Monday is Victoria Day. It was declared a Canadian holiday in 1845 to celebrate Queen Victoria’s birthday, which was May 24th, and when she died in 1901 parliament officially declared the holiday Victoria Day to be celebrated on the second last Monday in May. Queen Victoria favoured confederation and acted as a unifying influence for Canada’s provinces. Her name has been given to Canadian streets, buildings, schools, a city in BC, a town in Newfoundland, and a village in PEI. Victoria Day is now thought of as the official birthday of the Canada’s reigning monarch even though Queen Elizabeth’s actual birthday is April 21st. Prince Charles’s birthday is November 14. I mention that because of his current visit to our country and the fact that he will likely become King in the not-too-distant future, given the fact his mother is 96. Coincidental with his visit, came the usual discussions about the relevancy of the monarchy to Canada in 2022. There are those who want us to keep the British monarch as our own and those who no longer want us to recognize the Queen or King as our head of state. Frankly, I must say I have no passionate opinion either way, as I feel we have bigger things to discuss and resolve when it comes to our country. Besides, in order to make any change to the role of the Queen or her representatives in Canada, it would take unanimous consent from the House of Commons, the Senate, and each of the provincial legislatures to change the constitution. I say good luck with that.
That’s Coffeetalk. I’m Vic Dubois.
