More than half of Canadians want independence from the monarchy, survey finds

CTV News in London: Queen's 96th birthday It's the Queen's 96th birthday and the monarch is celebrating the event at Sandringham. Paul Workman reports from Buckingham Palace.

Canada’s support for the monarchy is waning and could reach new lows in a post Queen Elizabeth II era, a new poll found.

The poll, released Thursday from the Angus Reid Institute, found that 51 per cent of respondents are in favour of abolishing the monarchy in the generations to come, while 24 per cent of respondents are unsure.

Those in Quebec (71 per cent) and Saskatchewan (59 per cent) were most likely to call for an abolition of the monarchy, while the rest of the country hovered around 45 per cent in favour of leaving the Royal Family behind.

Additionally, 49 per cent of respondents believe the Royal Family represents outdated values and 50 per cent said the Royal Family is “no longer relevant at all” to them.

Canada’s support for the head of state, plummets even further in the event of Queen Elizabeth II’s death, as 65 per cent of respondents oppose recognizing Prince Charles as king and Canada’s official head of state, while 76 per cent of respondents oppose recognizing Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, as the queen.

Elizabeth has stated that she wants Camilla to be named “queen” one day.

The Queen celebrated her 96th birthday on Thursday and has been on the throne for 70 years.

Since October, Elizabeth has battled COVID-19, visited the hospital for an unspecified ailment, and has quipped publicly about not being able to move very much anymore.

Overall, 63 per cent of respondents had a favourable view of the Queen and 58 per cent would feel sad when she dies.

SUPPORT FOR OTHER COUNTRIES LEAVING THE MONARCHY

More countries appear willing to move on from the monarchy as well.

Barbados formally left the monarchy behind in November 2021 and Jamaica followed suit in March when Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced during a visit from Prince William and Kate that it too wants independence.

Nearly 60 per cent of Canadians feel that countries choosing to leave the monarchy are following down the right path, while just eight per cent think it’s a mistake.

In 2019, the Monarchist League of Canada, which describes itself as “Canada’s premier organization at the forefront of the promotion, education, and nonpartisan defence of the Canadian Crown,” found that Canadians payed $58.7 million in tax dollars to the Crown, a nearly six per cent decrease from the 2016 survey.

With files from The Associated Press

METHODOLOGY

The Angus Reid Institute conducted an online survey from April 5-7, 2022 among a representative randomized sample of 1,607 Canadian adults who are members of Angus Reid Forum. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of +/- 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding. The survey was self-commissioned and paid for by ARI.