In wording the question, I was originally going to ask if Canada should remain a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, thinking that having Queen Elizabeth II as our head of state was implicit in that.
Some research quickly taught me otherwise. Not every country in the Commonwealth has Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state.
In fact, only 16 of the 54 commonwealth nations recognize the queen as their head of state. Of the 54, 33 are republics, and five have their own monarchs.
India, for instance, is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations but has a president as its head of state. Gandhi appears on Indian currency.
So when people discuss the idea of booting out the British and becoming a republic, I’m not sure many realize the options that are on the table. It’s not an all-or-nothing deal.
Both sides in the debate can be appeased. We can have our own head of state. We could become a republic, or retain our parliamentary system. We could appoint our own monarchs, or make our governor general Canada’s head of state, or elect a president.
The possibilities are endless, and we could follow though with just about any option without completely severing our ties to England. We could remain in the Commonwealth, and expect visits from Her Majesty every few years.
Besides, getting rid of the “Queen of England” is a misnomer. Our queen, Queen Elizabeth II, it the Queen of Canada.
Well, if you want to get really technical, her title is “Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom, Canada and Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.”
And that’s just the English version. There’s a French version of the title too, although I doubt they use it very often.
reporter@gulfnews.ca
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