This is what one could call the “butterfly effect” of the explosive interview granted on March 7 by Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, to American talk show star Oprah Winfrey. The spectacle of the British royal family being torn against the backdrop of accusations of racism has sparked heated discussions in Canada, a member of the Commonwealth of the Commonwealth of Nations, about its own institutions. What if the time had come for this former British colony, still living under the constitutional monarchy inherited from 1867, to finally get rid of this archaic allegiance?
Elizabeth II, who is remembered above all by fond memories of her Canadian subjects on the twenty dollar bills, has few powers, if not honorary, but she is nonetheless the head of state of Canada. In Quebec, the only French-speaking province in the country still crossed by sovereignist inclinations, despite the failure of two referendums, this “Colonial residue” goes particularly badly. “I have no interest in the British monarchy and its gossip, but I have some for the tens of millions of dollars that we squander on public funds, to keep alive institutions which bring us nothing and, worse , which remind us of a colonial past from which we want to free ourselves ”, declared, a few hours after the princely interview, Paul Saint-Pierre Plamondon, leader of the Parti Québécois, separatist.
Questioned on March 9, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau very quickly ruled out any debate “Constitutional” immediate calling into question the lasting ties between Canada and the British Crown. “I understand that these conversations exist, but I’m not going to engage in them now, did he declare. My top priority today is the health of Canadians, getting through the pandemic. ” He nevertheless added, in reaction to accusations of racism leveled by Harry and Meghan against the royal family: “We have a lot of work to do to eliminate systemic racism from our institutions, but that doesn’t mean we just have to tear down these institutions to build new ones.”
Heavy political process
For Ottawa, it is therefore urgent to wait. It must be said that the abolition of the monarchy in Canada would require a heavy and restrictive political process: all the legislative assemblies of the Canadian provinces, and not only Quebec, would have to give their agreement to carry out this constitutional revolution. However, this unanimity remains, for the moment, far from being achieved.
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