Quebec legislators unanimously voted in favour of cutting all ties with the monarchy on the same day that King Charles III delivered his throne speech in Ottawa to open the 45th Parliament.
Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon tabled the motion following Question Period on Tuesday, with the vote concluding shortly after 3 pm, less than two hours after King Charles III left Canada.
St-Pierre Plamondon laughed at the notion that the King’s presence would in some way have an effect on the growing tensions between Canada and the U.S.
“(Carney’s) best card is Charles III, a monarch from another country based on a colonial tradition that is oppressive to francophones and First Nations? It’s out there. It’s so abnormal. And, of course, from a Quebec standpoint, it’s not acceptable,” St-Pierre Plamondon told reporters.
“If you think, or anyone else here thinks, that Donald Trump will stop saying things that are either random or hostile to Canada because Charles III was giving a speech today, I don’t know what game we’re playing right now. It just doesn’t make sense.”
The motion was adopted unanimously, with 106 votes in favour and no abstentions, supported by all provincial Liberal and CAQ members.
“When I wake up in the morning, I am not thinking about King Charles III,” said Interim provincial Liberal leader Marc Tanguay. “My allegiance is to the people of Quebec.”
Premier François Legault told reporters that he “didn’t listen” to the speech on his way out of question period as he “was in meetings.”
Minister Responsible for Canadian Relations, Simon-Jolin Barrette, said the same thing but added that he intended to listen to it later.
Other Quebec politicians were less amused by the royal visit.
“What a bizarre country Canada is,” Québec solidaire co-spokesperson Ruba Ghazal told reporters. “To affirm its sovereignty, it believes it is important to bring the monarch of a foreign country here to talk about its priorities.”
Québec solidaire first proposed abolishing the oath of allegiance to the monarch sworn by ministers before taking their place in the legislature.
The oath was made optional in December 2022 after several Parti Québécois members refused to take it, resulting in their temporary ban from the legislature.
The party is now seeking to take measures further by calling on the provincial government to cease funding for the Lieutenant Governor Manon Jeannotte — the king’s representative at the legislature.
Funding provided by the province pays for staff, office space and transportation, which totalled a budget of $758,000 this year.
That figure does not include the Lieutenant Governor’s salary, which is paid by Ottawa.
Jeannotte was named Lieutenant Governor in December 2023. The following day, the National Assembly adopted a motion calling for the post to be abolished.
Despite the role being primarily ceremonial, Quebec laws still require royal sanction, which is overseen by the Lieutenant Governor.
Québec solidaire believes the position could be replaced with an administrator, but the change would need support from both the federal government and the other provinces.
However, the party remains optimistic.
“People said abolishing the oath would be impossible, and yet we got it abolished,” said Ghazal.