According to a recent Léger poll, Quebecers would rather live under a republican regime than a British monarchy.
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“Quebecians reject not only monarchical symbols, but also the idea that sovereign power belongs to the people and not to a monarch,” said Daniel Turp, President of the Institute for Research on the Self-Determination of Peoples and National Independences (IRAI).
The results show that twice as many people support a popularly elected president of Quebec over a lieutenant governor. In addition, four times as many Quebecers want the people to hold sovereign power, rather than the British king.
“We pay a lot for the monarchs who move here for security reasons. It’s also something that shows that power doesn’t really rest with the people,” Mr Turp said.
These results do not surprise the political class.
“Quebecians reject the British monarchy as a whole. And what the poll is telling us today is that there are other measures to be taken, by stopping funding for the Lieutenant Governor and ending the political role of the Crown,” says MP PQ Pascal Bérubé.
“It’s not surprising. In fact, not long ago, during the autumn parliamentary session in the Blue Room, we voted against it, precisely against the oath to the king. We’ve gone elsewhere and it’s time to move on,” claims the liberal Deputy Frederic Beauchemin.
This conclusion is quite impressive for Daniel Turp, one of the experts behind this survey.
“There are a number of surprising results that show that the idea of a republic, and worth having a public debate about it, is becoming more and more important,” he points out.
To see the full report, watch the video above.