Historical inertia has both its drawbacks and its benefits
Here in Canada it seems anachronistic to still have an English monarch as our head of state. Yet it is also very difficult to change that circumstance. However much many Canadians, especially in Quebec, may want to ditch the English crown, there is no consensus to do it.
This time of transition from Queen Elizabeth II to King Charles III would be a good time to make the change, but it’s not as if we Canadians are suffering under the monarchy. And the English monarch is already only a figurehead here. Our de facto head of state is our Governor General, the monarch’s representative in Canada, appointed by the monarch for a five year term at the recommendation of the Canadian Prime Minister of the day.
An important benefit of the monarchy is that elections in Canada are operated under supervision of a Chief Electoral Officer, as specified by the Canada Elections Act, some excerpts from which are quoted here:
- 13 (1) There shall be a Chief Electoral Officer who shall be appointed by resolution of the House of Commons to hold office during good behaviour for a term of 10 years. He or she may be removed for cause by the Governor General on address of the Senate and House of Commons.
- (2) A person who has served as…
