For Canada’s 150th, It’s Time to Patriate the Monarchy

It is time for Canada to shake off the last vestiges of its colonial past and stand up as a truly sovereign nation by patriating the monarchy and inviting Prince Harry to be King of Canada.

In 1982, Pierre Trudeau, then Prime Minister of Canada (and father of Canada’s current Prime Minister) “patriated” the Canadian Constitution. Until that time, the highest law of the land was the British North America Act of 1867, an act of the British Parliament. The Canada Act of 1982 is now the highest law of the land and, in effect, ended Canada’s status as a British colony.

There is one aspect that still reflects Canada’s colonial past. The Head of State of Canada is Queen Elizabeth II, “by the Grace of God, of Great Britain, Ireland and the British Dominions beyond the Seas, Queen, Defender of the Faith”. The low ranking of Canada in the title, where it is not even mentioned by name is clear.

In order to maintain our traditions and sense of history, we should continue formally as a constitutional monarchy.

If Prince Harry became King of Canada, there would be a continuity in Canadian traditions and many other advantages for Canada including:

• Heightened awareness of Canada in the world. Comparisons of different nations in the press usually omit Canada, either assuming it to be the same as the US or of no consequence, even though it has the world’s 11^th largest economy and one of the highest per capita incomes in the world (higher than Britain’s)
• Greater visibility of the head of state in Canada. Queen Elizabeth visits Canada every 2-3 years. King Harry would be in Canada for most of the year and could attend many Canadian events such as hockey games, the Calgary Stampede, L’ International des Feux Loto-Québec, etc.
• Improved morale in the Canadian Armed Forces. King Harry would be the titular head of the armed forces. His service in the British army and his combat role in Afghanistan would earn him the respect of Canadian service men and women.
• Increased tourism to Canada. Tourism is now the world’s largest industry and it is important that Canada should receive its fair share of tourists. The King’s role in increasing tourism would have to be carefully nurtured, with many appearances and the associated pomp and theatre played to the max.
• Prince Charles will never become the Head of State of Canada. Prince Charles is widely despised for a number of reasons, some good, some not so good and is clearly too eccentric to be able to represent Canada effectively.

Canadians are a very pragmatic people. The first question most Canadians would ask is obviously “how much would this cost?” There would clearly be a direct cost, but this would be offset by the savings in the retirement of the Governor General role and the cessation of payments for the upkeep of the British Royal Family approximately $50 million per year. The costs however would be mainly borne in Canada, not sent to Britain. Increased tourism, merchandizing and interest in Canada would largely balance the costs.

So how can these advantages be realized. Possible steps are:

• Petition collected and sent to the Prime Minister’s Office
• Parliamentary debate with all parties agreeing to the proposal
• Invitation sent to Harry
• Harry comes to Canada, takes over Governor General residence
• Competition held to design new royal palace. This should rival the Taj Mahal and Arab palaces and put Buckingham Palace and the White House to shame. It should be designed for both security and tourism.
• A reality show “Who wants to be Queen?” similar to “The Bachelor”, but Harry must choose a Canadian Bride.
• Royal wedding in Ottawa – the guest list will include royals, world leaders, celebrities etc. the greatest gathering of glitterati Canada has ever seen! It will be viewed all over the world, especially the US, where there will be no difficulties with time differences.
• Coronation 6 months later – both Harry and his wife will be crowned King and Queen of Canada. Huge TV audience!
• “Making a King Canadian,” a show where Harry learns about what it takes to be Canadian. From extra politeness to our wild climate, to being a Mountie, and above all hockey, Harry would go through a series of challenges to teach him how to live in and love this land we call home. And wouldn’t it be awesome if his hockey lessons came from the Great One himself?
• As “The Amazing Race Canada” is already hugely popular, Harry and his Queen could compete against average Canadian couples. The television network would be responsible for much of the cost and planning, but it would effectively introduce the new royals across the country and with Harry’s military experience who knows? They might even win.
• “King Harry the Hairy King” would annually grow a playoff beard as a charity fundraiser for something super Canadian.
• Besides, think of the merchandizing. All the new Canadian souvenirs and the revenue they would generate!

For Harry himself, his standing would rise – he would be equal to his grandmother while his father, brother, and nephew would have to kneel, genuflect or prostrate themselves in front of him (whichever is called for by protocol)l.

Britain would benefit in that it would have one less outrageously expensive mouth to feed.

The Queen should also be happy – the “Family Firm” will be strengthened by setting up an overseas branch and possibly providing a bolt-hole for the rest of the family when sharia law takes hold in England.

Finally, the Canadian parliament would limit the power and role of the monarchy as well as the succession. No more would our government have to ask permission from a foreign power simply to function at its best for all citizens.

The possibilities and advantages of inviting Prince Harry to become King Harry of Canada are tremendous.

To create a petition to the Government of Canada, I am need 4 supporters plus an MP to sponsor the petition. If you would like to be a supporter, please contact me at chris.galas@shaw.ca