Majority of Canadians back abolishing monarchy

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A slight majority of Canadians are in favor of cutting ties with the monarchy and abolishing the monarchical rule in their country, and they support countries that have already chosen to leave the system in the past, a new Angus Reid Institute poll revealed Thursday.

The poll coincides with the 96th birthday of British Monarch Queen Elizabeth II, who has been on the throne for 70 years, and it comes at a time when current and former Commonwealth states, including Canada, engage in difficult conversations about the colonial legacy of the United Kingdom and the Crown in particular.

"The public are divided about what should replace the constitutional monarchy, but just half (51%) now say that they oppose continuing on in this way for coming generations, a two-to-one margin over those who say the nation should continue with the Royals," the report read. 

The majority (58%) of Canadians support the decision taken by states such as Pakistan, Malta, and more recently Barbados and Jamaica to cut ties with the British monarchy after what their countries sustained under the British regime.

The results of the poll highlight the declining influence of the monarchy in Canada, with the majority of respondents stressing that the royal family was "no longer relevant at all" in their country, and most underlining that the Crown was a reflection of "outdated values."

The Canadian constitution makes it difficult for Ottawa to gain independence from London and abolish the monarchy, as it required unanimous consent in the House of Commons, the Senate, and each of the provincial legislatures.

However, an overwhelming majority of Canadians backing the abolition of the monarchical system have expressed support for efforts to make amendments to the constitution despite the challenges it would pose.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had said last year the present was not the right moment to bring up the issue of amending the constitution in the country and severing ties with the British royal family, though he did acknowledge that all of Canada's institutions were the byproduct of a colonial, discriminatory, and systemically racist past.

Queen Elizabeth II is the Crown in 15 countries in the commonwealth of nations, which is made up of Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the Solomon Islands, and Tuvalu.