Several new Quebec MPs who won Wednesday’s provincial elections refused to take an oath of allegiance to King Charles III, Canada’s head of state, as required by the constitution.
In a televised speech, 11 deputies from the left-wing Quebec Solidere (Quebec Solidarity) party took an oath of allegiance to “the people of Quebec” but were unwilling to take another oath linking them to the British monarchy, risking not winning a seat in the National Assembly at the end of November.
Party spokesman Gabriel Nadeau Dubois confirmed at a press conference that they took the step “with full knowledge of the results”.
“We have been campaigning to change the era in Quebec, and if we are elected to Parliament, it is to open the windows,” he added.
Canadian constitutional law requires any federally or locally elected representative to take an oath of allegiance to the British monarchy in order to take their seat.
The Party of Quebec is expected to be sworn in on Friday, and the three politicians elected on his behalf have announced they will not swear allegiance to the British king.
Party leader Paul St-Pierre Blamondon said last week there was a “conflict of interest” because “two masters cannot be served.”
He added that the property is worth CA$67 million a year and the section is “a reminder of colonial rule”.
A number of public figures, in a video posted on social media on Monday, condemned the forcing of MPs to swear allegiance to the British crown.
In response to a question about the monarchy, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reiterated that “no Quebecer” wants to “revise the constitution.”
Abolishing the monarchy would effectively require a rewrite of the constitution and would require considerable effort and possibly years of political negotiation, as it would require the unanimous consent of the Parliament and governments of ten Canadian provinces.
However, in an opinion poll last April, a slim majority of Canadian citizens for the first time said they wanted to end the now largely ceremonial monarchy, with 71% support for the proposal in Quebec.
Source: AFP.