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Demographic Breakdown of Support and Opposition to the Monarchy Earlier This Month in Parliament

11/30/2022

 
Late last month there was a motion introduced by MP Yves-
François Blanchet of the Bloc Quebecois advocating for the
abolition of the monarchy. I have been somewhat busy this
month due to municipal elections in New Brunswick and was
not able to get to it right away. As it turns out the Parliament
of Canada keeps a breakdown of how each vote goes on its
website which is a wonderful resource to have. Lets see if
anything interesting can be found from looking at the raw
numbers.

Summary

Motion: the House express its desire to sever ties between
the Canadian State and the British monarchy, and call on the
government to take the actions necessary to do so.
Yea: 44
Nay: 266
Abstention/Absent: 28
Result: Motion Defeated

Party Breakdown

Bloc Quebecois
Yea: 31
Nay: 0
​Abstention/Absent: 1
-Perhaps not surprisingly the party whose leader introduced
the motion supported it fully. 

New Democratic Party
Yea: 10
Nay: 7
​Abstention/Absent: 8
-Of all the results I find this one the most interesting. The 
NDP has a republican leader (although he didn't vote on this
motion) but also a large contingent of members who support
the monarchy. During the last survey of NDP leadership
candidates I received several comments from members who
don't vote for the party because they don't trust the party on
this issue. It should also be noted that if the Bloc wanted a
wedge issue to cause trouble for the NDP they couldn't find
a better one. The Bloc traditionally hasn't weighed in on the
monarchy as their stated goal is independence regardless so
the timing seemed odd. They do have to watch out for rivals
though and the NDP has in recent memory absolutely curb
stomped the Bloc. The NDP has also been a fairly effective partner in the current minority government. Does the Bloc
sincerely dislike the monarchy? Yes, but keeping their rivals
from posing a threat is also a concern.

Green Party
Yea: 1
Nay: 1
​Abstention/Absent: 0
-Elizabeth May continues to be a strong supporter of the
monarchy. This is the first time we have gotten to see what
Mike Morrice's views are. While disappointing, at least we
know them now. Mike has been suggested as a potential
leader for the party down the road so it is something to watch.

​Liberal Party
Yea: 1
Nay: 145
​Abstention/Absent: 12
-I'll get into the geographic breakdown next but the one yea
vote was from a Quebec MP. I have been somewhat critical 
of the Liberal's handling of the monarchy file over the years
but they can be counted on to not rock the boat at least.

Conservative Party
Yea: 0
Nay: 112
​Abstention/Absent: 7
-The Conservative Party continues to be a bastion of loyalty. I
had been worried when Pierre Poilievre was elected leader of
the party due to the complete lack of any statements made
regarding the monarchy and his overall populist leanings. He
is either a closet monarchist or realizes the split this would
cause in his support is even greater than in the NDP's case.

Independent MPs
Yea: 1
Nay: 1
​Abstention/Absent: 0
-One Quebec yea vote and one Ontario nay vote. Just goes to
show the more things change the more they stay the same.

Regional Breakdown

Atlantic Canada
Yea: 0
​Nay: 30
​Abstention/Absent: 2
-Of passing interest is the absence of a vote by MP Jenica
Atwin, former Green Party MP.

Quebec

Yea: 34
​Nay: 41
​Abstention/Absent: 3
-Despite the Bloc Quebecois voting entirely in favour of the
motion they still didn't manage a majority in their own
province. 

Ontario

Yea: 3
​Nay: 107
​Abstention/Absent: 11
-Interestingly of the five NDP MPs in Ontario three didn't cast
a vote and the remaining two voted in favour.

Prairies

Yea: 3
​Nay: 52
​Abstention/Absent: 7
-Given the large Conservative contingent on the prairies this
lopsided result was expected. The NDP here heavily
supported the motion. 

British Columbia

Yea: 3
​Nay: 35
​Abstention/Absent: 4
-The NDP split on this question was most pronounced in BC
with three supporting it, seven opposing it, and three not
voting. 

Territories

Yea: 1
​Nay: 1
​Abstention/Absent: 1

The Debate

Openparliament.ca has the full debate on the motion. There
are a great deal of tired arguments. Some of which I've dealt
with before. The debate will be a useful reference in the
future. Whether they like it or not many MPs have had to take
a stand.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

All three policy proposals concerning the monarchy that were submitted to the NDP policy convention

4/10/2021

 
The NDP is having a policy convention this weekend (so are 
the Liberals in what must have been a scheduling snafu). The 
NDP membership has once again put forward policies 
concerning the Canadian Monarchy to be debated. The 
following is a summary of the good, the bad, and the ugly. 

The Good

Picture
And no, I don't know what 'Priority 0' means.
I actually like this and would support it. The return of the 
vetting committee created during the premiership of Stephen
Harper would be a welcome reform. 

The Bad

Picture
Essentially this proposal would end, or greatly limit, the
ceremonial role of the executive branch (unless the slack was
taken up by the prime minister which is another concern) and give the constitutional parts of the job to the Chief Justice of
the Supreme Court. The obvious problem with this is that the chief justice is appointed by the governor general. Without a
governor general the chief justice would be in charge of
appointing their own replacement... and those of their fellow
justices. Even if everything is above board it looks sketchy as
all hell.

The Ugly

Picture
Did they stutter with their 'Wheras-es'?
Putting aside the call to abolish the monarchy for a second I
just want to note that the actions of former Governor General
Julie Payette only confirm the dysfunctional nature of Julie
​Payette.

How Likely Are These To Pass?

The last time this issue came up it wasn't even debated by
the entire membership. This time the party has a lot of
popular motions to debate (you will note each of these is only
supported by one riding association). Jagmeet Singh has also
been trying to walk back some of the more extreme proposals
so it may be possible they will avoid committing to large
constitutional reforms which would take the third proposal off
the table. The second proposal above raises so many legal
questions that it probably won't make it to a full membership
vote. I can see the first one being debated and passed. This
creates an interesting situation. Due to the limit placed on
how many proposals will be debated (70) does the party allow
a single issue to take up three slots? If you limit which ones go
through does this favour the policy most likely to pass and be
implemented? These policies, if they are to be debated, will
come up on Sunday so we will find out then. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: As predicted the motions did not even come up for
debate.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

The Canadian Monarchy in the Year Ahead

12/26/2019

 
While 2019 has been an exciting year politically, the Canadian
Monarchy has been low-key in a lot of ways. The Governor
General seems to have adapted to her new role and put her
mark on it. The government's questionable decision to cancel
the free royal portrait program was balanced out by the recent
appointment of a new Canadian Secretary to the Queen. Of
course the Queen finished off the year with her Christmas
message as she always does. That one of Her Majesty's themes
was reconciliation is apropos to Canada.
But as we inch towards the New Year I wanted to take a
minute to look at what is known to lie ahead and what can
with some certainty be predicted.

Leadership Races

PictureElizabeth May
Both the Conservatives and the Greens
will have leadership races in 2020. As is
my tradition I will be submitting a list of
questions to all the candidates. Both of
the out-going leaders are monarchists
with Elizabeth May being very vocal
over the years about this and Andrew
Scheer being the leader of Her Majesty's
Loyal Opposition. So I am sad to see
their time as leaders come to an end.
But at the same time there is a silver
lining to be seen.

Either by accident, or design, Mr. Scheer repelled Maxime
Bernier from the Conservative Party. Long-time readers may
recall that Mr. Bernier did not score highly on the last
survey I conducted. That the man who came in a close second
last time has zero chance in the up-coming contest is a relief.

I have greater concerns about the Green Party which seems to be at a cross-roads of sorts. Elizabeth May has been a strong
influence within the party for so long that I can't make any
predictions about what her successor would be like.
​

The New Democrats

I still have concerns about Mr. Singh's republicanism but
the party itself looks better going into 2020. Declared
monarchist Randall Garrison kept his seat in a reduced
caucus and the minority government situation should keep
the NDP from putting forward any damaging proposals.

Polls

At some point there will be an opinion poll on the monarchy.
The poll will show Canadians love the Queen more than our
politicians, are evenly divided on the monarchy itself, and are
ambivalent about Prince Charles. Reporters will conveniently
forget that ambivalence is actually an improvement and fret
about the future of the monarchy. Having finished this
pantomime for another year we will give ourselves a pat on
the back and agree to meet again in another 8-12 months. 

Royal Homecomings

While none have been announced to my knowledge with the
appointment of a New Canadian Secretary to the Queen we
may hope that one is in the works.

Monarchy in New Brunswick

Just this week a group in New Brunswick launched a court
action
over the recent appointment Brenda Murphy as the
province's Lieutenant-Governor. This case will likely play out
over the coming year. My gut feeling is that it won't go
anywheres but you never know. Something to watch closely.

Monarchist League in New Brunswick

Personally, I have finished out my first full year as Chairman
of the New Brunswick Branch of the Monarchist League of
Canada. Out-reach and educational activities were largely confined to the South-East. This is a situation that I will be
​working to address. 

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

Jagmeet Singh's Reply to the Monarchist League of Canada

12/7/2018

 
PicturePhoto Credit: Yvonne Bambrick
Recently, while doing an interview on the topic of the spending of the
former Governor General Adrienne
Clarkson, Mr. Singh stated that he
did not see the relevancy of the
monarchy and that he was a
republican. Various members of the
Monarchist League of Canada
sought clarification (and probably to
try and convince him to change his
mind). Below is the response that
they received and which the League
shared with its ​members at noon
today:

  Thank you for taking the time to write. We appreciate your views on
the monarchy.
 
  During a recent CTV interview, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh addressed
the concern over the excessive expenses of a former Governor General.
  When the discussion led to the role of the monarchy in Canada,
Jagmeet Singh spoke about its relevancy in the 21st century, adding,
that while it may not be a pressing issue for most Canadians, he’s open
to hearing the views of others. But, he clearly said that getting involved
with this issue is not a priority for him or our Party.

  Specifically, he said, “We’ve got a democracy and we’re proud of our
democracy, and I think that’s what most Canadians think is important
and I think we should focus on that.”

  Jagmeet and his NDP team are staying focused on what’s important to
the lives of everyday Canadians—like paying for groceries and heating
costs, their health issues and those of a family member, and having
enough money to retire. Jagmeet is hearing those concerns as he meets
with Canadians in communities across Canada, listening to what they
need to make life better for their families.

  And, he’s inviting all progressives to come together, to help make a
real difference—for more people today, and for future generations.

  Thanks again for writing. In the weeks and months ahead, we hope we
can find common ground on other concerns facing our country.

All the best,
Office of Jagmeet Singh
Leader, Canada’s New Democrats
I am going to focus in on a couple small sections of this quote.
"We’ve got a democracy and we’re proud of our democracy,
and I think that’s what most Canadians think is important
and I think we should focus on that.
" Yes, we should. And a
study from 2008 might interest him. It came to several
interesting conclusions including that "direct election is
associated with increased voter fatigue and decreased
turnout in parliamentary elections by about seven
percentage points
" and "because holding the presidency
provides parties with an electoral asset, direct and indirect
presidential elections can be equally contentious and
polarizing
". Neither of which are improvements to Canadian
democracy.

​Another study earlier this year found that,"We find strong
evidence that monarchies contribute to a greater protection
of property rights and higher standards of living through
each of the three theoretical mechanisms compared to all
republics. We also find that democratic-constitutional
monarchies perform better than non-democratic and
absolute monarchies when it comes to offsetting the negative
effects of the tenure and discretion of the executive branch.
"
So, yes, democracy makes a country function better but
monarchy makes a democracy function better.

The second section of Mr. Singh's reply I wanted to highlight
was his invitation to "
all progressives to come together, to
help make a real difference—for more people today, and for
future generations.
" All well and good. His stance on the
monarchy is a hindrance to that goal. Because many potential
NDP voters see Canada's monarchy has being helpful to that
laudable goal.

For instance during the NDP Leadership Race Jonathan
Banks noted 
"I am not myself a member of the New
Democratic Party, but often find myself more sympathetic to
many of its policies than I am to those of the Liberals when
concerning the rights and concerns of the working classes,
and the little guy, generally. However, one reason I always
find myself cringing away from being able to actually
support the NDP is certain members’ stances on the
monarchy... I know that I and many people like me would
feel infinitely more comfortable with the NDP if it took a firm
public stance in favour of the Monarchy.
"

Darren Brierley likewise wrote to me stating "After reviewing
Jagmeet Singh's comments against the Monarchy I became
deeply concerned. As a Federal NDP supporter since Jack
Layton, I do not have confidence in a leader who does not
understand that the Canadian Crown is completely
independent and unique from the British Crown and of it's
powerful force for national unity and Canadian identity. I
certainly don't support someone who doesn't respect or even
understand the Canadian Crown.
" 

​There is a slight irony that while repeated political quizzes
over many years consistently place me in the same ideological
camp as the NDP, I have never come close to voting for them.
I find his views on the monarchy highly regrettable but that's
just my view. You know...since he's open to hearing the views
of others and all that.
Picture
I wanted to take a second to talk about Patreon. I
write this 
blog for the sheer joy of it and will
continue to do so even if it 
doesn't make me a
cent. However, the Monarchist League of
Canada
 does have a (rather neglected)
Patreon
. They do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to
the defence of 
Canada's monarchy as this timeline and
various other 
examples can attest. If you are a regular
reader I would like 
to encourage you to donate to the League.
Every dollar 
donated helps educate Canadians about their
monarchy and dispel republican 
ignorance. And that is a
good thing.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

Republican Resolution Submitted to the 2018 NDP Policy Convention

2/14/2018

 
The New Democratic Party of Canada is holding its policy
convention
this weekend in Ottawa. The Monarchist
League of Canada
was tipped off that a resolution has been
submitted for debate on ending the Canadian monarchy: 
Picture
The League has been told that there is a good chance the
resolution will not even be considered (which is standard for
conventions with large numbers of policy suggestions).
However the League has suggested two courses of action to its
members. 1. Contact convention delegates to express concern
about the resolution and 2. Write a polite letter to the NDP's
leader Jagmeet Singh to state support for the crown and
​opposition to the position in the above resolution.

Trouble-making during policy conventions is nothing new
(the Liberal Party had a similar motion come up at their
policy convention years ago which was voted down). However,
after an extremely disappointing result in the last election and
a growing feeling that the NDP has traded its principles for a
shot at power it is not inconceivable that this resolution could
pass as a sort of 'feel good gesture'. That is assuming it comes
up for a vote at all.

This motion comes on the heels of of Jagmeet Singh making
clear he is less than supportive of the monarchy. It is
possible some members proposed this motion in the hope
that Mr. Singh would be more inclined to support it than
​previous leaders. It is a disappointing development which
may yet come to nothing. Stay tuned.

UPDATE: Several members of the Monarchist League's
youth wing successfully blocked the resolution at the policy
panel stage. It will not be debated during the plenary sessions.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

New Democratic Party Leadership Race: Views on the Monarchy

8/16/2017

 
As I did with the Tory leadership race I have been
contacting the various leadership 
candidates for the New
Democratic 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.

​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.

Cheri DiNovo (Withdrew From Race)
Peter Julian (Withdrew From Race)
Charlie Angus
Guy Caron
Niki Ashton
Ibrahim Bruno El-Khoury (Withdrew From Race)
Brian Graff (Candidacy Rejected)
Pat Stogran (Withdrew From Race)
Jagmeet Singh
David Berlin (Withdrew From Race)

Crown & Cap 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.

I have had to make a change since last time as some
candidates have views leaning towards republicanism. The
crown score is now joined by a phrygian cap score.

The crown score is out of five crowns and five caps 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.

​One cap is 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. 
Picture
Peter Julian
Mr. Julian has stated he has no strong
views on the monarchy but feels a
referendum on the issue might be
appropriate.
Score:
Picture
Picture
Charlie Angus
Mr. Angus is firmly opposed to the
monarchy but like many republicans
does not see replacing it as a priority.
Score:
Picture
Picture
Pat Stogran
Mr. Stogran's score suffered due to
a bit of vagueness. He seems to know
the monarchy is important but doesn't
​say it is important to him.
Score:
Picture
Picture
Brian Graff (No Photo)
Mr. Graff's reply was highly detailed
and greatly opposed to the monarchy.
This is unfortunate as he made clear
​he once supported it.
Score:
Picture
Picture
Ibrahim Bruno El-Khoury
Mr. El-Khoury's reply noted the
historical importance of the monarchy
while dwelling on Canada's ability to
change if it chooses to. In the end the
reply advocates nothing resulting in
​a low score on both sides.
Score:
Picture
Picture
Jagmeet Singh
In light of Mr. Singh's unfortunate
remarks during the Montreal debate
his score has ​been adjusted.
Score:
Picture

NDP Supporters and Monarchists Quotes

I have run across a few interesting quotes from people who
would like to support the NDP or a specific candidate but are
put off by the party's knee-jerk republicanism.

"After reviewing Jagmeet Singh's comments against the
Monarchy I became deeply concerned. As a Federal NDP
supporter since Jack Layton, I do not have confidence in a
leader who does not understand that the Canadian Crown is
completely independent and unique from the British Crown
and of it's powerful force for national unity and Canadian
identity. I certainly don't support someone who doesn't
respect or even understand the Canadian Crown."

~Darren Brierley

"I'd vote for him [Jagmeet Singh] if the NDP weren't so anti-
monarchy. Because of that, I now usually vote Green. But
Jagmeet might convince me to vote NDP next election, if he
can show that he doesn't plan to waste time with
constitutional amendments to remove/relocate the Crown in
Canadian governance."

~marnas86

"I agree that sharing our monarch with the other
Commonwealth realms has largely been beneficial to
Canada since 1867. It is for most Canadians both a Canadian
and international symbol of continuity, non-partisan
authority, and civic participation in an increasingly
globalized society. Canada’s colonial history has many
shameful memories, but they are primarily tied to the
policies of past governments and exploitative practices of
commercial interests. The monarchy is largely a reflection of
our times and it’s current incarnation should be used to
celebrate and cultivate the best that Canada has to offer."

~James Bromilow

"I am not myself a member of the New Democratic Party,
but often find myself more sympathetic to many of its
policies than I am to those of the Liberals when concerning
the rights and concerns of the working classes, and the little
guy, generally. However, one reason I always find myself
cringing away from being able to actually support the NDP
is certain members’ stances on the monarchy... I know that I
and many people like me would feel infinitely more
comfortable with the NDP if it took a firm public stance in
favour of the Monarchy." 
~Jonathan Banks 

"Republicanism is a failed governmental concept. Compare
the peace and relative stability of the United Kingdom with
the constant strife and unrest in France, or the unparalleled
quality of life and happiness in Norway, Sweden and
Denmark. It’s no coincidence that having a uniting symbol in
the form of a King or Queen helps bring people together and
creates a better life. Republicans often point to Monarchies
being undemocratic, but I see no lack of democracy in any
Constitutional Monarchy-led country. I would see Peter
Julian be the candidate that stands up for our Monarchy;
who says “There is plenty wrong with our government and
system of electing MP’s, but not in the Canadian Monarchy. I
see no reason to do away with the unity and stability that
having a Monarchy has brought Canada over the past 150+
years.”" 
~Brian Appel

​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

NDP Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Jagmeet Singh

8/16/2017

 
Picture
I have received another response in my effort
to learn what the candidates for leadership of
the NDP think about the monarchy. This time
the response is from Mr. Jagmeet Singh. I had
previously received a reply directing me to
look at Mr. Singh's platform. I decided to
pester a bit longer to get an actual answer and
late yesterday I received the following reply
​from a campaign staffer:

​"Jagmeet respects that Canada is a constitutional monarchy and the roles and
responsibilities that go hand in hand with that."
~Brian
Let's start with the good: its a statement supportive of the
monarchy. The only problem is that it is vague. It is rather
unclear what 'roles and responsibilities' are being referred to.
This may be a result of an aide only being able to get a very
brief reply from the candidate. Given how busy the candidates
are I am not surprised. The other policy questions I sent had
​answers that were similarly brief and to the point. 

As always I checked the internet to see if Mr. Singh had made
any comments about the monarchy. As he is a Member of the
Ontario Legislature I held out hope there might be one or two.
Unfortunately I wasn't able to find any. I did find one person
on Reddit who stated that they would vote for Mr. Singh and
the NDP if they were more supportive of the monarchy. This
sentiment has popped up quite a bit and I would hope all the
candidates are paying attention.

UPDATE: During the leadership debate in Montreal Mr.
Singh received a question on the monarchy. Below is a
translation of his reply:

"I don’t support the Monarchy at all. So I want Canada to
remain a democracy without having a link to the
Monarchy."


I also contacted his campaign team for an explanation. Here
​is the message I sent:
Greetings Brian,

During the debate in Montreal Mr. Singh received a question on the Canadian
Monarchy and gave an answer much different than the one you sent me:

As spoken: Je ne suis d’accord pas de tout avec la monarchie, donc je veux que le
Canada reste une démocratie sans avoir un lien avec la monarchie.

Translation: I don’t support the Monarchy at all. So I want Canada to remain a
democracy without having a link to the Monarchy.

This is greatly disappointing and displays a lack of understanding about the
benefits of the monarchy to the well-functioning of Canadian democracy.

This is unfortunate as monarchy has been shown to have advantages over
republics in a number of areas including the quality of democratic norms. In a
2008 study titled "Presidents with Prime Ministers: Do Direct Elections Matter?"
by Margit Tavits she found that directly-elected presidencies did nothing to lower
voter apathy and were in fact associated with increased voter fatigue and a 7%
drop in voter turnout for legislative elections. Likewise, she found that indirectly-
elected presidents were not as non-partisan as we tend to believe them to be (since
they are still an electoral asset). The recent Austrian election shows how a
essentially powerless presidency can become divisive with the far-right challenger
being barely defeated late last year. Further, a 2009 study titled "Constitutional
Power and Competing Risks: Monarchs, Presidents, Prime Ministers, and the
Termination of East and West European Cabinets" by Petra Schleiter and Edward
Morgan-Jones found that constitutional monarchies had a marked preference for
using elections when governments lost confidence of the legislature. Both legislative
and (especially) executive presidencies had a marked preference for shuffling the
people in cabinet and continuing to the end of term. If you feel the people should be
consulted when a government falls this is not a good thing.

A Canadian democracy without the monarchy would be a degraded democracy.

Regards,
[Name Redacted]
​I received this reply from Mr. Singh's campaign:

"Thanks for writing in. I respect your opinions on the matter
and your beliefs in what makes an effective democracy. This is clearly at odds with Jagmeet's opinions on the matter."

~Brian, Team Jagmeet

These new remarks are worrisome and completely change my
​assessment of Mr. Singh's stance on the monarchy. And not
for the better.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

NDP Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Ibrahim Bruno El-Khoury

6/5/2017

 
Picture
The second candidate to get back to me
today was Ibrahim Bruno El-Khoury. At the
present time his candidacy has been
declared but not finalized. I contacted the
candidate through his Facebook page.
Unlike the other candidate I contacted
today Mr. El-Khoury had some positive
things to say about our monarchy:

"Monarchy is part of our history and Canadian heritage which we like to preserve
in a way or another for a number of reasons. While Canadians have aspirations for
evolving as a nation, should the Monarchy becomes a major obstacle for such
aspirations, then someone should explore best ways of overcoming these obstacles,
while preserving heritage. For the sake of learning, we see that Denmark and
Norway are among the most advanced democracies while still being Kingdoms.
Having said so, Canada is a constitution monarchy and should Canadians decide to
upgrade democracy, they will be in position to do so. All what's required is a
collective willingness."
I would like to note that the idea that 'upgrading' democracy
​means becoming a republic is annoyingly common. 

​As I always do I checked Google for any other comments Mr.
El-Khoury might have made about the monarchy. In this case
I found none. This is not surprising given his short time in
​public life. Overall, one of the better responses I have received
so far.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

NDP Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Brian Graff

6/5/2017

 
I have received a response from, not one, but two candidates
today. Both came back with a response without unnecessary
badgering (which is always appreciated). The first was Brian
Graff. Mr. Graff's candidacy has previously been rejected by
the NDP but he is pursuing legal means to be allowed to run.
​So what has Brian Graff have to say about the monarchy?
"I used to believe that the monarchy was a good symbol of our heritage and how
we achieved independence peacefully, unlike the US. IT clearly set us apart from
the US. But, a Head of state should be a unifying figure, and the Monarchy is very
unpopular in Quebec – this is unlikely to change, even with immigration –
Quebecois see the monarchy as a symbol of defeat and past oppression, and despite
the Queen’s long and loyal service, I doubt this will change under her reign, and I
don’t see Charles being any more popular. It’s the institution, not the person, that is
the issue.
Even though my mother was born in the UK, I am now of the belief that we should
stay in the Commonwealth but should have a Canadian head of state. However,
that means opening up the Constitution, which is something that is unlikely to
happen soon.
So regardless of my views, we are stuck with it for many years."
Let us start with the positive: Mr. Graff wouldn't try to remove
the monarchy in an official capacity. But on the negative side
there is the belief that the monarchy doesn't do its job. Well,
one of its jobs. 

Next, I checked whether Mr. Graff has made any other public
statements regarding the monarchy. I don't usually hold out
much hope of this if the candidate has never held public office
but in this case there was something. Back in 1991 Ontario
had a committee examining several different constitutional
issues. Brian Graff appeared as a witness. Below is a
transcript of his statements related to the monarchy:
​"One thing is, in doing such a thing, we should start from the top down, and perhaps
the first thing for me is that it is time we should finally have a made-in-Canada
head of state. For many French Canadians, the British-based monarchy is not an
endearing institution. As well, it is not a symbol of great relevance to the increasing
number of Canadians of non-British heritage, including the aboriginal peoples. The
Queen has no real power as such, most of it having been transferred to the
Governor General. This was made abundantly clear with the GST bill, in which she
had no choice but to sign it into law despite the controversy over the way in which it
was passed.
In the past, I tended to support the monarchy, as I believed it to be a symbol which
helped to distinguish ourselves from the US as a nation which gained independence
peacefully. But now I feel that other things are more important, namely that we
must create national institutions and symbols that are equally valid and relevant to
all Canadians, regardless of their ethnic origin or their religion. You should
remember that the Queen is of course a religious symbol as the head of the Anglican
church.
Twenty-five years ago we did this sort of thing with the flag. We got a brand-new
flag. No one individual group, British, French or anybody, could claim that it had a
special relationship to it, that it was its symbol more than it was anybody else's,
with the possible exception of course that the maple leaf does not grow in all parts
of the country.
Anyway, I hope that by such reforms as creating a new head of state that
everybody equally can identify with, it will have an effect of unifying the country.
Recent events have shown us that while the American system has too many checks
and balances and power is too decentralized within each level of government, such
as the budget process in the United States where they could not agree on anything,
our Canadian system is the exact opposite. There are not enough checks and
balances in our parliamentary system as it has evolved to the current time. Power
within each level of government is centralized in the head of government,
particularly when that is a majority government. I believe the greater power
should be given to bodies which are independent of interference from the
government so as to prevent abuse of power by the government and otherwise
make government more responsive to public needs. This is a role of the Senate, the
head of state and so on.
Unfortunately, the current institution of Governor General is not adequate to this
task, as it is currently an appointed head of state, or it would be an appointed head
of state if you made that the head of state, and it is quite likely that whoever was
appointed Governor General the government would of course be completely
sympathetic with government policy. I also believe you cannot give an appointed
person or body any real authority in a democracy. So I think that, importantly, it is
becoming increasingly clear that there is a need to provide more checks and
balances on the exercise of power by the Prime Minister, because increasingly
power is centralized in his office.
I believe we should replace both monarchy and governors general with an elected
president, but I would not want anything like the American President, which so
totally dominates things. I would, though, require that any aspirants to the position
of president previously have held elected office so that they be familiar with
parliamentary procedures and also that they be competent in both official
languages, again so that they can communicate with all Canadians."
Overall, not a whole lot of positive news about this candidate.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour

NDP Leadership Candidates and the Monarchy: Pat Stogran

5/10/2017

 
Picture
Pat Stogran is the third candidate to
reply to my inquiry on his views about
the monarchy. The reply came through
Facebook and I am reasonably sure the
reply came directly from the candidate
and not a staffer. Mr. Stogran is the
first of the NDP Leadership Candidates
to give a reply that can be seen as
being positive about the monarchy:

"Monarchy, a nice tradition of historical and cultural significance in our
institutions."
Mr. Stogran has not held public office but has appeared
before parliamentary committees. I did not find anything in
the Hansard. I did find an article written by Mr. Stogran in
the online magazine espritdecorps. While going over the
technical and historical aspects of declaring war he touches
​upon the monarchy:
"Under the Westminster style of government, the power to formally declare war
evolved from the prerogative of the Crown to do so on the recommendation of the
duly elected Cabinet. The Royal Prerogative was vested to the Government of
Canada in the Statute of Westminster in 1931, which effectively made Canada and
other countries in the Dominion sovereign, independent nations. Canada
subsequently exercised its authority to declare war as we entered the Second World
War, although it was arguably more of a symbolic gesture that masked our
tradition of subservience to the monarchy. If we set aside the lingering redundancy
of the monarchy as it pertains to Canada for the moment, to “declare war” in our
bastardized-Westminster-come-ad-hoc-presidentialized system of government, the
prime minister needs only to decree it so. In other words, the only legal requirement
for Canada to be “at war” in Iraq or anywhere else is for Cabinet to cut an Order-in-
Council to that effect and post it in TheGazette."
Overall, not bad. If any of my readers can find additional
statements by Mr. Stogran concerning the monarchy please
let me know.

Loyally Yours,
A Kisaragi Colour 
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    This website is intended to be a resource for those arguing in favour of Canada's monarchy, researching Canada's royal past, or wondering what the various vice-regal representatives of the Canadian Crown are up to currently. As well, articles about other monarchies may appear from time to time. 

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