This Is The Role Of The Monarchy In Canada & They Technically Have All The Power
But it's all ceremonial.
Governor General of Canada Mary Simon. Right: King Charles III.
Now that the queen has died and a new king has been named, a lot of people might be curious about what exactly the monarchy does in Canada.
And, it's a slightly complicated question.
Known as the Crown, the monarch of the United Kingdom is also the monarch of Canada — along with other commonwealth countries such as Australia, New Zealand and several more.
And because they're the monarch, they technically have absolute power to rule over these countries.
However, you'll probably notice that that's not the case at the moment.
That's because while the power to govern is vested in the Crown — Canada's head of state — it is "entrusted" to the Canadian government to rule according to the will of the people.
This is the cornerstone of Canada's constitutional monarchy and is something that a lot of complicated history has brought us to.
Simply put, Canada has a constitution and a democracy that is getting its power to govern from the Crown.
But, obviously, you know that the king can't watch over what's going on in every place he's head of state, so a certain amount of royal power is entrusted to the governor general — the Crown's official representative in Canada.
The governor general fulfills the responsibilities of the king, both on his behalf and in his absence.
This means that Mary Simon, Canada's current governor general, does things like sign legislation into law, summon, prorogue or dissolve parliament and read the Speech from the Throne.
All of these duties are done under the advice of Canada's democratically-elected parliament.
The Governor General also has ceremonial duties like representing Canada abroad and taking part in official events.
So, while power comes from the monarchy, in everyday life, the Crown acts as a mere figurehead of the nation of Canada and as a part of Canada's "sense of identity."
The monarchy remains something that new immigrants to Canada, members of parliament, members of the military and police officers must swear allegiance to.
Because according to the government of Canada, the monarch is a person who "embodies" our constitution, our country and "our collective values as a people."
But, the monarchy in Canada is waning in popularity according to polls, and the death of Queen Elizabeth II has also caused a lot of conversations about the monarchy's role in Canada.
Canada is also planning a massive memorial for the late queen, which will take place on September 19.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called for a National Day of Mourning, and there will be a memorial ceremony taking place in Ottawa.
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.