Charles III: The King Canadians Didn't Ask For

Attitudes towards the British monarchy have shifted dramatically since the death of Queen Elizabeth II, now Canadians are looking for the door.

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Overview

With the coronation of King Charles III on Sunday, questions have arisen (Yet again) about the role that the British monarchy has to play in the hearts and mind of Canadians.

So, let’s take a journey through Canadian public opinion from the days of Queen Elizabeth II being alive and well to the modern day.

Public Opinion Under Elizabeth

For many Canadians, Queen Elizabeth was the only monarch we ever knew. She reigned from 1952-2022 which means for me, as someone in their mid-20’s, the monarch I grew up with was the same monarch my Boomer-era mother and father grew up with.

But nowadays public support for the monarchy has been waning in Canada, even before Elizabeth’s death. The support for the monarchy was, very clearly, only kept afloat thanks to her personal likability as reigning monarch.

A Research Co. poll from February 2021 found Elizabeth at the front of the pack in terms of likeability among her family members, something that has almost always been the case. In fact, the only person in the royal family that tends to outperform the late queen is the late princess Diana, which is unsurprising given how popular the People’s Princess was even before her death.

In November 2021, Angus Reid released a poll asking whether Canadians supported our nation’s continued recognition of the Queen as head of state. With only 55% in support, this was clearly an early indicator of the waning support for monarchism in Canada, even during Elizabeth’s reign.

Even under Elizabeth’s reign, support for ridding Canada of the British monarchy was popular by a majority opinion. In March 2021, Leger had support for removing the British monarchy from Canada at 53%, while Angus Reid in November of that same year had it at 52%

Public Opinion Under Charles

Public opinion of Charles has been, well, rough for the upcoming king.

Immediately after the passing of Elizabeth, Pollara released a poll asking Canadians whether they would support having Charles’ face on our money. A majority, 56%, said that we shouldn’t with only 24% saying we should. An Angus Reid poll from this year also had 62% of Canadians against the idea of putting Charles’ face on our currency.

Amazingly, we wouldn’t be the first country to do it either. Australia’s central bank has already said they’ll be removing the royals from some of their currency, notably the $5 which they will replace with an indigenous design instead.

That’s not to mention the lack of faith Canadians have in Charles’ ability to be a good monarch. The same Angus Reid poll from April 2023 had 52% of Canadians believing that he would be worse than his mother while only 3% thought he’d be better. This has generally been the sentiment when comparing Charles to Elizabeth in recent polling.

Similarly, the only members of the royal family that, on average, have their personal approvals underwater are Camilla and Charles. These range anywhere from barely touching the even line but are more often closer to -25% in their net approvals. Other members of the family, such as Elizabeth and William, enjoyed net approvals closer to +50% for context.

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Canadians Would Get Rid Of The Monarchy If They Could

Days before the coronation of Charles, Abacus Data has gifted to us a new poll.

On the eve of Charles’ coronation, many Canadians are still apathetic towards, or outright dislike, the upcoming king. Only 18% of Canadians have a positive opinion of Charles while 33% have a negative one. An additional 36% are neutral and 13% are unsure. Something of note here is that Charles’ positive rating plunged 5% and his negatives rose by 3% since Abacus polled this same question in 2020.

Canadians are also remaining firm in their desire to boot the monarchy from our society. Canadians were asked about whether Canada should continue as a constitutional monarchy or not and, unsurprisingly, a majority of Canadians remain resolute in their opposition to the idea. 52% were opposed to the idea of remaining a constitutional monarchy while only 30% were in support; An additional 18% were indifferent to the concept.

I’ve been saving the most interesting polling point for last. Abacus asked how Canadians would vote in a hypothetical referendum on eliminating or keeping the monarchy in Canada. In a two-way race, 64% of Canadians would eliminate the monarchy in a referendum if given the chance, while only 36% would vote to keep it.

Unsurprisingly, opposition to the monarchy on this hypothetical referendum vote was highest in Quebec (82% saying they’d eliminate the monarchy). The highest amount of support in favour of keeping the monarchy is in British Columbia (45%) but still being beat out by those favouring the elimination of the concept.

On the national level, 94% of BQ voters would vote to eliminate, and a majority of all other party supporters would too. Even Liberals, who historically have the highest level of support for the British monarchy, only have 46% in support of keeping the monarchy around while 54% of them would eliminate it.

But It’ll Be Difficult To Leave Them Behind

The biggest argument monarchists tend to prop themselves up with is the notion that it’ll be very difficult to get Canadian provinces onboard in removing the monarch as our head of state. It’s a fair agruement to make. You have to get all the provinces on side, get the people on side and come to some kind of an agreement as to what would replace the monarch as head of state (Would we even keep a head of state?).

But even then, Canadians are still supportive of ditching the monarchy even if it’s hard. Angus Reid’s April poll had 45% of Canadians in support of cutting ties even if it’s a difficult process. Only 6% said they’d stick with the monarchy because it would be a difficult process while 27% preferred the monarchy outright while the rest of them are unsure.

Hell, even then 61% of Canadians think it’s the right decision for other countries with ties to the British Monarchy to cut ties, with only 11% saying it’s the wrong decision. That sentiment isn’t far ahead of where we’re at as a nation.

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Time Will Tell

The arguments for keeping the British monarchy as our figureheads weaken with each passing year. Even at the tail end of Elizabeth’s reign, support for the monarchy was waning and it continues to wane under her son.

Canadians find it increasingly difficult to care for a monarch in a foreign nation, and for indigenous Canadians, a monarch that’s still a symbol of Canada’s colonial history. Folks that Canadians have to pay for the security of each time they visit for business and for pleasure. Then, in the year 2023, the notion of having a king or queen as head of state becomes further outdated and more attached to visions of a past that has long, long since passed.

I don’t expect any political parties to be running on a platform of removing the monarchy from our national identity any time soon. Not because they don’t want to, but because there’s larger issues at play such as our crippling housing and cost of living crises or our negligence in dealing with our environment or healthcare.

If the monarchy sticks around in Canada, it won’t be because we love the king or the royals, it’ll be because we couldn’t be assed to deal with it since were focused on bigger, more impactful issues.

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