Prince William and Kate release photo of daughter Charlotte to mark ninth birthday
Prince William and his wife Kate released a picture of their daughter Charlotte to mark the princess's ninth birthday on Thursday.
As millions celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, marking her 70 years of reigning over the Commonwealth, the man representing one of Canada’s closest diplomatic ties to the monarchy is defending its ties to the Royal Family despite surveys in Canada that show many are beginning to question it.
Ralph Goodale, Canada’s High Commissioner to the U.K., told Chief News Anchor and Senior Editor of CTV National News Lisa LaFlamme that the part of Queen Elizabeth II’s enduring presence in the minds of many is the amount of world events that she has ruled through.
“The length of time that she has been a force of solidarity, a force of continuity in a world that is turbulent and constantly changing,” he said, speaking to CTV News outside of Canada House in Trafalgar Square in London, England. “I think that that ability to do that so well for so long is just very impressive.”
To him, the monarchy is not a distant arm over Canada, but a vital part of it.
However, it’s an increasingly rare sentiment within Canada —a recent poll found that 45 per cent of Canadians support dropping the monarchy, a sharp increase from a previous survey in 2020, while just 24 per cent were sure they wanted a monarchy to remain.
A Nanos survey published Wednesday also found that 62 per cent of Canadians said they support or somewhat support the idea of calling on the Queen to apologize for the Church of England’s role in Canada’s residential school system — a reminder that, for many, celebrating 70 years of a monarch’s rule is also a reminder of England’s long history of colonialism.
But Goodale brushed off the question of Canada actually separating from the monarchy and replacing the Queen with an elected head of state.
“I hear that from some people, but actually I think I would put the onus on them to make the case — do you really want another Constitutional debate in Canada right now? Most Canadians would say, ‘no we got other things we have to deal with that are infinitely more important than that,’” he said.
“This is an institution that under the Queen’s leadership, has worked exceptionally well for Canada for more than 70 years. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
He said that while it’s “not directly” his job to maintain links between the monarchy and Canada, it is part of his role “to explain what the monarchy contributes, what Her Majesty has contributed, what the Royal Family is doing.”
When asked what it is that the monarchy contributes to Canada, Goodale offered not specifics, but ideals, saying that the fact that the monarchy has always existed as part of Canada is support itself for its role to continue.
“It contributes continuity. It contributes stability,” he said. “It can be very important in reinforcing some our most cherished values, like unity, like diversity, like inclusion, like respect for one another, and high standards in public life and in the way you conduct yourself in the community. Those sorts of value messages are very important, and Canada is a country that’s held together more than by the force of arms or the force of law or geography or language or culture, we’re held together by our common values, and our common will. And the monarchy, over the years, has been a very powerful communication medium for that important message.”
Perhaps reflecting on some of the disconnect, this year’s Jubilee events are set to be more muted in Canada than in the past — for instance, there are no medals being offered this year, as they were at the previous Silver, Gold and Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 1977, 2002 and 2012 respectively. These medals were given to select recipients to honour certain achievements.
Goodale said that there are “a great many aspects to the celebration,” pointing out that although there are no medals, a lapel pin has been introduced.
“[It] is a very dignified, high-quality piece that is intended to reach a large number of Canadians, not just a few that might be on a medals list,” he said. “As important as that is, the idea was to reach further.
“There are coins being minted and stamps being printed, there’s a sound and light show, there was the Royal visit, so the celebration has been there in many dimensions. A little bit different from last time, but still honouring an amazing legacy from a remarkable woman.”
Prince William and his wife Kate released a picture of their daughter Charlotte to mark the princess's ninth birthday on Thursday.
The makers of Ozempic say their weight-loss drug Wegovy will be available to patients in Canada starting Monday.
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglas barriers.
The trusted traveller program between Canada and the United States is extremely popular and almost two million Canadians have a Nexus card.
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Just days before the seventh anniversary of the day Jack Letts was thrown in prison with thousands of suspected ISIS fighters, his mother, Sally Lane, delivered a small stack of envelopes to the headquarters of Global Affairs Canada in Ottawa.
In an effort to balance the profitability of Mother's Day with the pain it causes some people, some brands are offering customers the choice to opt out of Mother's Day email advertising.
Police removed barricades and began dismantling a pro-Palestinian demonstrators’ fortified encampment early Thursday at the UCLA campus after hundreds of protesters defied police orders to leave, about 24 hours after counter-protesters attacked a tent encampment on the campus.
Citizens' Services Minister Terry Beech says 1,200 seniors have already visited a dentist and had their claims processed by the federal government's new dental care plan.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.
The lawyer for a residential school survivor leading a proposed class-action defamation lawsuit against the Catholic Church over residential schools says the court action is a last resort.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.