While Canada might not pay money directly to the monarchy, the country's ties to the House of Windsor could cost taxpayers more than $58.7 million annually.
That's according to the Monarchist League of Canada, which calculated the figure for the 2019-2020 fiscal year based on costs such as maintaining historic buildings, running the Governor General's office, and covering travel-related expenses for visiting royals like security for Prince Harry and Meghan. The pro-monarchy group says the total represents $1.55 per Canadian.
"I hope others see the same value proposition I do when it comes to the monarchy," the league's dominion chairman, Robert Finch, told CTVNews.ca. "For less then a cup of coffee, we get a strong, stable system of good government that has stood the test of time as well as a team of hardworking vice-regals whose activities help enhance the lives of everyday Canadians whether that be through patronage, awards, or helping fellow citizens celebrate their community."
The $58.7 million would not cover more recent costs to taxpayers, like then-Prince Charles' three-day visit to Canada in May 2022, which totalled at least $1.4 million or more.
In 2022, the Canadian government also spent nearly $400,000 on hotel rooms during the funeral for Queen Elizabeth II; a figure that included a luxurious $6,000-a-night river-view suite for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his wife.
Governor General Mary Simon, who is the monarch's representative in Canada, racked up an over $80,000 catering bill with her entourage during a March 2022 trip to the Middle East that reportedly cost more than $1.3 million, according to the National Post. The newspaper also reported that Simon's first official overseas trip to a German book fair in Oct. 2021 fair cost taxpayers over $700,000.
Other recent monarchy-related costs have still not been released, or are not yet available, like those associated with the RCMP giving a horse to King Charles as a gift in March, as well as costs tied to sending a Canadian delegation to the King's upcoming May 6 coronation ceremony. In 2022, Canadian taxpayers also bankrolled Platinum Jubilee celebrations to mark Queen Elizabeth's 70 years on the throne, which included a $187,500 grant to the Monarchist League of Canada to distribute 70,000 educational booklets. The Royal Canadian Geographical Society has received $257,000 in similar educational funding to celebrate King Charles' coronation.
While the true cost of the monarchy may be impossible to fully calculate, the Monarchist League of Canada believes the work is important. Their next "Cost of the Crown Survey" is expected in 2024.
"Two of the most common - and incorrect - assumptions are that the monarchy costs too much money and that Canadian taxpayers directly pay members of the Royal Family," Finch of the Monarchist League of Canada said. "We decided to tackle these misconceptions and produce regular reports to show that Canadians get pretty good value for their monarchy."
Nelson Wiseman, a professor emeritus in the University of Toronto's department of political science, says that even if there was no monarchy in Canada, there would be similar costs associated with replacing the monarchy with a Canadian head of state.
"I don't think the monarchy costs anything," Wiseman told CTVNews.ca. "If we got rid of the monarchy, we'd have to have a head of state. If we don't want to call a head of state a governor general, if we want it to be a president like Barbados just opted for, fine, we'd have to pay for that office."
Barbados ended its relationship with the monarchy in 2021 and now has an appointed president as head of state.
Wiseman underscores that Canada's prime minister chooses the governor general, who occupies a largely symbolic role as the monarch's representative. Being a constitutional monarchy means the king wields no power over our government, Wiseman adds, while gestures like the RCMP's recent gift horse are Canadian initiatives and not requirements of being a Commonwealth realm.
"The only costs we pay is if the royals come to Canada, we pay for lunch," he said. "If you get invited some place, they cover the costs."
Tom Freda is director of the Citizens for a Canadian Republic, a group that advocates for replacing the monarchy with a Canadian head of state. Doing so would require unanimous – and unlikely – consent between the provinces and federal government.
"With the exception of royal visits by King Charles and Queen Camilla (which we'd pay for regardless of whether we're a monarchy or a republic), the administration of the office of a parliamentary president would likely be about the same as the governor general," Freda told CTVNews.ca. "The cost is not a factor for any of the realms advocating for change. We are all unanimous in our support for a parliamentary republic that retains what we have, but with a wholly Canadian institution replacing the governor general."
Canadian Taxpayer Federation federal director Franco Terrazzano, however, believes government spending on the governor general and monarchy needs to be reined in.
"Nearly $60 million a year is a ton of money," Terrazzano told CTVNews.ca. "It's important to remember that every dollar the government spends flying the governor general on fancy trips around the world is a dollar that can't go toward tax relief or improving other services... Regardless of your views on the monarchy, you should be against this type of wasteful spending."
With files from CTVNews.ca Senior Digital Parliamentary Reporter Rachel Aiello
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