circa 1390-1450 – The Iroquois Confederacy of the Five Nations (later to include a sixth nation), was founded by Dekanawida, who was born near the Bay of Quinte in southeastern Ontario. Although archeological evidence indicates that many pre-Columbian North American peoples, particularly the Mississippian nations, had democratic forms of government, it was the Iroquois of the Great Lakes area who are best known for perfecting it. Not only was its government directly responsible to the people, the confederacy's elaborate and formal Haudenosaunee constitution shows close parallels to the executive, legislative and judiciary branches of government as described in the Constitution of the United States of America three centuries later.

1755-63 – The British order the deportation of about 11,000 Acadians, the French inhabitants of what is now New Brunswick and Nova Scotia’s Bay of Fundy area and Prince Edward Island, for refusing to make an unconditional oath of allegiance to the British crown. Britain, which had been ceded Acadia in the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, saw the mostly peaceful farmers and fishermen as a threat to its security. In an act that today is referred to as "ethnic cleansing", families are uprooted and deported to the other British colonies, France and Britain, with many ultimately migrating to Louisiana and the French West Indies. Although their rich farmland was later granted to Loyalist refugees from the American Revolution, many Acadians found their way back to the Maritimes to re-establish their people and culture throughout Eastern Canada.

The contentiousness surrounding the Oath of Allegiance survives today and is one issue that fuels the modern Canadian republican movement.

1775-83 – Fifty thousand Loyalists flee the American Revolution in the lower Thirteen Colonies and resettle in British controlled Nova Scotia (now Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island) and Canada (now Ontario and Quebec). As British sympathizers, many had their property and possessions expropriated by the new American government and faced persecution from their former neighbours. The hardship experienced by these early Canadian settlers as a result of their ordeal would later help mold Canada’s national psyche and assist in perpetuating the monarchy as an institution for over two centuries. 

Loyalists landing in Nova Scotia Loyalists landing in Nova Scotia

1812-1815 – The War of 1812, the North American version of the ongoing Napoleonic Wars in Europe, pits the newly formed U.S.A. against British regulars and Canadian militia. If one event could be named as the main pivotal moment in Canada’s formative history, it would be this war. Ending in a draw, it becomes the final blow to United States’ Manifest Destiny to unite all of the former colonies. The resulting militarization of Canada as a protective measure against future US threats lays the groundwork for Canada’s cities, infrastructure and societal values - the latter being one more basis for the perpetuation of the loyalty to the Crown.

1837- 38 –  Republican uprisings known as the 1837 Rebellions occur in Upper and Lower Canada. Louis-Joseph Papineau and his Patriotes lead the rebellion against the Château Clique in Lower Canada while William Lyon Mackenzie and his Reform Movement battle the Family Compact in Upper Canada. Both uprisings are crushed by British troops assisted by Canadian militias. MacKenzie even continues his fight with private American support for some time, eventually declaring a short-lived Republic of Canada on Navy Island in the middle of the Niagara River separating Canada and USA. Papineau's Robert Nelson and  Cyrille-Hector-Octave Côté also proclaim a bilingual republic in Lower Canada.  Papineau and MacKenzie flee to the U.S. but are later pardoned and return to Canada.

 The Battle of St. Eustache, 1837, between British troops and French-Canadian Patriotes, was the largest clash during the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837.v

1837 – As a counter to the violence in Upper and Lower Canada, Joseph Howe, a Nova Scotia newspaper publisher and legislative reformer, presents his twelve resolutions for responsible government. As a result, Nova Scotia becomes the first British colony in the empire to achieve responsible government, the practice of having the colonial governor take advice from those who have the confidence of (or can win a majority in) the Assembly. Prior to this, the opposite was the norm in all the British colonies. These early principles of government form the cornerstone of Canada's current parliamentary democracy.

1838 – The revolt of 1837 prompts the Durham Report by John George Lambton, Earl of Durham. In his Report on the Affairs of British North America, in which he relies strongly on the advice of reformer Robert Baldwin, he argues that if the colonies were given as much freedom to govern themselves as the people of Britain, they would become more loyal. He also recommends that Upper and Lower Canada be united under a single parliament, which takes place 2 years later.

1848 – The Canada West administration of Lord Elgin adopts the concept of responsible government under the guidance of reformers Robert Baldwin and Louis-Hippolyte LaFontaine.

1849 – Responsible government is put to the test in the Province of Canada with the introduction of the Rebellion Losses Bill, an act to compensate those who lost property during the rebellions in 1837. A majority of the elected assembly favour the bill but the governor, Lord Elgin, does not. Rather than disallowing it, as is possible under the powers granted to him, he is advised by his executive, which have the confidence of the Assembly, to sign the bill.

1851 – Representatives of the provinces of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick meet and agree to work together towards a common decimal currency. Legislature passes The Canadian Currency Act making the decimal system and the Dollar legal tender. It takes effect June 14, 1853. Britain would not convert to decimal currency for another 107 years.

1858 – An indication of the economic independence to follow, the first Canadian coins are minted in England in denominations of 1, 5, 10, and 20 cents.

1867 – New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Ontario and Quebec accept the terms of the British North America Act to unify and enter into confederation as the self-governing Dominion of Canada. Australia and New Zealand would follow Canada's lead and ratify similar legislations later. 

                    v

1869-70 – The Red River Rebellion, led by Métis republican Louis Riel, results in the temporary formation of the Republic of Canada. Bilingual postage stamps (shown at right) labeled "République Canadienne - Canadian Republic" are even issued but never go into circulation. The Provisional Government later agrees to enter into confederation as a province under the Manitoba Act.

1870 - The first silver 5, 10, 25, and 50 cent pieces of the Dominion of Canada are issued. Queen Victoria is featured on the obverse.

1870 - 1871 – The British garrison is withdrawn from Canada. Although a small number of soldiers and personnel remain until 1901, the job of national defense is now up to Canada.

1880 – Sir Alexander Galt is appointed as Canada's High Commissioner in London, the first diplomatic mission abroad. The title "High Commissioner" will later be used refer to all diplomatic missions between Commonwealth countries.

1887 – The first Colonial Conference takes place, which would later evolve to become the British Commonwealth.

1901 – Under Wilfrid Laurier’s Defense Minister Frederick William, the last British troops are withdrawn from Canada. At the same time, the practice of appointing a British general to command the Canadian militia is ended and Canada assumes control from Great Britain of the last naval bases of Halifax and Esquimalt.

1909 – Canada creates its own Department of External Affairs under Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier.

1914-18 – World War I - Alone in the British Empire, Canada's parliament is the only one to approve entry into the war. Of a country of only 8 million people, Canada sends 425,000 military personal to Europe - fuelling nationalism at home and the front.  Canada’s independence from Britain is promoted by Prime Minister Robert Borden when he insists that Canadian troops be kept in their own regiments and not be put under British command. 

Canadians at the Somme in 1916adians at the Somme 

1917 – At the Imperial War Conference of 1917, Borden is the key author of Resolution IX, affirming "the right of the Dominions to an adequate voice in foreign policy and foreign relations." According to McGill University's Desmond Morton, one of Canada's leading historians, "The emergence of Canadian sovereignty was the one great Canadian victory of the war."

1917 – Prime Minister Borden appoints industrialist Lloyd Harris to head a temporary Canadian diplomatic mission attached to the British High Commission in Washington - solely to handle Canadian issues and act on instruction from Canada . In 1918, Harris is appointed chair of Canada’s wartime mission at the same location. This position would pave the way for Canada’s first official diplomatic mission nine years later.

1919 – At the end of World War I, Canada wins its own representation at the Versailles conference and joins the League of Nations, marking its entry as an independent nation diplomatically separate from Britain. 

Mackenzie King at the League of Nations.

1919 – Canada enacts the Nickel Resolution barring Canadians from receiving royal titles, including knighthoods or seats in the British House of Lords. As a result, Sir. Robert Borden (1911-1920) is the last Canadian Prime Minister to be knighted.

1922 – Eager to assert its new-found status as a fully independent member of the international community, Canada refuses to support Britain's over-aggressive stance on Turkey, the failure of which is largely responsible for the fall of British Prime Minister Lloyd George's government.

1923 – Canada signs the Halibut Treaty (with the U.S), the first international treaty negotiated by a Canadian representative without British involvement. The treaty was still signed by the King as Emperor.

1926 – Governor General Lord Byng refuses the request by Prime Minister McKenzie King to dissolve parliament and call a new election, an act which was considered a flagrant abuse of his reserve power. Byng was later recalled to London as a result with King, having won the election, following through on his vow to take steps to prevent any future governor general from refusing to dissolve parliament. Since then, no governor general has challenged the authourity of parliament.

1926 – The Colonial Conference (later to become the Commonwealth of Nations) issues the Balfour Report, which formally defines the 'Dominion' as; "autonomous communities within the British Empire", which were "equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations".

1926 – Canada no longer relies on Britain for diplomatic representation abroad. The diplomatic mission in Washington is upgraded to legation status with the appointment of Vincent Massey as the first Canadian minister in 1927. At the time, this position was considered one notch below that of ambassador. (The distinction between ‘legation’ and ‘embassy’ would be eliminated in 1947). Following this appointment, the office in Paris was raised to legation status in 1928 and a legation was opened Tokyo in 1929.

1931 – Canada attains full "legislative" independence from Britain with the enactment by the British parliament of the Statute of Westminster. The act legally recognizes the terms recommended in the 1926 Balfour Report. At Canada's request, the British parliament retains the exclusive right to amend the British North America Act, Canada's constitution. Canada immediately implements the Statute of Westminster. Australia and New Zealand pass the legislation in the 1940's.

1939 – Canada debates entry into World War II for one week before finally declaring war on Germany. This contrasts sharply with World War I when Canada automatically joined Britain without debate. 

1944 – Saskatchewan's social democratic CCF (Cooperative Commonwealth Federation) government greatly diminishes the role of the lieutenant governor by closing Government House and auctioning off the contents. A three-bedroom apartment is then provided as the official residence. Refurbished in 1981, Government House is today a museum.

1947 – The Commonwealth of Nations is forced to revise the phrase that declared that members have "a common allegiance to the Crown" when India becomes its first republic. Today, over half of the members of the Commonwealth are republics.

1947 – Canada’s first diplomatic mission abroad outside of Britain, the Washington legation, becomes its first embassy when both Canada and the U.S.A agree to remove the traditional distinction between the two posts. Canada’s first ambassador to the U.S. becomes Leighton McCarthy.

1947 – Inspired by a visit to the Dieppe military cemetery and his subsequent concern over the status of those interred, Liberal Cabinet Minister Paul Martin Sr. enacts the Canadian Citizenship Act. No longer British subjects, Canadians are now ‘citizens' with Prime Minister Mackenzie King receiving the first citizenship certificate on January 3, 1947. With the enactment of this legislation, Canada becomes the first Commonwealth country to create its own class of citizenship separate from that of Great Britain. Australia and New Zealand follow the same year.

1947 – King George VI issues the Letters Patent, which permanently delegates the monarch's powers to the Governor General. Even the presence of the Sovereign in the country does not supercede the authority of the Governor General. 

1949 – The Supreme Court of Canada is formed, replacing the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London.

1952 – Vincent Massey is appointed Canada's first Governor General born in Canada, setting the trend for all future vice-regals to be Canadian citizens.

1956 – The seeds of Canada's evolution toward a distinct national flag are planted in the events of the Suez Crisis, of which then Secretary of State for External Affairs Lester Pearson played a Nobel Prize winning part. Despite negotiating a ceasefire, Canada's objective role in providing peacekeeping troops is questioned by Egypt's President Nasser, who objects to Canada's British-looking flag. As Prime Minister during the Flag Debate, Pearson cites this example as a huge motivation for updating the old Red Ensign.

1964 – Samedi de la matraque (Truncheon Saturday). The Queen's visit to Québec City incites anti-monarchist demonstrations and riots by protesters who see the Queen as a symbol of British colonialism. The police are condemned for using excessive force.

1964 – Québec's constitution committee examines the possibility of adopting a presidential regime, modeled on the 1937 Constitution of Ireland. The Canadian State of Québec could have at its head an elected president who would be the head of State in fields pertaining to Québec’s internal sovereignty, while the sovereign of the United Kingdom would continue to be the head of the Canadian State.

1965 – Canada adopts the Maple Leaf as its new official national flag. The old Red Ensign, a variation of the flag of the British merchant marine, is retired under controversy and later adopted by Ontario as its provincial flag.

1965 – On a visit to London, Prime Minister Lester Pearson makes known his intention to eventually terminate the monarchy. In the book, 'Right Honourable Men', author Michael Bliss speculates that this declaration was never acted upon due to Pearson’s failure to gain a majority of seats in the House of Commons when his government sought re-election in 1965. to gain a majority of seats in the House of Commons when his government 

1968 – The Department of National Defence merges land, sea and air forces into the Canadian Armed forces and the 'Royal' warrant disappears from use.

1968 – The Québec government of Daniel Johnson calls for making Canada a federal union and a republic and that the Constitution of Canada, whether monarchical or republican, should allow Québec to become a republic and a State within Canada instead of a province. The concept was not pursued.

1970 – The Queen's portrait is gradually replaced by Canadian Prime Ministers on paper bank notes. As of this date, only coinage and the twenty dollar bill feature the reigning sovereign, Queen Elizabeth II.

1973 – The United Kingdom becomes a member of the European Economic Community, now the European Union, leading to a reduction in economic ties between Canada and the UK.

1977 – Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau performs his famous pirouette behind the Queen at Buckingham Palace. The Queen later remarks that she was worried the Crown "had little meaning for him".

1977 – For the first time, the Governor General is permitted to sign Letters of Credence and Commission for Canadian diplomats on The Queen’s behalf.

1977 – The responsibility to sign Declarations of War or other international documents is transferred from the Queen to the Governor General.

1977 – The Canadian Citizenship Act is revised. Prior to this, British subjects (or former residents of the Commonwealth) were given preferential treatment for attaining Canadian citizenship. The revision removes that provision and also declares that Canadian citizens may no longer be British subjects as well. 

1977 – A national poll reveals that 42 percent of Canadians believe the Prime Minister is the head of state while 37 percent correctly named the Queen as the formal executive.

1978 – Trudeau bucks protocol by vacationing in Morocco during the Queen's visit to Canada.

1978 – Bill C-60 is proposed to strengthen the role of the governor general and transfer powers exercised by the Queen. It dies quietly amid outrage at the implications to the monarchy's role. Trudeau remarks, "If I were an anti-monarchist, I should leave the post alone and let it become obsolescent, let the governor-general do nothing but attend Boy Scout rallies".

1978 - The Federal government declines funding an official celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Queen's coronation.

1978 - To no one's surprise, the new PQ government in Québec begins downsizing the lieutenant governor's office, cutting the budget by 37%, firing 10 staff members and selling one limousine. Premier René Lévesque admits to having "great respect' for the Queen but sees only "folkloric" value for the monarchy in both Québec and Canada. 

1980 – Although sung for generations, 'O Canada', officially replaces God Save the Queen as the national anthem.

1980 – Leading up to negotiations to repatriate the constitution, British high commissioner Sir John Ford retires suddenly when it's uncovered that he is trying to enlist such pro-monarchist politicians as New Brunswick Premier Richard Hatfield in organizing a coup to stop Trudeau and his republicanist reforms. 

1982 – The Canada Act, passed by the British Parliament, ends any further British legislative authority over Canada. It includes the Constitution Act of 1982, enacting the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Although the British parliament no longer has a role in amending the Canadian constitution, all amendments, including abolishing the monarchy (due partly to pressure from New Brunswick Premier Richard Hatfield), now requires unanimous consent of all ten of Canada's provinces. 

1982 – Dominion Day is renamed Canada Day.

1987 – British Columbia native Ed Press, falls victim to the provincial government's employment policy of requiring an Oath of Allegiance to the Queen. His refusal to abide by the order to recite it costs him his job but gains the BC government a royal pain. He makes a cause out of protesting at royal visits and attracting media attention to the absurdity of the monarchy. 

1987 – Under the Progressive Conservative government of Brian Mulroney, Citizenship and Immigration Minister David Crombie releases a position paper titled “Citizenship 87: Proud to be Canadian” as national unity initiative. One major issue was the nature of the citizenship oath; with the government indicating it was prepared to consider whether the citizenship oath should be amended to either give allegiance to Canada precedence over allegiance to the Queen, or to completely eliminate any reference to the monarchy. The reforms were never legislated, however, possibly due to preoccupation with the Charlottetown Accord constitutional debate.

1993 –- Inspired by his legal battle to attain Canadian Citizenship without having to recite the Oath of Allegiance to the Queen, Toronto lawyer Charles Roach forms the group Alliance for a Canadian Republic. Their activities peak in 1996 with Toronto demonstrations and media events during the royal visit and Canada Day.

1996 – The Toronto Star publishes an editorial calling for the establishment of a national commission to look into the feasibility of a republican form of government.

1996 – The Quebec legislature passes a resolution requesting that the office of lieutenant governor of Quebec (the queen's representative in Quebec) be either abolished or chosen by Quebecers. Lieutenant governors are currently appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister of Canada.

1997 – Showing the lowest support for the monarchy ever recorded in a poll in Canada, Pollara releases results that indicate only 18 per cent oppose replacing Queen Elizabeth with a Canadian head of state when she dies. Forty-one per cent want the monarchy abolished outright and 39 per cent were indifferent. Significantly, these figures are recorded without the aid of any organized republican movement or lobbying group.

1997 – The now defunct Party for Commonwealth Republic runs candidates in the general election but fails to draw significant support. 

1997 – Federal Industry Minister John Manley calls for the abolition of the Canadian monarchy.

1998 – The Canadian government discusses the possibility of abolishing the monarchy as part of Canada’s millennium celebrations but backs down over concerns over the divisions it might cause.

Calling the updated Oath "a modernized version that better reflects the values of Canadians," Robillard cited an Angus Reid poll and other polling data suggesting that Canadians "have confirmed the need for an oath that reflects contemporary values and clearly expresses loyalty toward Canada." 

1999 – The book, The Republican Option in Canada, Past and Present by University of Saskatchewan political scientist David E. Smith is published and, although balanced and unbiased, quickly becomes the bible of the budding republican movement in Canada.

1999 – The New Democratic Party of Canada releases the 'Report of the Social Democratic Forum on the Future of Canada' which states that "Canada should begin to explore the possibility of Canadianizing the head of state". By doing so, it becomes the first major Canadian political party to officially endorse discussing Canada becoming a republic.

1999 – The Citizenship Act is revised. The oath of citizenship is broadened so that new citizens will swear allegiance to Canada as well as the Queen. Since it's still mandatory to swear allegiance to the Queen, many would-be Canadians who take offence to this clause refuse to take the oath and become citizens.

1999 – Prime Minister Jean Chrétien cites the 1919 Nickel Resolution (see above) as reason for blocking the Queen's appointment of Canadian newspaper baron Conrad Black to the British House of Lords. Black mounts an unsuccessful lawsuit against Chrétien claiming a personal vendetta was the reason for the decision. He later renounces his Canadian citizenship to circumvent the ruling, taking his seat as Lord Black of Crossharbour.

1999 – Internet discussion group Republi-Canada is formed to debate republicanism and the monarchy.

1999 - Republic of Canada Online appears as the sole website for disseminating republican news and opinion to Canadians. The site is relaunched in 2001 as Monarchy-Free Canada, grabbing the attention of the media with major television news coverage.

2000 – The book, Is Canada Trapped in a Time Warp - Political Symbols in the Age of the Internet, by political scientist Randall White is published. The publication examines the monarchy and whether a republican system of government in Canada is long overdue.

2000 – The government of Ontario, decides not to force school students to make a pledge of allegiance to the Queen. The provincial government backs down after opposition from young people, teachers and republicans. Under a new code of conduct students will have to stand for the Canadian national anthem.

2001 – John Manley, now Foreign Affairs Minister, again calls for a republic by saying, " the monarchy is out of date and Canadians would do better with an elected head of state instead". He’s joined by Industry Minister Brian Tobin and Fisheries Minister Herb Dhaliwal with statements of support.

2001 – Nova Scotia Opposition Leader Darrell Dexter thwarts the ruling Progressive Conservative Party's attempts to reinstate the singing of 'God save the Queen' on the opening of the Provincial Legislature. Legislators with Acadian ancestors who were persecuted by British colonialists also say they would refuse to participate when called to do so. The Conservatives later back away from the controversy and rescind the proposal.

2001 – Since revising its requirement that members have "a common allegiance to the Crown" in 1947, thirty-three of the Commonwealth of Nations’ fifty-four members are now republics.

2001 – The Nickel Resolution is news again when entrepreneur Terry Matthews and George Bain, head of Queen's University in Belfast, both Canadian citizens but British residents, are awarded knighthoods by the Queen. The Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister John Manley send diplomatic protests to London citing interference in Canadian affairs.

2001 – Pierre Vincent, a federal civil servant, saves his job and makes headlines by winning a two year battle to refuse the Oath of Allegiance to the Queen.

2001 – The Globe and Mail, Canada's national newspaper, calls for an end to the monarchy in an editorial.

2002 – Citizens for a Canadian Republic is formed, a national, non-partisan and non-profit organization advocating modifying the Constitution to replace the Queen with a Canadian as head of state. The resulting media attention garners CCR more press coverage for Canadian republicanism than in all the previous 165 years since the 1837 Rebellions. According to the National Post, CCR's formation "represents the first attempt to pull together anti-monarchist sentiment in Canada" while the Ottawa Citizen declares it "the most ambitious campaign yet to sever Canada's formal ties to the monarchy".

2002 – The separatist government of Québec announces that it's considering
democratic reforms that would give the province a republic-style government within Canada as a prelude to independence. Québec's support for ending the monarchy is at its highest in Canada at roughly 70 per cent.

2002 – A Leger Marketing poll reveals that 56 per cent of Canadians want the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II on the Canadian dollar replaced by people who have influenced Canadian history. Thirty-nine percent say no change is necessary.

2002 – Ipsos-Reid/Globe and Mail/CTV poll results in February determine that nearly half of Canadians (48%) would prefer a republican system of government with an elected head of state and two-thirds (65%) believe the royals are merely celebrities and should not have any formal role in Canada. Oddly, the same poll determines that 79% agree with the statement: "I support a constitutional monarchy as Canada’s form of government where we elect governments whose leader becomes the Prime Minister". However, one would wonder if this result is skewed by respondents who also support a parliamentary system where we should "elect governments whose leader becomes the Prime Minister". If this is true, a more accurately worded statement made with the understanding that Canada could easily have a parliamentary republic would likely produce a less conflicting result. 

2002 – In a May Ekos public opinion poll commissioned by CBC/SRC, Toronto Star and LaPress, 48% agree with the statement, "Instead of a British monarch we should have a Canadian citizen as our head of state." Thirty-five percent disagree. Also, 41% agree that it's "time to abolish the monarchy in Canada" while 43% disagree. Shockingly, the poll revealed that only 5% were even aware that the Queen was in fact Canada's head of state, with 69% thinking it was the Prime Minister and 9% believing it was the Governor General..

2002 –  Monarchists cry foul when the controversial and precedent-setting decision is made to have the Speech from the Throne of Canada's second session of the thirty-seventh parliament given by the Governor General and not the Queen, whose visit coincides with the ceremony.

2002 – Citizens for a Canadian Republic challenges the legitimacy of the monarchy in Canada by filing an application to intervene in former Toronto councilor Tony O'Donohue's legal case to contest the Act of Settlement. The British legislation, enacted in 1701 to restrict the British throne to Protestants, was inherited by Canada in 1867and  legislatively prevents Roman Catholics, Jews, Hindus, Muslims or anyone not a Protestant from becoming Canada’s head of state. Section 15(1) of The Charter of Rights and Freedoms expressly forbids discrimination on the basis of "race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability". 

2002 - Citizenship and Immigration Minister Denis Coderre tables Bill C-18 in October 31, 2002. Among other revisions, the Bill would have replaced “I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors” with the same phrase, with Her Heirs and Successors deleted. On November 8, 2002 it went through second reading and dropped from the order paper.

2003 - Bill C-203 is introduced October 2, 2003 by MP John Bryden. It would have amended the act of citizenship to better define the responsibilities of Canadian citizenship and delete reference to Queen Elizabeth II and her heirs and successors. On December 2, 2002 it went through second reading and dropped from the order paper.

2003 - Calling the current system "cumbersome and outdated," Lucienne Robillard, President of the Treasury Board of Canada introduces The Public Service Modernization Act in parliament to modernize human resources management in the federal public service. Despite objections of monarchists, as of December 31, 2005, federal civil servants will no longer be required to swear an oath to the Queen.

2004 - Citizens for a Canadian Republic calls for a special parliamentary committee to examine revamping the role and selection process of the office of the Governor General as a prelude to becoming a republic. In a March 18 press release, it suggests that since these changes do not require constitutional amendment, parliament could codify and democratize the office, leaving one remaining question for Canadians to decide in a national referendum; whether or not to continue with a British monarch or have an elected Canadian assume that role.

2004 - On April 2, the Standing Committee on Government Operations and Estimates issues this recommendation: That the Parliament of Canada 1) take the necessary measures to conduct a review and initiate a debate on the mandate, constitutional role, responsibilities, and future evolution of the Office of the Governor General of Canada (the Head of State) in which all Canadians be included, and 2) conduct a review of the process for selecting and appointing the Governor General (Head of State) of Canada. CCR happily notes a strong similarity to its March 18 proposal.

2004 - A break with protocol precedent is noted at the VE Day celebrations in France when both the Queen and the Governor General appear together, apparently representing the United Kingdom and Canada as separate heads of state.

2004 - International Canadian travellers begin to note the replacement of the Queen's portrait at embassies and consoulates with that of the Governor General.

2005 - Reference to the Queen is removed from Letters of Credence and Recall, diplomatic letters sent by one head of state to another, instead having them issued in the name of the Governor General. In doing so, Canada becomes the only country that does not send its Letters of Credence and Recall on behalf of its official head of state.

Revised May 16, 2006

Images courtesy of The Canadian Heritage Gallery.