God save the Queen? No thanks, Tom Freda says.

The Toronto man is confident he’ll see a Canadian republic free of the British monarchy in his lifetime.

And, with the Commonwealth observing Queen EUzabeth's five decades on the throne this year, Freda thinks it’s high time Canadians questioned why this nation's official head of state resides in Buckingham Palace - unelected.

"It's something that cries out to be addressed soon," said Freda, co-founder of Citizens for a Canadian Republic (CCR).

The CCR advocates: 'The removal of the Crown as head of state and its subsequent replacement one chosen by Canadians," according to its Web site.

Freda co-founded the non-profit group to raise public debate on a Canadian republican alternative, he said. The group was described in media reports upon its April 10 inception as "part of the most ambitious campaign yet to sever Canada's formal ties to the monarchy."

Recent opinion polls peg support for abolishing the monarchy at between 30% and 43%.