Paint dries in Canada like
everywhere else. And, when it peels off, Canadians do something. Pride and the
elements demand it. However, when their political institutions wear out, they
play dumb or insist that their polity is still young. Canada persists as a constitutional
monarchy in the midst of this change-loving continent, in large part because
Canadians treat the institution like a first coat of paint.
Canada has been an appendage
of the oldest constitutional monarchy in the democratic world. Canada’s British
head of state has stayed in place—as a given—since Canada became a federal
Dominion in 1867; it has survived—as a given—through every iteration of
Canada’s constitution ever since.
The Crown has survived not
because Conservatives have dominated the country’s politics or are still wedded
to the Crown for urgent philosophical reasons. Their anti-republicanism today is
merely an expression of Anglo nostalgia and condescension toward the United
States. They wouldn’t fight hard to keep the Crown. They lost one parliamentary
debate against a made-in-Canada flag in the '60s and now they keep their
precious Red Ensign in their studies.
Strangely, the monarchy is
safe in Canada today primarily because Liberals won’t declare themselves
decisively against it.
Like Bill Clinton’s virginal
relationship with marijuana, Canadian Liberals believe they can be hip and
serve the Crown at the same time. They tug at the edges of our monarchial
traditions. However, they’d far, far rather be Her Majesty’s council of
ministers than be recognized as republicans.
Just every now and then, they
remind Canadians that Conservatives are slightly too enthusiastic about the
Monarchy and hint that they’re still thinking about little changes to make the
country a little less so.
This week, the Globe and Mail reported that almost 20 years ago, Jean Chretien
nearly agreed to champion legislation to remove the requirement that a
would-be Canadian must promise to be “faithful and bear true allegiance to Queen
Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada.” In the end, he didn’t bother: why
should new Canadians not be expected to repeat a white lie that he’d repeatedly
uttered for the privilege of being her faithful first minister?
Constitutionally, the Harper
government has been to the left and the right of the Liberals. They’ve endorsed
the “Quebecois nation” and championed an elected Senate. And, conversely,
they’ve put the Crown and the Queen’s picture back on display on government
property. This latter gesture has generated a brand-new word for Canadians
watching Canada dry: "royalization."
The term serves Liberals and
the status quo perfectly.
It marginalizes Conservatives
by suggesting that they genuinely support an undemocratic, ethnically exclusive Head
of State. Again, it puts Liberals nicely in the sensible center of a phony
debate.
Unfortunately, the monarchy
in Canada isn’t like a hemline that raises and falls according to the aesthetic
tastes of the government of the day. It’s the cornerstone of a polity that is
still reluctant to trust in the will of the electorate and the constitutional
protections fashioned by their representatives.
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