Canada’s founding provinces ‘deliberately decided’ to be constitutional monarchy

The death of Queen Elizabeth II on Sept. 8 marked the first time many Canadians saw another monarch on the throne.

The Queen’s son, King Charles III, was officially proclaimed king shortly after her death, becoming Canada’s new head of state — a tradition dating back to confederation.

“When the founding provinces came together in 1867 they deliberately decided they wanted to be a constitutional monarchy with Queen Victoria as the sovereign,” said Michael Jackson, president of the Institute for the Study of the Crown in Canada.

While the Constitution Act gives the king certain power, most of the monarchy’s responsibilities in Canada are carried out by its representative, Governor General Mary Simon.

Those responsibilities include granting royal assent to acts of parliament, swearing in prime ministers and members of parliament and delivering the Speech from the Throne.

“I think it contributes (to) continuity and stability, which provides a non-partisan headship of state above and beyond the realm of partisan politics,” Jackson explained. “That’s a very important quality to have in a country like Canada which is regionally diverse.”

According to Jackson, this system is likely why Canadian democracy is so successful.

“Canada is one of the few countries in the world which has been a continuous democracy for a couple of centuries and that is rare in the world today, I believe the monarchy has contributed a great deal to that by providing a headship of state which promotes our ideals above and beyond the name of partisan,” he told host Roy Green.

Jackson has a long history with the British royal family.

He served as Saskatchewan’s chief of protocol from 1980 to 2005, is the author of The Crown and Canadian Federalism and the editor of The Canadian Kingdom and Royal Progress.