Philip Jong

The death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022 marks the end of the longest reign of a British monarch. For many Canadians, the Queen’s passing has reignited the longstanding debate on the relevancy of the constitutional monarchy in Canada. Her reign, which lasted for 70 years, heralded a period of remarkable but also turbulent transition for the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth. Yet, in the later years of her reign, the Queen had stood as a symbol of stability and resilience in an increasingly divided world. She was most admired for keeping a sense of duty above all else and for humanizing the otherwise detached monarchy while modernizing the institution from the fallout of colonialism that once defined the British Empire. For Canada, the monarchy is deeply embedded in the country’s constitution that governs its parliamentary and judicial systems. Abolishing the Queen (or now the King) as the head of state would require fundamental changes in the constitution that are unlikely to happen in the current political climate. While the rise of nationalism over the past decades in Canada will continue to champion republicanism as a replacement, it may be mere indifference toward the monarchy among most Canadians that will dictate its fate in this country for the foreseeable future.