by far
the most concerning choice they could make but overall the
monarchist contingent within the NDP caucus has been
decimated along with the party. It is unclear whether this will
lead to republican voices becoming predominate but members
should be vigilant.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

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Republicans Leaving Canadian Federal Politics (by choice or otherwise)

3/26/2025

There is a federal election underway and I wanted to take a
second to look at what this means for the monarchy. While
the monarchy is not directly effected by who wins any given
election (that is one of the advantages of our system) the fact
remains that having fewer opponents of the monarchy near
the levers of power is a good thing. So in this post I will look
at which republicans are unlikely to trouble the monarchy
further.

Chandra Arya made waves by entering the
Liberal Leadership race, calling for the
abolishment of the monarchy (along with a
bunch of other third rails of Canadian
politics), and being kicked out of the race.
He was still, however, an MP. That is until
the Liberal Party barred him from running
under their banner in the election, which
effectively ends his career.

Charlie Angus has been opposed to the
monarchy for many years. Unlike Mr. Arya
who has the political skills of a rock, Mr.
Angus was a force within the NDP and has
often been mentioned as a potential leader.
The announcement of his retirement from
federal politics comes as a relief. However,
there is reason to hold off celebrating just
yet...

Jagmeet Singh (and a majority of the
NDP caucus) have seen their polling
absolutely collapse in recent weeks with the
potential for them to be reduced to single-
digit seat counts. So even if Mr. Singh
survives, his days are numbered.
Unfortunately, of the names bandied about
as potential survivors only Peter Julian
voted against the 2022 Bloc motion to end
the monarchy.

Yves-François Blanchet - As the man
who proposed the 2022 motion on ending
the Canadian Monarchy I would like to say
Mr. Blanchet is for sure not going to be
returning to Parliament. However, I can't.
While Bloc polling numbers are down and
they seem set to lose seats to the Liberals,
Mr. Blanchet took the party from having
only 10 seats to the low 30s. Anything other
than a disastrously bad result probably
sees him remain around. However, since every Bloc member
voted in favour of his motion I would still count their caucus
shrinking to be a win.

The Monarchist League of Canada seems convinced that Mark
Carney is a monarchist which is a positive as it was always a
bit touch and go with Trudeau (a fact I have talked about in
previous posts). Pierre Poilievre has never really said much on
the issue which doesn't inspire confidence. Likely we will see
at least two leadership contests following this election (likely,
the Conservatives and NDP). The Conservatives might be
inclined to pick a more traditional conservative voice but the
NDP could present problems, especially if Charlie Angus
decides to un-retire to try and chip away at the Liberal's left
wing. Still, Peter Julian has run for the leadership before and
if the NDP caucus is significantly reduced he might make
another go at it. Still, the general direction of this election
seems positive for the monarchy.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

Liberal Party Leadership Race: Views on the Monarchy

3/3/2025

This is the first leadership race for the Liberal Party of Canada
since I began carrying out these surveys in 2017. As I have
detailed over the years, the Liberal Party of Canada has
dealt with the matters of the Crown in a decidedly uneven
manner. That is why I was really interested to see if the
current crop of candidates had anything interesting to say
regarding the monarchy.

Spoiler: for the first time since I began carrying out these
surveys in 2017 I have received no responses at all from any of
the candidates. This has made the typical Crown & Cap
Scoreboard somewhat more research-intensive to fill out.
While I have sent a final appeal for responses the results
below are probably final. As always, if I receive a reply I will
create a separate post going into their views more fully.

Questions & Replies

The questions that were posed to the candidates are below.
They are largely the same as in previous leadership surveys.

1. What are your personal views on the monarchy?
2. As prime minister would you make use of the Advisory Committee on Vice-Regal
Appointments that was active between 2010 and 2015?
3. In 2019 the government cancelled a program that mailed physical copies of the
Queen's portrait to any Canadian who asked free of charge. Would you restore this
program?
4. How important is it to you that the symbols of the monarchy be fully displayed?
5. Do you feel the current government has been unreasonably slow in announcing
various aspects of the new reign (official portraits, new coinage, etc)?

Below are links to each candidate's reply (should any be
received) and a short look at any previous comments they
may have made in regards to the monarchy. Candidates who
failed to qualify or withdrew are included for historical
reference. Candidates are listed by the date they entered the
race.

Qualified to appear on the ballot
Frank Baylis
Mark Carney
Chrystia Freeland
Karina Gould

No longer in the race
Ruby Dhalla
Jaime Battiste

Crown & Cap Scoreboard

Here I have ranked the candidates support for, or opposition
to, the monarchy. Keep in mind this is only my assessment
and your mileage may vary. Also, note that changes may occur
as the campaign goes on.

The crown score is out of five crowns with each candidate
receiving one crown for stating support for the monarchy
in their reply, one crown for having defended the monarchy
in Parliament, two crowns for outlining how they would
improve the monarchy's role in the future, and one crown for
having spoken in support of the monarchy outside of
Parliament.

The cap score is likewise out of five caps with one cap given to
a candidate for being opposed to the monarchy in their reply,
one cap for desiring a referendum on the monarchy, one cap
for opposing the monarchy in Parliament and two caps for
making the establishment of a Canadian republic a part of
their policy platform.

Frank Baylis

Frank Baylis has limited public
statements to begin with as he was
not really a public figure before
entering the race. I found no
comments one way or the other.

Score:

Mark Carney

Other than a condolence message on
the passing of Elizabeth II and an
article examining the Magna Carta
which treated the monarchy fairly,
Carney hasn't had a lot to say on the
topic.

Score:

Chrystia Freeland

Like Frank Baylis I could find no
public statements regarding the
monarchy. Unlike Baylis, Freeland is
a public figure and has a large body
of public statements. However, she
did vote against the Bloq motion to
end the monarchy which I'll count as
a half crown.

Score:

Karina Gould

Ms. Gould is interesting. Much like
the other candidates her public
statements on the monarchy are
sparse but she heavily promoted the
King Charles III Coronation Medal
and like Ms. Freeland voted against
the Bloc motion. I want to give her a
2/3 crown but that would be needless
splitting of hairs (and crowns).

Score:

A Worrying Trend

Having now carried out seven of these surveys a worrying
trend has begun to appear. The first survey in 2017 received
13 out of 17 replies. Both leadership races in 2020 still had a
majority of candidates responding. 2022 saw that number
drop to a minority for the first time and 2024 didn't see the
sole candidate respond until after they were already leader.

It is tempting to chalk this up to campaigns operating on
tighter timelines with bigger financial hurdles (this one had
both) but it would be foolish to ignore the cantankerous mood
the public has gotten into. A mood which I feel has led
politicians to raise the drawbridge. You can't be attacked if
you don't put yourself out there in the first place. Better to say
nothing rather than lose a potential vote (or say something
that can be twisted out of proportion). Now, this isn't exactly
new in politics; some elected officials have made a career out
of skipping town hall meetings and debates. Likewise,
frontrunners having a post-it note for what policies they
support is a recurring theme. However, its bad for democracy
and we have an example down south of what happens when
democracies go bad.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

American Threat Stirs New Interest in the Canadian Monarchy

2/20/2025

The Monarchist League of Canada has
sent out an email today with updates
on its various initiatives. The update
on its social media campaign is worth
examining:
"We continue to attract queries, trial
members and new paying members.
We expected the first two. However,
the full memberships continue in
steady numbers - and that was
unexpected!"

This is great, of course, but the League goes on to say;

"...from the comments we receive, the current threats to our
nationhood are indeed driving a desire to want to know
more about and/or appreciate the distinctiveness of our
institutions, as well as the outward manifestations of which
we all see."

Perhaps this shouldn't be too surprising when this was the
advert I saw in January:

This is an interesting development and one that is reinforced
by what Canadians are searching online in recent weeks.

Google Trends result for 'Canadian Monarchy'

There has been an up-tick in searches for the Canadian
Monarchy. Concurrent searches are actually at a higher level
than at any point in 2024. Recently, an article posted to
r/CanadaPolitics on the King's statement regarding Flag
Day received 860 upvotes at a 97% upvote ratio. This is a
higher than average ratio for any posted article, let alone one
on the monarchy.

Out of curiousity I also wanted to see if these results held for monarchy-adjacent topics. I checked the Google Trends result
for 'United Empire Loyalist' and there is a similar uptick
which occurred at about the same time:

I think from these results it is clear that Canadians are
reconnecting with their institutions and history. If the
American regime remains hostile these results could be
sustained. This is even more true when you consider a Royal
Homecoming is in the works for the near future. The timing
of said Homecoming could very well see the King open a
session of Parliament in the Spring (presuming an early
election) which would highlight the monarch's constitutional
role in Canada.

While Trump's vulgar notions of annexing Canada and the
very real economic damage he is inflicting by tariffs (and the
mere threat of tariffs) are very bad for Canada, if his actions
lead to a Canada more confident in itself and its history he
will have unintentionally left Canada more united then ever.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

Meme Monday #14

2/17/2025

All men think about the Roman Empire is a meme I've
covered before. This comic takes things a bit further and
implies all men have a particular empire they obsess over.
For me, a medievalist, its obviously the Holy Roman Empire,
even if some critics didn't consider it an empire (ahem,
Voltaire).

The comic has a few layers. The guy in the red shirt wants to
be assigned Rome, perhaps because it is one that a lot of
people know about. He is instead assigned the Achaemenids
which is somewhat more obscure (hint: Alexander the Great
beat up one of their members). Interestingly, 'Achaemenids'
applies more to the family than to the empire which implies
he has an interest in the dynasty's later activities in Pontus -
which would put him on the opposite side from the Romans.
The fact the guy who was happy to be assigned the Mongol
Empire says the Mughals aren't bad plays on the fact the
Mughals were partly descended from the Mongolians.

The final line about someone being assigned the Aztecs plays
on there being some empires that are more socially acceptable
to be obsessed with and one dedicated to human sacrifice
probably isn't it. Although their capital city was a feat of
engineering that rivaled anything Europe was doing at the
time...

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

CFP Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Dominic Cardy

2/16/2025

This post is a bit late as the Canadian
Future Party has already chosen their
leader at their founding convention. I
did still want to do a profile on Dominic
Cardy's views as he will likely be a
contender at any leadership review after
the election. The hold-up in posting this
article was getting him to answer the
survey I sent him. I have finally received
an answer to the first question which
indirectly answers the others.

"What are your personal views on the monarchy?"

cardy_monarchy_quote.mp3
File Size:	2758 kb
File Type:	mp3

Download File

Combined with Cardy's previous statement a few things
can be deduced;

- He likely won't seek to diminish the monarchy but he also
won't repair any of the damage that has been inflicted over
the last decade.

- He is, nominally, a monarchist.

- He is interested how the monarchy might be used to benefit
Canada.

This final point is interesting as a big problem over the years
has been political leaders not wanting to involve the
monarchy at all. Someone who is willing to try make use of
the monarchy to strengthen Canada has potential to be a net
positive as the Royal Family has always been ready to serve.

Mr. Cardy has not really said much on the monarchy
unprompted. He did criticize the Yukon municipal councilors
who refused to swear an oath to the Crown but that was more
for rule of law reasons.

Overall, the score of one crown given to him during the lead
up to the party's founding convention, is to me, fair.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

How Might The King Reply to Trump's Provocations?

1/28/2025

King Charles III, King of Canada

Donald Trump has made repeated
statements in recent months about
the desirability of Canada becoming
a state in that most disreputable of
republics. This is besides Trump's
threats to impose eye-watering 25%
tariffs on all Canadian exports.
These threats have led to a degree of
unity across political and social lines
rarely seen in Canada. The prime
minister has called for help from
political leaders at both the federal
and provincial level to oppose two existential threats. The
prime minister has also called on Canada's First Nations for assistance (it is interesting how the more historical
circumstances change, the more they stays the same).

With this show of Canadian unanimity it has been noted that
the King has not yet weighed in on what are essentially
threats to his Canadian realm. Now, there are very good
reasons for why this might be the case. This is after all a
political issue which the Crown tends not to weigh in on
unless asked. Whether Justin Trudeau has asked the King is
not knowable at the present time. Given Trudeau's at times
uneven support for the Crown there is reason to believe
he hasn't. But this is all rather immaterial to the question
posed in the title of this article. If King Charles III were going
to join the 'Team Canada' effort against Trump what is the
best way for him to do so?

1. Issue a Statement

This is perhaps the closest to 'normal procedure' we are going
to get on this list. The King adds his voice to the chorus of
Canadians who are dead-set against what Trump is planning.
However, it also makes His Majesty's voice just one among
many and while it would be good to see, and would generate
some headlines, I don't feel its the kind of thing that would
have much effect. The Crown traditionally uses such releases
to either express solidarity with Canadians going through
hardships or to congratulate a person or organization on some
achievement. The closest example to this sort of intervention
is one that did not even occur: During the last Quebec
Succession referendum a Quebec radio host managed to make
it through the Palace switchboards to talk to Queen Elizabeth
II. During this impromptu conversation the radio host
(masquerading as Prime Minister Chretien) asked if the
Queen might issue a statement in favour of Quebec remaining
in Canada. The Queen agreed to this. This just underlines that
the monarch is willing to intervene but his or her elected
government needs to want them to.

2. Give Trump a Private Talking-to

Perhaps the King, wishing to be more discrete, pulls Trump
aside at some international meeting and has a private chat.
This has some precedence. During Trump's 2019 state visit to
the United Kingdom the then-Prince Charles turned a 15
minute chat into a 90 minute discussion on climate
change. It is easy to imagine the King being able to arrange
such a meeting. However, much like being lectured for 90
minutes didn't sway Trump to climate change I have my
doubts a talking-to on Canadian sovereignty would do much
better - regardless of Trump's seeming affection for the
Royals.

3. A Royal Tour

Perhaps the King need not speak directly at all. A royal tour of
Canada underlines the King's support for Canada without
saying as much. There would also be plenty of times where the
King could obliquely reference Trump's threats. For instance,
visiting War of 1812 battle sites or visiting military bases (perhaps all of them). The main issue with this idea is lead-
time (of which we have none). Which brings us to...

4. Opening Parliament

A working visit is a bit easier to organize and in this case
would comprise of opening Parliament after the coming
election. Queen Elizabeth II opened Parliament twice in 1957
and 1977 which might indicate its a bit easier to pull off short
notice. In this instance you'd definitely want to pull out all the
stops in an effort to basically awe Trump with majesty. A
footnote to this is that the styling 'My government' when
reading the Speech from the Throne has fallen out of favour in recent years. This would be the time to bring it back.

Final Remarks

The Crown has an important role to play in confronting
Trump's provocations but the Crown always takes pains not
to over-step into the realm of politics uninvited. So, if the
Crown is going to join the anti-Trump effort, the government
is going to need to ask for its assistance.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

The King's 2024 Christmas Message

12/28/2024

The Maple Monarchists hopes everyone had a merry
Christmas and wishes everyone a happy New Year.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

<<Previous

Happy Victoria Day & a Few Odds and Ends

Liberal Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Frank Baylis

2025 Federal Election Leaves NDP with a Mixed Bag of Survivors

Republicans Leaving Canadian Federal Politics (by choice or otherwise)

Liberal Party Leadership Race: Views on the Monarchy

Questions & Replies

Crown & Cap Scoreboard

A Worrying Trend

American Threat Stirs New Interest in the Canadian Monarchy

Meme Monday #14

CFP Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Dominic Cardy

How Might The King Reply to Trump's Provocations?

1. Issue a Statement

2. Give Trump a Private Talking-to

3. A Royal Tour

4. Opening Parliament

Final Remarks

The King's 2024 Christmas Message

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A Worrying Trend

1. Issue a Statement

2. Give Trump a Private Talking-to

3. A Royal Tour

4. Opening Parliament

Final Remarks

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