VANCOUVER – Julie Payette’s unprecedented resignation under a cloud from her role as governor general is prompting more than the usual, predictable questions about who should replace her.
It is also setting off a debate among Canadians about the future of a job tied directly to this nation’s status as a constitutional monarchy.
The latest data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds that as support for maintaining the monarchical status quo declines, a majority of Canadians are also inclined to reduce or eliminate the role of the governor general.
Further, Canadians are in near-unanimity over who should actually hire Payette’s successor. Nine-in-10 (91%) say that decision should be up to a parliamentary committee, rather than at the sole discretion of the prime minister.
Canadians across the country have competing ideas about what to do with the governor general role. In Quebec, a full majority (63%) would eliminate the position, but elsewhere residents are divided between eliminating, reducing, or even expanding the purview of the position.
Those who say they would reduce the purview of the position (approximately one-in-five Canadians) are most likely to say they would eliminate the governor general’s place as a symbolic leader to the Canadian Armed Forces, if they could change the job
While half of Canadians support continuing to recognize the Queen as head of state, just one-third (32%) say they would like Canada to remain a monarchy for coming generations. This is down 10 percentage points over the past five years.
