By: Ian Anderson, LVO, Chair of TSA
When King Charles III delivers the new Carney government’s Speech from the Throne on Tuesday, the symbolism will be rich and the storyline will be as much about the future as the past. We understand Prime Minister’s Carney’s invitation was received with enthusiasm by King Charles. While still battling cancer the monarch remains intent on using every opportunity to convey the relevance of both his position and his personal reign following his mother’s 70 years on the throne.
Like his predecessors, Charles is Canada’s official head of state, with Governor General Mary Simon delegated to carry out his duties and responsibilities. For many Canadians, the link to the Royal Family is tenuous at best. Though like Australia there appears to be no political momentum towards becoming a republic. For Canada’s Indigenous communities, there is a very special bond with the King and his predecessors, as the de jure authority on all historic treaties is the monarch not the Canadian prime minister of the day.
While Prime Minister Carney is clear aiming to remind the world – and the current American president – that Canada is a sovereign nation with deep history and strong legal ties to the United Kingdom, there may be a second economic and political message conveyed by the King.
Canada is a leading member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the 56-nation body whose peoples represent one-third of the world’s population and many of its fastest growing and most dynamic economies. The Commonwealth members share common priorities, principles and governance. Each member must be a democracy (Zimbabwe’s membership was suspended for that reason). All members share the English language as a first or second tongue.
King Charles is the Head of the Commonwealth and will certainly speak to its values and importance in his remarks next week. Canada, for its part, has largely underplayed the opportunities of Commonwealth membership as it pursued continental integration with the U.S. and Mexico. As the Prime Minister has stated, however, those days of American reliance are over. The King’s visit – and his personal engagement with “his” government’s statement of its goals and intentions next week – will remind Canadians that their history is not just linked to a continent, but to all continents and peoples with Commonwealth membership. India, Pakistan, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Malta, Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, half the Caribbean – each and many more is a member of the Commonwealth family where Canada is seen as a leader. If Canada’s over-reliance on its southern neighbour is coming to an end, the Prime Minister and the King may signal a future that will find its strength in broader trading relations with a far more diverse group of nations, where Canada’s leadership can make a difference, its sovereignty unchallenged, and its values and principles widely shared.
Ian is an officer of the Royal Victorian Order, which recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch or members of the royal family. King Charles III is the sovereign of the order.
