The Monarchist League of Canada (french: Ligue monarchiste du Canada) is a Canadian nonprofit

monarchist Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalis ...

advocacy organization."Who We Are"
Monarchist League of Canada. The league promotes its aims in three areas: education, advocacy, and research. Local branches, many under the patronage of lieutenant governors, complement these areas of focus by acting as a grassroots rallying point for members.

History

The Monarchist League of Canada was founded in 1970 by

John Aimers John Lathrop Aimers (born 1951 in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland) is the founder of the Monarchist League of Canada, who served as its first Dominion Chairman. He is an educator by profession and taught at a succession of private schools until ...

and was federally incorporated in 1976. It was established after Aimers attended a 1969 tour of Canada by

Lt Col Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

J. C. du Parc Braham, chancellor of the London-based Monarchist League. The newly formed MLC inherited a list of 50 Canadian members of the British-based league and held its first public meeting several months later at Ottawa in June 1970."League Chronology"
Monarchist League of Canada. Within a year, the League claimed 3,000 members and 10 branches across Canada. In the 1960s and 1970s, there was a growing mood of Canadian and '' Québécois'' nationalism, and criticism from opponents of monarchy who perceived the institution as an archaic and foreign symbol of colonialism and the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

. In an effort to create a new national identity, the Canadian government responded by removing some traditional symbols of the monarchy. For example, the

Canadian Red Ensign The Canadian Red Ensign (french: Enseigne Rouge Canadienne ) served as a nautical flag and civil ensign for Canada from 1892 to 1965, and later as the ''de facto'' flag of Canada before 1965. The flag is a British red ensign, with the Royal Un ...

, bearing the

Royal Union flag The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...

, was replaced by the Maple Leaf flag, '' God Save the Queen'' was replaced by '' O Canada'', the Queen's Printer for Canada assumed a less visible role, and the Royal Mail was renamed

Canada Post Canada Post Corporation (french: Société canadienne des postes), trading as Canada Post (french: Postes Canada), is a Crown corporation that functions as the primary postal operator in Canada. Originally known as Royal Mail Canada (the opera ...

. Supporters of the monarchy were alarmed by these changes and formed the League as a lobby group in favour of the retention of the traditional symbols of monarchy and against what it described as "creeping republicanism" that would result in the eventual transformation of Canada from a constitutional monarchy into a republic. During the 1970s, the league was heavily involved in opposition against constitutional amendment proposals that would have created the governor general as head of state above the monarch. Though failing to prevent erosion in some areas, the league successfully lobbied the Government of Canada to maintain a Canadian version of the Victoria Cross as Canada's highest military decoration, and to maintain the Queen's place in the Oath of Citizenship. The league also persuaded

to issue a definitive stamp bearing the image of the Queen as a mandatory item in all postal outlets (see Queen Elizabeth II definitive stamp).

Current activities

Education

Educating Canadians about the role of the Crown has long been one of the League's primary goals. As a supplement to provincial educational resources, the league produced and distributed "Red Boxes" (modelled after the Queen's own boxes in which she receives diplomatic and state papers), containing information about the Crown and related activities. Production of these toolkits ceased in 2006 to make way for a new wave of educational material. In 2006, the league released a 36-page educational booklet entitled ''The Canadian Monarchy: Exploring the role of Canada's Crown in the day-to-day life of our country'' and a new education section on its website.

Advocacy

The league actively lobbies the federal and provincial governments, individual politicians,

Crown corporation A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a Government, government entity which is established or nationalised by the ''national government'' or ''provincial government'' by an executive order or an act of legislation in order to earn Profit (econom ...

s, government agencies, the media, and others to promote awareness of the role of the monarchy. This is often in the form of organized letter-writing campaigns or through behind-the-scenes manoeuvring. Since 2005, the league has been engaged in an active campaign to restore the monarch's name to Canadian diplomatic letters of credence and recall.

Research

The league commissions a study on the actual cost of the Canadian monarchy every three years, the most recent of which was completed in 2021. The survey is distributed to members, media, and parliamentarians, and it is available for download on the League's website.

Other activities

The league is considered by many as being the recognized voice of Canadian monarchism. Often, members are called upon to engage in debate on television and radio shows, or offer commentary on occasions of royal significance. The league stages various national and regional social events throughout the year. An annual Accession Day Luncheon is held in Toronto each February to celebrate the accession of the Queen to the throne on February 6, 1952. The league has welcomed Prince Andrew, Prince Edward and his wife

Sophie Sophie is a version of the female given name Sophia, meaning "wise". People with the name Born in the Middle Ages * Sophie, Countess of Bar (c. 1004 or 1018–1093), sovereign Countess of Bar and lady of Mousson * Sophie of Thuringia, Duchess o ...

, and Princess Anne, giving Canadian royals opportunity to meet its volunteers and members. Individual branches also organize luncheons, banquets, receptions and lectures, where senators, members of parliament, members of legislative assemblies, academics and other prominent citizens participate as guest speakers.

''Canadian Monarchist News''

''Canadian Monarchist News'' (French: ''Les Nouvelles Monarchiques du Canada'') is the

newsletter A newsletter is a printed or electronic report containing news concerning the activities of a business or an organization that is sent to its members, customers, employees or other subscribers. Newsletters generally contain one main topic of i ...

of the Monarchist League of Canada. It publishes articles on the activities of the Crown, the royal family, as well as the representatives of the Crown ( governors general and lieutenant governors).

Organization

National

The league is governed by a Board of Directors. Since 2007, Robert Finch has been the league's Dominion Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Other officers include Keith Roy (Dominion Vice-Chairman, Western Canada), Étienne Boisvert (Dominion Vice-Chairman, Quebec), and Cian Horrobin (Dominion Vice-Chairman, Ontario).

Branches

The league sanctions local branches and contact groups throughout Canada to serve as a rallying point for members and undertake a variety of activities in an effort to influence local opinion in favour of the Crown. There are currently over 20 branches/contact groups across the country: * Newfoundland and Labrador * Nova Scotia: Halifax,

Annapolis Valley The Annapolis Valley is a valley and region in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It is located in the western part of the Nova Scotia peninsula, formed by a trough between two parallel mountain ranges along the shore of the Bay of Fundy. Stat ...

Pictou County, Nova Scotia Pictou County is a county in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It was established in 1835, and was formerly a part of Halifax County from 1759 to 1835. It had a population of 43,657 people in 2021, a decline of 0.2 percent from 2016. Furthe ...

, Northumberland,

South West Nova West Nova (french: Nova-Ouest) is a federal electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1968. South Western Nova and South West Nova were ridings that covered roughly the same geog ...

* New Brunswick: Provincial * Quebec: Quebec City and District, Montreal * Ontario: Ottawa, Belleville,

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until 1 ...

Barrie Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay, the western arm of Lake Simcoe. Although physically in Simcoe County, Barrie is politically ...

Simcoe Simcoe may refer to: Geography Canada * Simcoe, Ontario, a town in southwestern Ontario, near Lake Erie, Canada * Simcoe County, a county in central Ontario, Canada * Lake Simcoe, a lake in central Ontario, Canada * Simcoe North, a federal and pr ...

, Toronto, Hamilton and District, Niagara Region, Guelph- Grand River, University of Waterloo, Wilfrid Laurier University,

Brant County The County of Brant (2021 population 39,474) is a single-tier municipality in the Canadian province of Ontario. Although it retains the word " county" in its name, the municipality is a single-tier municipal government and has no upper tier. The ...

, London, Windsor, North-West Ontario * Manitoba: Winnipeg * Saskatchewan: South Saskatchewan ( Regina), North Saskatchewan ( Saskatoon) * Alberta: Calgary, Northern Alberta * British Columbia: Vancouver,

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seyche ...

, Central Vancouver Island, Courtenay-

Comox Valley The Comox Valley is a region on the east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, that includes the city of Courtenay, the town of Comox, the village of Cumberland, and the unincorporated settlements of Royston, Union Bay, Fann ...

Young Monarchists

The League maintains an active youth wing called the Young Monarchists. The primary focus of the Young Monarchists is to connect members of the league aged 25 and under. The Young Monarchist Group was originally formed by university students Graeme Scotchmer and Daniel Whaley, who started the group when they were young teenagers. The league maintains five university branches, one at the University of Waterloo, another at Wilfrid Laurier University, a third at the University of Toronto, a branch at Queen's University and one at the University of Ottawa. Young volunteers play a central part in the regional and national work of the League. Summer student internships have been sponsored in partnership with the Office of the

Lieutenant Governor of Ontario The lieutenant governor of Ontario (, in French: ''Lieutenant-gouverneur'' (if male) or ''Lieutenante-gouverneure'' (if female) ''de l'Ontario'') is the viceregal representative in Ontario of the , who operates distinctly within the province b ...

in Toronto and the Office of the lieutenant governor of British Columbia in Victoria.

References

External links

Monarchist League of Canada
{{Authority control Political advocacy groups in Canada Monarchist organizations Monarchism in Canada