Category: Education

NDP Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Tony McQuail

10/18/2025

Source: Tony McQuail's campaign page

The second NDP leadership
candidate to get back to me is
Tony McQuail. Tony is advocating
for a merger between the NDP
and the Green Party. He describes
himself on his campaign page as a
"farmer, educator, and lifelong
advocate for a fairer and more
sustainable Canada." Tony notes
in his email that he thought he
had gotten back to me. Whether
the problem was on my end or his
it is good to hear back from him. As with everyone else I asked five questions:

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. How important is it to you that the symbols of the monarchy be fully displayed?
4. How often should Royal Tours occur?
5. How else would you keep the monarchy relevant to Canadians?

In reply Tony stated:

"The older I get the more I realize I don't know. What I do
know (personal view) about King Charles is that I was very
impressed when I heard him, as Prince Charles, at the Slow
Food Conference in Torino, Italy many years ago. And also
when I saw him in the documentary "The Farmer and His
Prince". His understanding of the importance of an
ecological/regenerative approach to agriculture was quite
hopeful. You can see the video at.

https://docfilm42.com/film/the-farmer-and-his-prince/

or if you google movie the farmer and his prince you can find
the trailer.

I haven't given the question of the monarchy much thought -
you obviously have. I am a farmer who, for the past 45
years, has also been involved politically pushing for a fairer
and environmentally regenerative society. My sense is we
are not making progress."

Its a more positive response vis-à-vis the monarchy than Yves
Engler gave so I'll take it. It has been interesting watching the
King's views on the environment, agriculture, and
architecture move from being fringe positions worthy of
mockery to mainstream ideas politicians fall over each other
to advocate. At the same time Tony acknowledges that he
doesn't think about the monarchy all that much which is
unfortunately common in Canada. Not surprisingly I didn't
find any comments online regarding the monarchy made by
Mr. McQuail.

While this blog is pretty much agnostic about politics outside
of the monarchy, in a hypothetical world where Tony wins the
leadership and the NDP and Greens do merge it would be
good to see someone not opposed to the monarchy at the
helm of the combined party. Elizabeth May has been a vocal
champion of the monarchy for many years but its also been
clear for a while she wants out. At the same time its unclear
how monarchist the Green base is.

A big thanks to Tony for getting back to me.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

0 Comments

The King's Architectural Vision Wins Out

9/29/2025

0 Comments

A few days ago the BBC published an article on the British
government's upcoming announcement of new towns to be
built to alleviate Britain's housing crisis. A large proportion
of the article goes into how the King's architectural vision has
greatly influenced how these new towns will be designed.

This is certainly a change from when the King was still just a
prince. His famous comment describing a proposed addition
to the National Gallery as a "monstrous carbuncle" was not
well received by the architectural community. His initiative
to build a town to showcase his ideas regarding community
planning was derided as a 'toy town', 'doomed experiment',
and a 'kitsch Disneyland'. However, Poundbury has been a
great success and this is largely due to the then-Prince
insisting on his vision despite opposition from within his own
team.

The civic planning of the 60s, 70s, and 80s was defined by car
centrism, brutalist architecture, a lack of community spaces,
and radical separation of how space was used. These ideas
destroyed many areas of Britain and other communities
around the world. One commenter recently quipped that
car infrastructure destroyed more of Halifax than the Halifax
Explosion ever did.

In taking on the thankless task of showing that communities
built to the human scale (walkable, mixed use, and nice to
look at) were not only possible but what people want, the
King has done a great service to the people of the UK.

Now, if only the planners in Canada's major cities could get a
similar wake-up call.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

0 Comments

Historical Influences in Gaming: Emperor of the Fading Suns

8/31/2025

I've been meaning to do an article
on games that have a tendency to
lead people to monarchism (which
will end up being a list of Paradox
Studio games) but in the meantime
I wanted to write a bit about a game
I have played to absolute death;
Emperor of the Fading Suns.

I came across this game almost completely by accident. In the
90s my brother's friend gave me a bunch of demo disks that
came along with issues of the PC Gamer magazine. This game
(and Heroes of Might and Magic II) were included and would
provide countless hours of entertainment. It helps that
Emperor of the Fading Suns is a turn-based game and the
demo gave the player 50 turns to play it which was more than
enough to beat the game.

At the time I mostly appreciated that it was very different
from other games that I'd played (I hadn't found the
Civilization series yet) but as I've gotten older I've grown to
appreciate the historical inspiration behind the game. The
game wears its Dune and Warhammer 40K inspiration on its
sleeve but its much more grounded in European Medieval
history than either of those two settings.

Setting

The game is set in the far future. Humanity has spread across
the galaxy by means of an alien gateway network. While a
united republican government was created and humanity
enjoyed a golden age for a time, it eventually fell into ruin
under the weight of multiple crisises including barbarian
invasion, societal collapse, internal coups, and ecological
breakdown.

The inspiration taken from the Roman Empire is clear.
Although it helps to make the comparison more clear if you
remember that legally Rome called itself a republic to the very
end. The role climate change played in the fall of Rome has
also attracted more attention in recent years and how it made
a bad situation worse. The game's equivalent is the 'Fading
Suns' phenomena where galaxy-wide all stars are dimming at
a considerable rate.

In the midst of a general breakdown a man named Vladimir
managed to stabilize the situation and was proclaimed
Emperor by the Patriarch of the Universal Church (space
Pope of the space Catholic Church). Vladimir is sort of a
Charlemagne figure but not really because Emperor Vladimir
dies at his coronation which has no historical equivalent. The
lack of agreement on who should succeed him results in war
until it was agreed a temporary successor would be elected
from the ranks of the nobility. And when the game starts they
are still electing 'temporary' successors termed regents.

If you squint a little it does look like the historical situation.
After Charlemagne's death there were several wars and the
title bounced around a bit until the East Frankians, not
wanted to reunite with West Frankia made their throne
elective. However, Otto the Great, an early King of the East
Frankia, conquered Italy and was crowned Emperor of what we now call the Holy Roman Empire. In a way the game kind
of merges a long stretch of history, and several people, into a
compact narrative.

Gameplay

Emperor of the Fading Suns plays much like Civilization
except the large number of maps give it a bigger scope. Some
games and spin-offs in that series would make use of a 'world
congress' or 'United Nations' mechanic. Emperor of the
Fading Suns did it first. Every ten years all factions cast votes
for who will be regent in the coming years. The regent
meanwhile can assign various ministries of government to
their supporters.

The fact that the easiest way to get elected is by bribing the
various electors to vote for you is an issue the Holy Roman
Emperors knew well. The 1519 imperial election had the kings
of Spain and France out-bidding each other for the throne.
But even in more normal times it was not always easy for a
dynasty to keep the throne. Having to give government offices
to supporters in exchange for their support was an issue
across Europe.

Even the relative powerlessness of the regent mirrors the Holy
Roman Empire where the Emperor could really only rely on
their own lands for money and soldiers. This became
especially true after the Peace of Westphalia which
guaranteed non-interference in each state's internal affairs.

The League & The Church

In the game the Merchant League is a union of guilds that
primarily sell things to players and give out loans. In medieval
Europe this is the role the various Italian republics played in
the Empire. They didn't really have any great love of being a
part of the Empire and were eventually able to leave it as a
bloc. Likewise, the Merchant League will declare was on all
other factions once it amasses enough money (although their
aim is to restore the republic).

The Church is heavily modelled on the Catholic Church. It
even has an Inquisition it sends out if some noble decides to
research technology that goes against Church doctrine. The
Church is divided into several sects in a manner not to
dissimilar to how the Catholic Church has different orders.

Its Been A Long Road

Emperor of the Fading Suns has had a troubled history.
Rushed to release and saddled with the worst advertising
campaign I've ever seen, it seemed set to become a footnote in
the history of gaming. However, the game has heart and it
earned a loyal fan base. Through years (and no small amount
of piracy) the game kept being played until earlier this year
the game got its first patch in over a decade and a Steam
release. And there in the credits...

...you'll find a Maple Monarchist.

Loyally Yours
A Kisaragi Colour

Overview of Pro-Monarchy Voices in Canada

6/20/2025

Last month's opening of Parliament by the King was about
sending a message. Well, sending a couple messages. It was
about sending a message to Trump that Canada had a head of
state and they aren't in the market for a new one. It was also
about showing the king had the backs of Canadians.

In both of these areas there has been success. Trump, despite
his murmuring on the issue, has toned down the more
inflammatory rhetoric on the issue. Meanwhile, the monarchy
and His Majesty are enjoying a bit of a polling bump.

So with this event fading into the past I wanted to take a
second to assess the health of the wider monarchist
movement in Canada.

Monarchist Organizations

The Monarchist League of Canada is
the oldest organization focused solely on
defending the Canadian Crown having been
founded in 1970. The League has three key
mandates; education, advocacy, and
research. The League tends to be highly
engaged and might be termed as the most
approachable of the organizations listed
here. It is strictly non-partisan which has allowed it to
advocate for the monarchy freely regardless of who is in
power. It has been instrumental in protecting symbols of the
Canadian Monarchy from removal.

The Institute for the Study of the Canadian Crown
(ISCC) is a much younger organization which only came
together in 2014, although an informal network had existed
since 2005. Founded at Massey College, the first president of
the Institute was John Fraser who was the head of the College
at the time. Their mandate is a bit more focused on research
and its not really an organization the general public can join.
In this regard it can be thought of as a sort of think tank.

The Société de la Couronne du Canada
(Crown Society of Canada) is interesting in
that it is primarily focused on the Crown in
Quebec. It was founded in 2021 in response
to what was perceived as an unwillingness
by other organizations to defend the
monarchy in the province. Like the
Monarchist League of Canada it is an organization based
around mass membership. It was formerly known as the
'Monarchist Society of Canada'.

Blogs

While few and far between there are Canadians blogging on
the monarchy. Carolyn Harris, self-described royal
historian, maintains a blog and has published several books
on the Canadian Monarchy. She is a member of the ISCC and
has spoken on their behalf before.

And that, as far as I can tell, is it - three organizations and two
bloggers. Its not a lot but it may be enough. Especially in the
case of the Monarchist League and the ISCC its good that
there is a back-up in case one organization runs into trouble. While the Crown Society of Canada has picked a hard fight
that will take a substantial amount of grit.

On the blogging front it would be nice to have more voices if
only because the mere presence of more voices helps dispel
the notion that monarchism isn't a fashionable opinion to
have. Blogging is in the middle of a bit of a resurgence in
Canada so it will be interesting if others take to blogging
about the monarchy.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

EDIT: Added information on the Crown Society of Canada.

Liberal Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Frank Baylis

5/6/2025

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

2025 Federal Election Leaves NDP with a Mixed Bag of Survivors

4/29/2025

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

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

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

<<Previous

NDP Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Tony McQuail

The King's Architectural Vision Wins Out

Historical Influences in Gaming: Emperor of the Fading Suns

Setting

Gameplay

The League & The Church

Its Been A Long Road

Overview of Pro-Monarchy Voices in Canada

Monarchist Organizations

Blogs

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

Meme Monday #14

CFP Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Dominic Cardy

About

Archives

Categories

Setting

Gameplay

The League & The Church

Its Been A Long Road

Monarchist Organizations

Blogs

​Questions & Replies

​Crown & Cap Scoreboard

A Worrying Trend

About

Archives

Categories

Questions & Replies

Crown & Cap Scoreboard