In the wake of last December’s parliamentary crisis, two polls by the Dominion Institute—an organization devoted to promoting the memory, democracy, and identity of Canada—revealed a startling fact: many Canadians have absolutely no idea how their country works. A solid half—51 per cent—of those polled believe that the Canadian people directly elect the Prime Minister, and 75 per cent couldn’t name Canada’s head of state. As pundit Rick Mercer pointed out with uncharacteristic conviction, “Who can blame them? The answer is ridiculous.”
As we stand at the dawn of a new millennium, the Confederation of Canada—independent since 1867, hero of Vimy Ridge and Juno Beach, founding member of the United Nations, and birthplace of international peacekeeping—is ruled by a family of snooty rich people whose escapades perennially appear in gossip tabloids next to ponderings about Jessica Alba’s moles, and speculation about Zac Efron’s bowel movements. This week we, the loyal subjects of the British Crown are treated to a royal visit from His Supreme Majesty the Prince of Wales and Her Highness the Duchess of Cornwall who, with the passing of our great Queen, will one day become our constitutionally recognized sovereigns.
But perhaps as we tremble at this most illustrious opportunity to bask in the rays of the divine royal light, we can take a moment to reflect on what the monarchy means to us, and what it really represents for the future of Canada.
Hyperbole aside, it’s outdated for a modern, liberal democracy such as ours to continue to embrace monarchical traditions dating from a time when people thought the earth was a pancake floating in the centre of the universe.
Granted, our history is a complex one. We did not revolt against our British overseers as did our southern neighbours, nor did we guide them to the guillotine as was the norm in Paris circa 1789. Still, Canada’s problem is shared by France and America, which, despite their radical republicanism, still elevate their elected leaders to a status near divinity. The presidents of these enlightened countries must always carry with them wives and children, the objects and (subsequent) products of their manliness. Our current Prime Minister certainly imagines himself as such (if you don’t believe me, take a look at his party’s website). But, for now at least, he is not our supreme leader. We are, to all intents and purposes, a parliamentary democracy.
What does our ongoing liaison with the British monarchy tell us about our country? Canada likes to imagine itself as a model of democracy, a bastion of pluralism, a champion of peacekeeping, and above all, a unique and successful national experiment. But as both last December’s parliamentary disaster and this week’s royal visit show, we still embrace and rely upon a now imaginary hangover of our colonial heritage, which is becoming archaic even in Britain, where a floundering Labour government is finally taking small steps towards an elected House of Lords. Within our own borders, we cringe in fear when the Prime Minister tells us that the evil Bloc separatists are in alliance with the socialists, and are poised to storm the Bastille in a treasonous coup d’etat. Beneath our façade of self-awareness, our existential assurance is shallow. Our revelry at the sight of Charles and Camilla is perhaps the supreme symptom of this illness.
Canada may be a prosperous model of pluralism and diversity. We are about as close to a “Northern European Welfare State” as they come on this side of the Atlantic and most of us (Stephen Harper exempted) are proud of it. We have something which our American friends do not: a health care system which is open to all regardless of their ability to pay; a system which, despite what the GOP fanatics would have us believe, is cheaper and more efficient than the market-driven model. We have an unobtrusive national character that encourages residents to retain their cultural heritage whilst simultaneously feeling Canadian. With all these things in mind it is time for us to recognize the unequivocal truth that we are nobody’s subjects—on paper or in practice. We are, as the beer commercial cliché goes, Canadians.
