Category: Conservative Party

Conservative Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Chris Alexander

12/6/2016

I had the chance to attend the candidate
debate in Moncton on the 6th. While I
couldn't stay for the entire event I was able
to nab the contact info for the last few
candidates I still haven't emailed yet. I also
had the chance to talk to Conservative
Leadership Candidate Chris Alexander
about his views on the monarchy. To the
question "What are your views on the
monarchy?" he answered:

"I support it completely."

But the really interesting part came after we discussed some
other areas of policy. As I was about to leave he stated he
wanted to add to what he had said about the monarchy. Mr.
Alexander stated that as the campaign goes on he will be
announcing that he feels each new monarch should have a
coronation in Canada and that he feels this is "part of
growing up as a nation".

This is an interesting idea, if nothing else. And while I don't
generally like the whole 'growing up as a nation' rhetoric it is
refreshing to see it used in support of monarchy rather than in
opposition to it.

As with the other candidates I dug through the Hansard to see
what Mr. Alexander has said about the monarchy in
Parliament. While I didn't find any notable quotations it
should be noted he was only in Parliament for two years.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

Conservative Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Kellie Leitch

10/15/2016

I have received a response from Kellie
Leitch's campaign team. Honestly I
received the reply a while back. But, like
Michael Chong's reply, it came from the
campaign team rather than the candidate
herself. I've held off posting this article in
hopes I could get a direct reply. At this
point that seems unlikely. So without
further ado here is the reply I received to
my question on what Ms. Leitch thinks
about the monarchy:

"Personally, she has stated she supports the monarchy."

Aside from this being a fairly generic statement (which is why
I dislike replies from campaign teams) the use of the word
'personally' raises questions. Is this a statement that on a
private level she supports the monarchy while in public she
does not? Or is it merely a statement that she doesn't feel her
views on the monarchy are relevant to her campaign? I can't
say either way.

Once again I made a check of Parliament's debate records to
see if Ms. Leitch has said anything about Canada's monarchy
in the past. After searching a variety of terms related to the
monarchy I came up empty-handed. In fairness Ms. Leitch
has only been in Parliament since the 2011 election.

Ms. Leitch sent out a survey to Conservative Party members
about a month ago. One of the questions was whether they
supported keeping the Queen in the citizenship oath. Again, I
can't say this means she would seek to remove the Queen
from the oath if she became prime minister. But by including
the question she seems to indicate she would be open to it.

There is one other factor that worries me. Ms. Leitch has been
making attacks against 'elites' a big part of her campaign. I am
curious how one can rail against 'elites' as a group and then
say you support the ultimate elite; the monarch.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

Conservative Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Michael Chong

9/17/2016

Michael Chong's leadership campaign has
gotten back to me with an answer to my
inquiry into what the candidate thinks
about the monarchy. At this point I am
about half way done this little project of
mine (counted registered candidates only).
The reply (below) was delivered by Jim
Smith from the campaign team. For
various reasons I prefer a direct reply but
I can understand if Mr. Chong is busy.

"Michael supports Canada's constitutional monarchy."

Well, that's...nice? I guess? This is the shortest reply I have
received thus far (such short replies is one of the reasons I
prefer direct replies) and it doesn't reveal much about the
candidates views beyond him not being a republican. To be
fair Mr. Smith wrote that if I wanted Mr. Chong to elaborate I
could submit another email. I have decided to take him up on
this offer and ask how Mr. Chong plans to support the
monarchy.

As before I searched through the parliamentary debates for a
number of terms related to monarchy including 'monarchy',
'queen', 'royal family', 'crown', and 'prince'. Other than to note
that Canada is not an absolute monarchy the 'monarchy'
search didn't yield any results. However, when I searched for
references to the queen I found an interesting quote from
2015:

"I could talk as well about how the role of the Crown is rapidly disappearing. Our
Parliament is made up of the Senate, the House of Commons and the Crown. The
Crown is diminishing in importance in this country. We as parliamentarians and the
government across the aisle need to do a better job of making sure that this is not
allowed to continue, because the Crown is an integral part of our system. The
change in the letters of recall and credence at the end of last year was a very sneaky
under the wire act which I disagree with completely. The Queen is our head of state.
The Governor General is her representative here and should remain as such. A sort
of republicanism by stealth has been orchestrated over the last number of years in
this country. We need to be very careful about not going down that path. When we
talk about Parliament we are including the Crown and the Queen. The problem is
not with individual MPs who work very hard in their constituencies. It is how we as
parliamentarians have treated Parliament, the Senate, the House and the Crown."

I rather like this quote. It acknowledges the Crown as being a
vital part of Parliament. It notes the republicanism by stealth
of previous years. And it ties the diminishing of the Crown to
the decline in respect for the roles of MPs (an issue known to
be close to Mr. Chong's heart).

On the more subjective side it should be noted that Michael
Chong was a founded member of the Dominion Institute
which sought to increase awareness of Canada's history and
how it relates to the present day. While an interest in
Canadian history does not always correlate with support for
the monarchy it is also true that those with an interest in
history can have a better understanding of the institution's
importance.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

Conservative Party Leadership Race: Views on the Monarchy

9/16/2016

For a while now I have been emailing the various leadership
candidates for the Conservative Party of Canada to ascertain
their views on the monarchy. I have already posted individual
articles on some of the candidates. This post is to function as
a sort of index and supplement to the other articles. Now,
without further delay let us take a good look at what the tory
leadership candidates think about the Canadian monarchy.

The Emailed Question & Responses

The question posed to each candidate was simple:
"What are your views on the monarchy?"

Below are links to each candidate's reply and a short look at
any previous comments they have made in regards to the
monarchy. Names are in order of when they entered the race.

Kellie Leitch
Maxime Bernier
Michael Chong
Tony Clement (Withdrew From Race)
Deepak Obhrai
Brad Trost
Pierre Lemieux
Adrienne Snow (Withdrew From Race)
Dan Lindsay (Withdrew From Race)
Andrew Scheer
Chris Alexander
Erin O'Toole
Rick Peterson
Andrew Saxton
Steven Blaney
Lisa Raitt
Kevin O'Leary

Five Crown Scoreboard

Here I have ranked the candidates support for 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 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.

Maxime Bernier

Mr. Bernier's score suffered mostly
due to how little he has said publicly
about the monarchy. While I don't
think he supports republicanism I
can't say more beyond that.

Score:

Tony Clement

Mr. Clement gave a better reply to my
email but like Mr. Bernier has had
little to say about the monarchy since
being elected.

Score:

Michael Chong

Mr. Chong was both supportive of the
monarchy in his reply and has spoken
favourably about it in Parliament.

Score:

Kellie Leitch

Ms. Leitch's response is on par with
that of Tony Clement but I have more
doubts about her support for the
Crown.

Score:

Chris Alexander

A good chunk of Mr. Alexander's
score comes from his support of a
Canadian coronation ceremony. His
lack of time in Parliament indirectly
lowered his score though.

Score:

Pierre Lemieux

Like several other candidates Mr.
Lemieux has had little to say about
the monarchy outside of his reply to
me.

Score:

Deepak Obhrai

Mr. Obhrai has expressed support for
the monarchy both in his reply and in
Parliament. Has grown to appreciate
the monarchy over time.

Score:

Andrew Saxton

As with several other candidates Mr.
Saxton stated his support for the
monarchy in his reply but has had
little else to say on the issue.

Score:

Rick Peterson

Mr. Peterson's score partly reflects
how little time he has had in public
life.

Score:

Brad Trost

Mr. Trost's reply had some meat to it
but was otherwise typical of the
replies received so far.

Score:

Lisa Raitt

Mrs. Raitt's has replied stating her
support for the monarchy.

Score:

Erin O'Toole

Mr. O'Toole has stated strong support
for the monarchy both in his
statement and in public.

Score:

Andrew Scheer

Mr. Scheer gave a very good reply and
has stated a desire to better educate
Canadians on the role of the
monarchy.

Score:

Loyal Quotes

"The Queen is our head of state. The Governor General is her
representative here and should remain as such. A sort of
republicanism by stealth has been orchestrated over the last
number of years in this country. We need to be very careful
about not going down that path."
~Michael Chong, 2005

"I was very proud to have received The Queen's Commission
in the Canadian Armed Forces, and it hangs in my office. I
have worked indirectly with the Royal Family on the True
Patriot Love Foundation - a military charity I co-founded -
and for which I received Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee
medal. The photo book of Prince Harry's visit to Canada
House for this charity sits on the coffee table in my Hill
office. And it was this organization that successfully bid for
Canada to host this year's Invictus Games, led by Prince
Harry.
There is nobody in the race who has more of a direct
association with the monarchy, nor, I believe, is there
anyone in the race who has been more publicly supportive of
the monarchy than I. One of my most widely reported
policies during this race is all about working closer with our
Commonwealth allies. I have raised the monarchy and its
strengths in my many discussions about the CANZUK policy,
which would create a trade and security pact for Canada,
Australia, New Zealand and the UK.
The above is a snapshot to give you a flavour of my track
record and consistent and steadfast support for the
monarchy as a foundational element of our parliamentary
democracy and a positive force in our society."
~Erin O'Toole, 2017

_______________________________________

I would like to thank all of the candidates for getting back to
me. While I might disagree at times with the replies I receive
it is at least good to know that politicians still take the time
to reply to ordinary Canadians.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

Conservative Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Tony Clement

7/28/2016

The second candidate in the Conservative
Party Leadership Race to get back to me is
Tony Clement. His prompt reply is much
appreciated. As a reminder, the question
posed to each candidate is "What are your
views on the monarchy?" The question has
been kept short both to see if candidates
will elaborate (a possible sign of strong
support) and to hide my bias to hopefully
get the candidate to answer honestly.

Mr. Clement gave the following reply:

"I support the Monarchy in our country as a stabilizing force consistent with our
history and heritage."

Mr. Clement's reply is brief as was Mr. Bernier's reply. That
said it differs in content. Mr. Clement goes beyond stating
that the monarchy won't be touched to stating active support
and the reasoning behind that support.

As before I decided to check out openparliament.ca to see
what the candidate has said about the monarchy in
Parliament. I found that Mr. Clement has made no mention of
the monarchy or royal family since his election in 2006. This
is not too different from the results I got for Mr. Bernier. Now,
in either case it can be easy to read too much into this. But by
way of comparison Jason Kenney has mentioned the
monarchy eight times since 1996. Green Party Leader
Elizabeth May has mentioned the institution five times since
her election in 2011. Mr. Clement's reply did say he would
elaborate so maybe he will share more of his views on the
Crown.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

Conservative Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Maxime Bernier

6/29/2016

The Conservative Party of Canada is
holding a leadership race. As I have done
on many other occasions I decided to
find out what the candidates think about
our monarchy. I also sought their views on
intellectual property law but that really
isn't pertinent to this blog. Anyways! Let's
look at what the first respondent had to
say. The first to have replied is Maxime Bernier of the riding of Beauce.

"I do not envisage any change in policy or practices with regard to the
role of the monarchy in Canadian institutions."

Let's start off with the good news: he doesn't appear to have
anything against the monarchy. Or at least not enough to
want to change anything. The bad news: Mr. Bernier didn't
really give a strong indication what he thought about the
monarchy on a personal level. This leaves Mr. Bernier's
reply feeling a little bit like boilerplate.

I decided to dig a little deeper by looking at what Mr. Bernier
has said about the monarchy in the House of Commons. To do
this I used openparliament.ca (which I still think is a great
site). My search was fairly extensive using 'monarchy',
'queen', and 'head of state'. In the years since his election in
2006 I could find only one reference to the monarchy:

"Mr. Speaker, as we know, Canada is a democratic country with a parliamentary
system, and under the Constitution, Canada's head of state is the Queen of England.
Unlike the Bloc Québécois, we are not ashamed that the Queen is our head of
state. We know that the Bloc Québécois would like to destroy this country and make
Quebec an independent country. That is not—"
~June 7th, 2012

While it might seem I would take issue with the term 'Queen
of England' (a title that has not existed for several hundred
years) I'm inclined to let it slide. The French language uses
'Queen of England' to describe the British monarch to this
day. Would it have been nice for him to have stopped that
sentence after the word 'Queen'? Sure. It is also not exactly
appreciated that he used a reference to the monarchy in the
context of a partisan dual.

But the bigger issue is that Mr. Bernier has said so little about
Canada's monarchy over the years that it is impossible to pin
down his views. Perhaps Mr. Bernier will further clarify his
views in regards to the monarchy as the leadership campaign
continues. But in the meantime there are other leadership
candidates to contact.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

Party Leadership Conventions Present Opportunity to Assess Views

4/11/2016

Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper

As of today two federal political
parties are in search of new
leaders. Stephen Harper of the
Conservative Party resigned after
his party's defeat in October. On
the other side of the political
spectrum Tom Mulcair was not
able to secure the support to
stay on as leader during a vote
held last night. Leadership races
present an opportunity to assess
where a party stands on any
number of issues.

Tom Mulcair

And one of those issues is the
monarchy. I have done such
assessments of Liberal, NDP, and
other parties before. However,
this will be the first time assessing
the views of Conservative Party
leadership candidates. This is
important due to the Conservative
Party's strong support for the
monarchy over the last ten years.
An indication that this strong
support is likely to continue into
the future would be a welcome
sign. Finding out the NDP's views
is important for a different reason.

The Late Jack Layton

While Tom Mulcair never made
his views on the monarchy clear,
his party has gone back and forth
on the issue. Only in the Green
Party have I found less support for
the monarchy (the lovely Elizabeth
May is a notable exception). The
issue of possibly getting rid of the
monarchy has come up from time
to time. In fact Nathan Cullen, a
candidate to replace Jack Layton
being a recent example. Jack
Layton, The NDP's previous (and
arguably greatest) leader, firmly
supported the monarchy:

"Some people think the NDP may want to get rid of the
monarchy but I can assure you that that's absolutely not the
case. My Dad was a big time monarchist and so am I."

So with two leadership elections coming up I plan to contact
every candidate to determine where they stand on this
important Canadian institution. So far I have contacted the
two declared Conservative candidates (Maxime Bernier &
Kellie Leitch) and await replies.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

Much Ado About Paintings

11/15/2015

Last week there was a bit of a stir when the Queen's portrait
was removed from the lobby of the Foreign Affairs building.
The portrait had hung there since 2011 when it replaced two
paintings by Quebec artist Alfred Pellan.

Photo: Adrian Wyld of The Canadian Press

The Monarchist League of Canada was not pleased. Outside
observers may see the reaction as a bit much. To understand
the reaction from the League requires knowing a bit of the
history between the League and the Liberal Party of Canada.

The League formed in 1970 in order
to counter what was seen as the
'creeping republicanism' of the
governing Liberal Party. The slow
removal of royal symbols, downplay
of royal history, and subtle disregard
for the Crown was a war of attrition.
Every negative action taken by the
government in regards to the Crown
had to be confronted or Canada's
monarchy would face slow decay.

However, over the last ten years the monarchy has been
returned to its rightful place at the center of Canadian culture
by the Conservative Party. During the period in between the
Liberals held a vote on adopting opposition to the monarchy
as a part of party policy. While the vote failed 67-33 the
vote left some monarchists concerned about what the Liberal
Party would do in power. The Trudeau Liberals have also
made some supportive statements in favour of the
monarchy. However, saying things outside of power and
doing things once in power are completely different.

With the return of the Liberal Party after the recent election
the League is certainly looking for signs whether the
monarchy is now valued by the Liberals or whether it will be a
return to the previous policy of republicanism by a thousand
cuts. While the League is strictly non-partisan there isn't
a lot of trust for the new Liberal government as of yet. An
action like this so shortly after the election was likely to be
interpreted as an attack. The portrait flap will probably come
to be seen as the first uneasy interaction between two groups
which have not had to work together for a while. I'm not
prepared to read too much into this action. One mistake a
trend doth not make. As for what ought to have been done
about the paintings...

The paintings in question

A compromise should have been found. The Conservatives are
somewhat to blame for the current situation. They set up a
situation that artificially pitted monarchism vs. Quebec
nationalism. The sensible solution, in 2011 as in 2015, would
be to have both the Queen's portrait and the paintings on the
(very large) wall. The paintings represent the diversity of
Canada. The portrait represents Canada's status as a
monarchy, a unifying force, and the person in whose name
the Foreign Affairs office acts. The wall is literally, and
figuratively big enough for both.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

Canadian Federal Parties Reveal Stances on the Monarchy

9/28/2015

The Monarchist League of Canada has contacted each of the
four main federal parties to find out their stances on Canada's
monarchy. The question asked was:
"Do <leader's name> and the <party name> support the
continuance of the constitutional monarchy as Canada's
form of governance?"

All four parties replied. The following are the party's
responses listed in alphabetical order.

Conservative Party

"Canada's system of government, one of the most stable and enduring democracies
in the world, is rooted in constitutional monarchy and the institution of the
Canadian Crown.

For over six decades, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has been steadfast and selfless
in her service to Canada and the Commonwealth. This year we marked yet another
milestone when, on September 8, 2015, Her Majesty surpassed the reign of her
great-great-grandmother, Queen Victoria (1837-1901) to become the longest
reigning monarch of the modern era. In the entire history of Canada, it is a reign
surpassed only by King Louis XIV (1643-1715).

Our Conservative government is proud to celebrate Canada's history, our traditions
and institutions, and the values we hold dear as Canadians. As we look forward to
the celebration of the 150th anniversary of our Confederation and beyond, the
unique institution of the Canadian Crown will continue to be a central feature of
our parliamentary democracy."

Green Party

"On behalf of Elizabeth May, I would like to share Ms. May's speech in the House of Commons, on the occasion of the Sixtieth Anniversary of the Reign of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II: Link"

Liberal Party

"Queen Elizabeth II is the longest reigning monarch in Canadian history and
remains a beloved figure for many Canadians. Over the past 63 years, she has
stood with Canada through key moments of our country's history and, as our
nation underwent change and transformation, has been a rock of stability and a
steadfast keeper of tradition. The Liberal Party has no intention of re-opening the
Canadian constitution on this issue. Her Majesty will remain an integral part of our
country's evolution, progress, and future."

New Democratic Party

"The NDP is not planning any changes to our current form of the parliamentary
system. Our focus is on meeting the challenges of middle-class families for better
jobs, affordable childcare and reliable healthcare."

While getting answers from the parties was nice I would have
preferred a bit more 'meat'. Ian McKechnie of the Young
Monarchists came up with some questions in June that
would have been far more informative. But I can understand
that if the questions were too specific no answers might have
been forthcoming. I do have a problem with the New
Democrat's response since its false. The New Democrats have
stated they wish to abolish the Senate which is a change to
our parliamentary system. Their response also doesn't even
mention the monarchy. In short it is a rather weak response.

A big thank you to the Monarchist League of Canada for going
through the trouble of wrangling the responses.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

A Misguided Legal Challenge, A Stubborn Prime Minister, And The Governor General Stuck In The Middle

8/1/2015

Governor General David Johnston

If you've been paying attention
to national news at all over the
last few years you'd know the
Canadian Senate is currently
stuck in a never-ending scandal
regarding expenses. The scandal
has produced a number of
possible remedies. Prime
Minister Stephen Harper upped
the ante last week by saying he
would not appoint anymore
senators in an effort to try and
bring the provinces to the table
(their support being needed if
the Upper Chamber is to be
changed in any meaningful way).
Given how much the Senate Scandal has burned the Prime
Minister I can't imagine he is in any hurry to appoint anyone
else to that body. However, this strategy is already being
challenged in court by Aniz Alani, a BC lawyer. He is
seeking to get the courts to rule on whether the Prime
Minister is constitutionally required to name senators or not.

So what does the constitution say on the matter? Section 24
states that "The Governor General shall from Time to Time,
in the Queen’s Name, by Instrument under the Great Seal of
Canada, summon qualified Persons to the Senate; and,
subject to the Provisions of this Act, every Person so
summoned shall become and be a Member of the Senate and
a Senator." Note that the constitution refers only to the
Governor General, not the Prime Minister. This is a vital fact
being lost in the whole story. Mr. Alani's court challenge
focuses on whether the Prime Minister has to render advice to
the Governor General. However, this advice is a convention,
not a law or legal precedent. And as any student of Canadian
law will tell you the courts don't rule on conventions. So it
would appear that the main thrust of the court challenge will
fail. The courts may weigh in on another issue though. The
courts may well state that the Governor General must make
appointments to the Senate. This would be in line with what
the constitution actually says. The courts have already stated
that the Senate cannot be allowed to simply whither away
through non-appointment. Another ruling would cement this
principle.

So where would this leave us? If the Prime
Minister still refuses to advise the Governor
General we may witness the rarest of political
birds: the death of a convention. Governor
General David Johnston would be the one in the
position of having to create a new rule for Senate
appointments. Normally, when the Governor
General has to act outside of established convention it either
provokes, or is caused by, a constitutional crisis. In this case
the sheer unpopularity of the Senate and the slow pace of
Senate appointments gives His Excellency some breathing
room to find a solution. Here is how it would possibly go:

The Governor General tries to convince the Prime
Minister to reconsider and give him names. He might
even mention that by long tradition he has a Right to be
Consulted. His Excellency could warn the Prime Minister that
his actions were set to trigger a constitutional crisis. And His
Excellency could encourage the Prime Minister to appoint
new senators (hopefully men & women of higher moral fibre).
In short, the Governor General would make use of Bagehot's
Three Rights of the Crown.

If Prime Minister Stephen Harper still refused to
appoint senators the Governor General may decide to
wait him out. Perhaps the next Prime Minister would be
willing to advise the Crown on this matter. This strategy has
two flaws though. 1. The party most likely to take over from
the governing Conservatives doesn't want to appoint senators
either (for that matter they don't want the Senate to exist). 2.
The Governor General can't delay on this matter forever. They
may have to do something before a more cooperative Head of
Government appears.

With all options for maintaining the current convention
exhausted the Governor General (and it may not even be
David Johnston at this point) would have to act on their own.
They could act on their own accord in making appointments
but this is unlikely. A non-elected official appointed members
of an unelected chamber no one likes would cause too much
damage to the vice-regal office. It may even damage the
monarchy. Any occupant of the Governor General's office who
respects said office would shy away from this option. And this
is assuming the newly-appointed senators were high quality.
If they were caught misusing public funds the damage would
be magnified. There is no political 'victory' with senate
appointments. The Governor General would need a different
strategy.

The Governor General could request Parliament render
advice on senate appointments. However, with two of
Canada's main parties opposing senate appointments this
may not work. If not the last foreseeable resort would be to
ask the provincial premiers for advice. There is one last option
that might be open to the Governor General but I will leave
that to another article.

His Excellency's job may well be about to become quite a bit
more interesting. All because of an upstart lawyer, a stubborn
prime minister, and a scandal-plagued senate.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

<<Previous

Forward>>

Conservative Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Chris Alexander

Conservative Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Kellie Leitch

Conservative Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Michael Chong

Conservative Party Leadership Race: Views on the Monarchy

The Emailed Question & Responses

Five Crown Scoreboard

Loyal Quotes

Conservative Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Tony Clement

Conservative Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Maxime Bernier

Party Leadership Conventions Present Opportunity to Assess Views

Much Ado About Paintings

Canadian Federal Parties Reveal Stances on the Monarchy

Conservative Party

Green Party

Liberal Party

New Democratic Party

A Misguided Legal Challenge, A Stubborn Prime Minister, And The Governor General Stuck In The Middle

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