Well, well, well. In a turn of events that is good news for Canada’s monarchists, a motion that would have amended the country’s Constitution Act — and made the oath to Canada’s monarch optional for MPs — was, on Wednesday, defeated. 113 voted for the motion while 197 voted against it.
A cross-party group of parliamentarians, including those from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet, killed the bill. This means that the Canadian Constitution will remain as is, with every new MP required to swear they will be ‘faithful and bear true allegiance’ to the current monarch before they can legally assume their seat. Meanwhile, Quebec-based parties were keen to see changes that would have allowed politicians to swear an ‘oath of office’. This would state that they must act ‘in the best interest of Canada while upholding its Constitution’. Doesn’t quite have the same ring to it…
And the Canadian royalists were not going to celebrate their victory quietly.
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