Republicanism in Canada

Canadian republicanism is a movement among Canadians for the replacement of the Canadian system of federal constitutional monarchy with a republican form of government. These beliefs are expressed either individually—usually in academic circles—or through the country's one republican lobby group. Republicans have no preferred model of republic, as individuals are driven by various factors, such as a perceived practicality of popular power being placed in the hands of an elected president or a different manifestation of the modern nation. As with its political counterpart, strong republicanism is not a prevalent element of contemporary Canadian society. The movement's roots precede Canadian Confederation and it has emerged from time to time in Canadian politics, but has not been a dominant force since the Rebellions of 1837, a continuation of which Canadian republicans consider their efforts to be.

Republicans in Canada assert that their country's monarchy, due either to its popular associations with the United Kingdom, its shared nature, or both, cannot be representative of the Canadian nation. Their position is that because of its hereditary aspects and the sovereign's role as Supreme Governor of the Church of England (though he or she is such in England only; the monarch has no religious role in Canada), the monarchy is inherently contrary to egalitarianism and multiculturalism. Further, though it diverges from both the official position of the Canadian government and the opinions of some judges, legal scholars, and members of the Royal Family themselves, republicans deem the King or Queen of Canada to be either a solely British or English individual representing a British institution foreign to Canada. Founded on this perception is the republican assertion that national pride is diminished by the monarchy, its presence negating the country's full independence achieved in 1982, and makes Canada appear colonial and subservient to the United Kingdom, under which they feel Canadians suffered "military, economic, and cultural subjugation." Instead, equating anti-monarchism with patriotism, they desire a Canadian citizen to act as head of state and promote the national flag and/or the "country" as a more fitting locus of allegiance.

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