Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, sits near King Charles and Queen Camilla, in the Senate Chamber at the Senate of Canada Building for the State Opening of the Parliament of Canada, as part of the Royals' two-day visit to Canada, in Ottawa, on May 27.Victoria Jones/Reuters
King of debates
Re “This was the moment Charles became King of Canada, and Canada his kingdom” and “King Charles’s visit to Canada was a show of weakness, not strength” (Opinion, May 28): Columnist Andrew Coyne and contributor Andrew Cohen make a fine pair of polemicists. I agree with Mr. Coyne, I disagree with Mr. Cohen.
If American republicanism is to be our example, then “becoming a republic” would not be “the last step in our political evolution.“ Rather, I believe it would be the next step in our devolution to becoming just like our chaotic neighbour to the south – and, ultimately, a part of it.
Adherence to democratic principles can indeed result from the abstracted sovereignty of a republic’s written constitution. Or it can be incarnate in the person of a sovereign hereditary monarch. In the United States, in blindingly short order, republicanism has desecrated the rule of law, democracy and fundamental morality.
As I watch today, the choice could not be clearer.
Ron Beram Gabriola, B.C.
Contributor Andrew Cohen – infused with the spirit of republicanism, the perfect example of which we see dissolving to our south – seems to miss the human point by viewing the monarchy as a static relic of the past, a worn wheel from which we should be free.
Many of the most admired, liberal, stable and progressive nations in the world are constitutional monarchies, including Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Spain, Norway, Japan, the Netherlands and, of course, Britain, the “mother of parliaments,” whose children are doing very well indeed in this difficult world.
King Charles III awoke in Canadians “a bit of gravitas, the kind that comes with a thousand years of history,” as columnist Andrew Coyne writes. A rose by any other name might possibly smell as sweet, but many Canadians prefer the “kingdom of Canada.”
W.E. Hildreth Prince Edward County, Ont.
A country that has a master cannot achieve its destiny.
Donald Trump has signalled to Canadians that he believes we are weak and dependent, like a child. Perhaps this is so because, from his perspective, a strong and independent nation is one that invites change and innovation, welcomes leadership and challenge, is unafraid of conflict, is confident and secure in its place in the world.
I love my country, but Canada often seems stuck in indecision and dependence, looking for approval, tethered to the yoke of its past.
We could fulfill Mark Carney’s agenda, but first we should leave the nest, spread our wings and establish our place in the world.
Letizia Addario Toronto
The one distinguishing feature between the U.S. republican system and Canada’s system is that we have a constitutional monarchy. We can’t have a superior parliamentary government without a sovereign.
Becoming a republic similar to the United States would only make Donald Trump’s insistence on becoming the 51st state more likely.
Long live the King and our constitutional monarchy.
Dan Smith Hamilton
Canada should not need a king to make the point to the United States that we are not them.
It is a topsy-turvy world where in an instant, after a speech, we become the “kingdom of Canada” and where there is belief that the way to defend ourselves from a billionaire U.S. president is with a billionaire British monarch. If this is widely held, I question who we are as a nation.
I question our sincerity behind truth and reconciliation when the gravity of conquest and colonialism that pervades the British monarchy’s “thousand years of history” becomes “gravitas.”
The monarchy may be our historical inheritance, but we should not wish it to define us. I believe it is toxic nostalgia.
Kaan Oran Toronto
To me, the King’s visit was largely inconsequential – the words of an individual, like any other person. But through the accident of birth, he is accorded enormous privilege, wealth and elevated status that requires those standing before him to bow and scrape, as if in the presence of a god.
There is enormous history belonging to the monarchy. But over time I have seen it erode, as the Royal Family shows their many flaws, to no more than a symbolic anachronism that proffers little of value to Canadian citizens.
It’s time to have the conversation to remove the shackles of monarchy.
Frank Malone Aurora, Ont.
As an Australian who is neither a monarchist nor republican – I’m more in the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” school – the sight of King Charles III delivering the government’s Throne Speech, with the head of government seemingly at his knee, was a bit jarring.
Royal visits are grand and important and sometimes symbolic occasions. But that speech should be for the Prime Minister of sovereign Canada to make, not the King of England, of Canada, of Australia.
Richard Feakes Ottawa
Yes, Canada is a sovereign country. But geographically we are like a mouse beside an elephant. There is the old adage that when they sneeze, we get a cold.
For 157 years we have always gotten along with the United States like good neighbours and, in many instances, like family. Now it has been a rude awakening that we were too comfortable and too stagnant. We need to be more self-reliant and build stronger relationships and bonds away from the U.S.
Canada is still a member of the Commonwealth and we have always maintained warm relations and friendship with Britain. So why shouldn’t King Charles III have come to Canada to show his support?
That’s what friends do. Nothing more and nothing less.
Gary Raich Westmount, Que.
A good card player deploys the cards they are dealt to maximum effect. Canada has a King, so let’s use him. That’s common sense, not weakness.
Canadians should always be free to advocate for a republic. But given the existential threat from the United States, I don’t think that is a good use of our time right now.
Let’s devote all our efforts to rebuilding Canada, instead of subjecting ourselves once again to endless, arcane constitutional discussions that, given our political fragmentation and the failures of past efforts, will likely go nowhere.
Adam Plackett Toronto
Let Canadians just enjoy the moment. They are often so few and far between.
Cathy Ellis Calgary
I am …
Re “In Europe, a Canadian feels welcome. Americans – not so much" (May 28): My wife and I recently returned from a Mediterranean cruise where the passengers included Americans, Brits, Germans, Australians and even a few of us Canadians.
As we were getting to know one another, one fellow, wearing a ball cap with a Canadian flag, pointed to the Canadian flag pin on my wife’s jacket and asked, “Are you one of us, or are you a real Canadian?” He wasn’t the only American in disguise: There were others who felt more comfortable wandering our various ports of call sporting a Canadian flag.
Not a single “Make America Great Again” hat to be seen.
Stuart Brindley Hamilton
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