Some British Dude In A Wizard Outfit Is Now Canada's Ruler & Canadians Are Not Happy About It
You may have caught clips of the elaborate ritual over the weekend in which a man in robes got a funny new hat, signifying his symbolic control over a big chunk of the Earth's surface. The coronation of King Charles III has ruffled feathers, both in the pastel fascinators placed delicately atop the têtes of ladies in attendance at Westminster Abbey and politically abroad.
In Canada, 60% of respondents to an April Angus Reid Institute (ARI) survey said they did not support recognizing Charles as head of state. And 48% just don't like the guy. His wife, Camilla, is even more loathed: 54% of survey respondents viewed the new queen consort unfavourably.
That aversion extends to the institution they represent. Just shy of half, 49%, of survey takers said the royal family is "no longer relevant" to them personally. Another 28% said it's "becoming less relevant." Of the 2,013 people the ARI reached, 52% did not think Canada should remain a constitutional monarchy indefinitely.
Quebecers were the most apathetic about their new king and queen. Of local respondents, 32% had "no opinion" of King Charles, the highest of all surveyed regions. Another 46% had either an "unfavourable" or "very unfavourable" view of the monarch.
But opposition to the monarchy, in general, was more acute in Quebec, where 84% of respondents said the royal family is not relevant, 50% said it represents "outdated values," and 76% opposed recognizing Charles as head of state, according to the ARI. 92% were in favour of cutting ties with the monarchy.
One group went so far as to send a telegram to Buckingham Palace informing the monarch and his court that they are "not welcome in Quebec."
"We have chosen to use an archaic means of communication, the telegram, to address an even more archaic institution, the monarchy," Marie-Anne Alepin, president of the pro-Quebec-independence Société Saint-Jean-Baptiste de Montréal said of the move.
"By this symbolic action, we want to underline, as an organization emanating from the Quebec people, that the monarchy has no place in Quebec. The coronation of Charles III represents nothing but oppression for us. The most recent polls on this issue show an overwhelming majority of Quebecers do not recognize themselves in the British monarchy. Instead, Quebecers want a modern and truly democratic society, and any excuse is good enough to remind them of this."
