Constitutional Monarchy In Canada
Yes to Constitutional Monarchy Canada is a constitutional monarchy; this means that the powers of the monarchy in Canada are limited by the Constitution. Our monarch is now Elizabeth II, who is also the Queen of the United Kingdom. As our Queen does not live in Canada, she appoints, under the advice of our Prime Minister, a Governor General to represent her authority in Canada. There is a great debate among Canadians, on if they really need a constitutional monarchy. The fact is Canada does need a monarch. Firstly, power corrupts people. The monarch lends its powers to the elected politicians, as long as they act within the Constitution. In the event that the elected politicians succumb to corruption, and/or disobey the Constitution, the monarch is able to act as a safeguard and take away that authority that was given to them in the first place. Canada’s armed forces and naval vessels swear allegiance to the monarch, which also helps protect the people, in the act of corruption. Constitutional monarchy also helps act as a symbol to Canadians, and it already appears throughout national life. The Queen’s image
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appears on coins and stamps, the crown is on the coat of arms, public lands are considered Crown lands, state enterprises are Crown corporations. Constitutional monarchy has also rooted itself in our traditions as Canadians. Accused criminals are prosecuted and convicted in the Queen’s name. At the opening of Parliament and provincial assemblies, it is the Queen and her representatives who are saluted. In many ways each day, Canadians do things in the name of the Queen and not governors, because she is a great symbol of importance to Canadians. Most importantly, the constitutional monarchy system represents Canadian history, because it reminds Canadians of how their country was created. It allows Canadians to have a significant cultural difference from other countries. Not too many countries have a monarchy from the country it was originally a colony of. With the constitutional monarchy, the Prime Minister is able to focus on his day-to-day responsibilities with running the government. The ceremonial responsibilities are looked after by the monarch and the Governor General. Therefore the Prime Minister is able to put full effort into his job of finding ways to improving the country. Lastly, getting rid of the monarchy would entail a joint agreement from the Parliament and all the provinces in Canada, since it is included in the Constitution. Getting all the provinces to agree to rid of the constitutional monarch is highly unlikely, and having all of our MP’s focus their attention on trying to change something like this, when it could be on other tasks of greater importance, is a huge waste of time. The monarchy should remain in Canada because Canadians should be able to think about how their country came to be.
Many people comment on the fact with the monarchy system, Canada still isn’t fully independent from Britain, with the Queen and her representatives being able to control the Prime Minister. This statement is completely blown out of proportion; first of all the monarch isn’t involved in any of the day-to-day operations of the government. Secondly, there are many examples of the Prime Minister still having much of the power. The Prime Minister can also tell the Governor General when to dissolve parliament. The Parliament still holds most of the power, where the monarch is more seen as a national figurehead. Lastly it keeps the powers of government distributed equally, by making sure the elected head is also not the head of
state. The Canadian monarchy has benefited Canadians more than harmed. It is a great icon and symbol for the citizens of Canada, and is a great safeguard when dealing with corruption, but most importantly it has rooted itself in our traditions and history. As stated by Michael Valpy in Don’t Mess With Success- And Good Luck Trying, “It was there when 1497 when Cabot claimed his new found land for Henry VII, it was there in New France, there when George III issued his Royal Proclamation to protect the lands of Canada’s first peoples from European exploitation, there when the language and civil law of Quebec’s people were protected, there when loyalists fled the dodgy revolutionaries of the new Republic.”
appears on coins and stamps, the crown is on the coat of arms, public lands are considered Crown lands, state enterprises are Crown corporations. Constitutional monarchy has also rooted itself in our traditions as Canadians. Accused criminals are prosecuted and convicted in the Queen’s name. At the opening of Parliament and provincial assemblies, it is the Queen and her representatives who are saluted. In many ways each day, Canadians do things in the name of the Queen and not governors, because she is a great symbol of importance to Canadians. Most importantly, the constitutional monarchy system represents Canadian history, because it reminds Canadians of how their country was created. It allows Canadians to have a significant cultural difference from other countries. Not too many countries have a monarchy from the country it was originally a colony of. With the constitutional monarchy, the Prime Minister is able to focus on his day-to-day responsibilities with running the government. The ceremonial responsibilities are looked after by the monarch and the Governor General. Therefore the Prime Minister is able to put full effort into his job of finding ways to improving the country. Lastly, getting rid of the monarchy would entail a joint agreement from the Parliament and all the provinces in Canada, since it is included in the Constitution. Getting all the provinces to agree to rid of the constitutional monarch is highly unlikely, and having all of our MP’s focus their attention on trying to change something like this, when it could be on other tasks of greater importance, is a huge waste of time. The monarchy should remain in Canada because Canadians should be able to think about how their country came to be.
Many people comment on the fact with the monarchy system, Canada still isn’t fully independent from Britain, with the Queen and her representatives being able to control the Prime Minister. This statement is completely blown out of proportion; first of all the monarch isn’t involved in any of the day-to-day operations of the government. Secondly, there are many examples of the Prime Minister still having much of the power. The Prime Minister can also tell the Governor General when to dissolve parliament. The Parliament still holds most of the power, where the monarch is more seen as a national figurehead. Lastly it keeps the powers of government distributed equally, by making sure the elected head is also not the head of
state. The Canadian monarchy has benefited Canadians more than harmed. It is a great icon and symbol for the citizens of Canada, and is a great safeguard when dealing with corruption, but most importantly it has rooted itself in our traditions and history. As stated by Michael Valpy in Don’t Mess With Success- And Good Luck Trying, “It was there when 1497 when Cabot claimed his new found land for Henry VII, it was there in New France, there when George III issued his Royal Proclamation to protect the lands of Canada’s first peoples from European exploitation, there when the language and civil law of Quebec’s people were protected, there when loyalists fled the dodgy revolutionaries of the new Republic.”