The Queen

Does Canada still have the same connection with the Queen as we used to?
I for one have great respect for the queen! But I'm a soldier and its engraved in me. Once at work I overheard someone say to hell with the queen and I almost lost it. I did tell him what I thought though.
She may not be in charge anymore but I'll let you know that she is a symbol of times passed and a figurehead for something worth remembering. We arent as close to the queen as we used to be. But I dont beleive we should forget or disrespect what the queen once meant to Canada.

My late dad Blees his soul was an old soldier with the LSSR. And you never wanted to say anything bad about the Royal family around him. So at a early age I respected the Monarchy and still do.
It is rather ironic in a way. I think the Americans put more stock in the Monarchy than we Canadians. It is just my observation but I think they get way more excited about the Brits and the Queen than we do.

Neither a good or bad comment for a change. The monarchy is pretty much irrelevant to modern Canadian society. One may as well ask of pteranodon or vampyres. The most that can be said is that they are wealthy tourists.

I dont know. I was sitting at a resturant one time and some american touists where sitting next to us and they asked the staff why we where so close to the queen. I thought it an odd question considering we are STILL part of the common wealth.

Hmm, I don,t think we are as close to the monarchy as we once were. I have been lucky to see the Queen twice. Both times in Calgary. It just seems to me though that the Yanks put more emphasis on the monarchy than we do.

The Yanks are hung up on celebrity. If they read about it in the Enquirer they want to steal its garbage and get its autograph. It's another form of insanity they have.

You sure hit the nail on the head. It has always amazed me why they are so hung up on the celebrity thing.

The Queen is irrelevant today but the role of the monarchy in Canadian history cannot be denied.

"the role of the monarchy in Canadian history cannot be denied."

The same could be said of the Nazis; or the Mohawks and Laura Secord. Of the bunch I would prefer to see our children learning about the Mokawks and Laura Secord and the way they saved our country from invasion.

While I think the Mohwaks and Laura Secord were more important to Canadian history the Monarchy offers dimension to our history. I don't think however, that they are necessary to Canada, but they do carry a sentimental attachment for war vets.

I'm joing this discussion kind of late, but I wanted to address the positions of with those of you who believe that the monarchy is not essential to the future of Canada.

Canada continues to need as many historically based structures as possible to distinguish the country from its burgeoning, warmongering and oh-so-greedy neighbor to the south. The monarchy is an essential aspect to the functioning of an independent Canada. Make no mistake about it, a republic of Canada would be riper for absorbtion into the States, a move that would be led by conservative Albertans, and perhaps hastened by the separation of Quebec. Of course, conservative Albertans are basically American fifth columnists anyway.

As I read the histories of the US and Canada and look at the country founded by American Loyalist exiles and their decendents and see how your democracy expanded wider to include other groups, it's clear to me that you have established the saner of the two countries. Canada was not established on mounds of Native corpses quite to the degree that the US was. You never had warlike, superpower ambitions. Your ancestors didn't own slaves.

You take care of your people, and you still have a safety net for everyone in need of health care, for people out of work, and the elderly and the disabled. Most of you have a realistic vision of what private enterprise cannot provide and respectable state tradition. We here in America don't, and we pay dearly for it. The irony here is that perhaps the immature America of 1776 that was greedy for still unconquered Native lands needed the tutelage and restraint of Britain and the examples of other parts of the Empire/Commonweath for a bit longer.

God bless Canada, and God save the Queen!

Good points there. One thing that I find strange, is, how and when did America turn to, lets say, the Dark Side? I mean, many Americans are very well educated and can respect other peoples opinions, like Leon. However, it has always puzzled me why these smart, mature, and sensible Americans are not leading the country into a brighter future.