- Polls last year showed that a majority of Canadians would now support a republic
This is the moment Canada’s parliament erupted into God Save the King after MPs rejected a bill that aimed to abolish the oath of allegiance to the reigning monarch.
Canada’s Liberal government, along with Conservative MPs, found rare common ground in its alliance against the private parliament bill, backed by left-wing and nationalist parties further from the centre.
The joint effort saw MPs narrowly vote to retain Section 128, which requires new MPs to take an oath that they will be ‘faithful and true to the ruling monarch’, by 113 votes to 97.
When the bill was defeated, monarchist MPs cheered the verdict and began chanting God Save the King, seen in a video from Canada’s House of Commons.
It comes at a challenging time for Canada, which since the death of Queen Elizabeth II has been prompted to reevaluate its relationship with the Commonwealth of member states linked to Britain.
MPs opposed to the bill burst into song after hearing it had been successfully voted down
The video shows speaker Greg Fergus repeatedly calling for order without much acknowledgment as the opposition bloc continues to chant.
Had the bill passed, it would have introduced an amendment pledging new parliamentarians to perform their duties “in the best interests of Canada” and its constitution, without reference to the monarchy.
King Charles III remains Canada’s sovereign and head of state.
As noted on the government’s website: ‘In the Canadian system of government, the power to govern is vested in the Crown, but is entrusted to the government to exercise on behalf of and in the interests of the people.
“The Crown reminds the government of the day when the source of the power to govern lies elsewhere and that this power is only given to them for a limited period of time. ‘
French and British monarchs have ruled Canada since 1534.
Nevertheless, support for the monarchy is declining. Last year, a shock poll showed that six out of fourteen countries, including Canada, would vote to remove King Charles as head of state.
A whopping 47 percent of Canadians wanted change, while only 23 percent openly supported the monarchy.
54 percent of Canadians agree that the monarchy was good for them in the past, but no longer makes sense.
Australia was more divided, with 42 percent of Australians supporting a republic and 35 percent opposed.
According to the survey of 11,251 people, only Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Tuvalu have significant majorities in favor of maintaining the status quo.
Prince Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall meet and greet local schoolchildren from Assumption School on day two of their Platinum Jubilee Royal Tour of Canada on May 18, 2022 in Ottawa, Canada
King Charles III shakes hands with Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau at Buckingham Palace on September 17, 2022
King Charles had reportedly begun making plans to visit Canada in May 2024 – before his shock cancer diagnosis was revealed in February.
A Canadian official said CBC that ‘following the announcement of a cancer diagnosis for His Majesty the King, no more tours are planned in Canada until 2024, nor are any tours planned with other members of the Royal Family.’
The king is currently being treated for an unknown form of cancer after being diagnosed with a large prostate earlier this year.
Nevertheless, he is said to be ‘optimistic’ about a planned two-week state trip to Australia after his cancer treatment started on a positive note.
King Charles could visit the country with Queen Camilla in October if all goes according to plan.