Wednesday, May 28, 2025

King opens Parliament – Canadians don't care

In an historic first, King Charles III flew to Ottawa this week to open Canada's new Parliament and read the Throne Speech. More than four out of five Canadians polled said they didn't care. 

Royally Indifferent: 83 per cent of Canadians say they ‘don’t care’ that King Charles will deliver throne speech | Angus Reid Institute: (news release):

May 26, 2025 – "While Prime Minister Mark Carney’s now-accepted invitation to King Charles to read the throne speech opening Canada’s 45th parliament may have been politically intended to leave U.S. President Donald Trump gobsmacked, Canadians themselves are raising little more than an arched eyebrow at the visit. A new public opinion poll from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute shows a whopping 83 per cent of Canadians say they are 'indifferent' or 'don’t care' about the monarch’s historic visit, where Charles will read the throne speech – which will outline the Carney government’s priorities for the upcoming parliamentary session....

"This week’s official visit to Canada by King Charles III represents a mixture of realpolitik, the unprecedented and the ordinary. It is Charles’ 20th visit to Canada, but his first as monarch. The occasion also marks the first time in 47 years that the sovereign has read a Canadian speech from the throne.   

"As to the motivations of the invitation to His Majesty, political symbolism appears to trump (pun intended) domestic desire.... Prime Minister Mark Carney has leaned heavily into invoking U.S. President Donald Trump’s infatuation with the British (and Canadian) royal family.... Domestically however, Canadians are less enchanted by the pomp, circumstance and mysticism of the crown and its accoutrements. Views of individual royals, along with the monarchy, have been steadily declining over time in this country.... 

"More Canadians say it’s a 'good thing' (37%) rather than a 'bad thing' (23%) that the king is opening parliament. It should be noted however, that a plurality (40%) say they 'aren’t sure' quite what to make of the whole endeavour.... 

"It’s rare that four-in-five Canadians agree on anything. But they are largely united in their ambivalence towards the king’s visit to Canada to open parliament. Apathy appears to rule even among those who see positives in Charles’ visit. A majority of those who describe the fact the King is delivering the throne speech as a 'good thing' also describe themselves as indifferent to the proceedings....

"The Angus Reid Institute conducted an online survey from May 20-23, 2025, among a randomized sample of 1,685 Canadian adults who are members of Angus Reid Forum. The sample was weighted to be representative of adults nationwide according to region, gender, age, household income, and education, based on the Canadian census. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of +/- 2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20."

Read more: https://angusreid.org/king-charles-throne-speech-canada/

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