Media release
Green Party of Canada supports ending oath to Queen
National convention vote calls for end to requirement for new citizens
Toronto, March 9, 2009 - Canada's republican movement, Citizens for a Canadian Republic, welcomes the Green Party of Canada's new policy resolution calling for an amendment to the Citizenship Act to remove allegiance to "Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors."
The change, established at the national convention on the weekend, keeps the party's policy on the monarchy closer to that of fellow Greens in the Commonwealth. The Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand has supported modernizing their oaths since 2005. Australia has already revised their Citizenship oath in 1993 to delete all reference to the monarchy. The Green Party there goes even further, advocating "Australia should become a republic with an Australian head of state."
In Canada, there have been many unsuccessful attempts to revise the Citizenship Act to accommodate monarchy objectors, by both Conservative and Liberal governments. Most recently, Bill C-203 in 2003.
The swearing of an oath to the Queen as a prerequisite for civil service employment ended with The Public Service Modernization Act in 2005.
● Present Canadian Citizenship Oath - I swear (or affirm) that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will
faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfill my duties as a Canadian citizen.
● Australian Citizenship Pledge - (Revised in 1993) - As an Australian citizen, I affirm my loyalty to Australia and its people, whose democratic beliefs I share, whose rights and liberties I respect, and whose laws I uphold and obey.
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Green Party of Canada - 2009 National Convention - Policy Resolution on Oaths
Green Party of Canada - 2009 National Convention resolutions
Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand - Support for Oaths Modernisation Bill
"University of Toronto Faculty of Law Review - The Citizenship Oath, the Charter, and the Conscientious Objector