Canada In Commonwealth

Today is Commonwealth Day.

Out of the 56 Members of the Commonwealth of Nations there are 15 Commonwealth Realms.

Each Realm has its own Monarchy (ie the King of Australia, the King of Canada, etc.)

 

Example for Canada:

The French Monarchy ruled parts of Canada from 1534 to1763.

The British Monarchy ruled parts of Canada from 1497 to 1763 and then all of Canada from 1763-1982.

The Canadian Monarchy (also called the Maple Crown) was established in 1953 and ruled alongside the British Monarchy until 1982 when the Canadian Monarchy became the sole Monarchy over Canada. 

 

Canadian Citizenship:

Canadian Citizenship wasn’t created until 1946.

From 1633-1763: Those living in the Colony of New France (Quebec) were “French Citizens.” They later automatically became “British Subjects.”

From 1583-1867: Those living in the Colony of British North America (Canada) were “British Subjects”, but not British Citizens.

From 1867- 1914: The British North American Act made those living in Canada “British Subjects with a Connection to the Dominion of Canada.”)

From 1876-2013: The 1876 Indian Act made Indians living in Canada “Wards of the State” subjected to the Federal Government and not the Provinces or Territories. The Federal Government had direct say over what they could and could not do.

It also created a separate “Status Indians” (those who lived on Reservations and are on the Indian Register) and “Non-Status Indians” (those not living on Reservations, not on the Indian Register and neither considered Indians nor Canadians.) Non-Status Indians was done away with in 2013.

From 1914-1946: Those living in Canada became “British Subjects and Canadian Nationals.” The order is important to note.

From 1946-1982: Those living in Canada became “Canadian Citizens and British Subjects.”

From 1946-1967: Any Canadian Citizen living outside of Canada for 10 years or longer or who acquired Citizenship of another country automatically lost their Canadian Citizenship.

From 1960-1982: Status Indians could also become “Canadian Citizens and British Subjects” if they applied for. It.

From 1976- Present Day: Dual Citizenship is officially allowed in Canada.

From 1982-Present Day: Canadians are known as Canadian Citizens as well as Commonwealth Citizens.

From 2009- Present Day: Re-instated Canadian Citizenship to those that had automatically lost it between 1946-1976 if they apply for it. Limited Citizenship to the Second Generation born outside of Canada.

In 2014: Gave Canadian Citizenship to “The Lost Canadians” (Those that should have received Canadian Citizenship since 1946, but were denied it by the Canadian Government despite their undeniable ties to Canada.)

2024: Limited Canadian Citizenship to the Second Generation born outside Canada is deemed Unconstitutional by the Canadian Supreme Court.

 

Personal:

I am a Dual American Citizen and, since 2009, a Canadian Citizen (as well as a Commonwealth Citizen through Canada.)

I am considered a Natural Born Canadian (not Naturalized) and a Natural-Born American (not Naturalized.)

 

Canadian Monarchy:

Queen Elizabeth II was the last British Monarch of Canada (from 1952 until 1953) and the First Canadian Monarch and the First Canadian Queen from 1953-2022.

Technically she should be known as Queen Elizabeth I in Canada (since we never had one before her.)

King Charles III is the 2^nd Canadian Monarch and the First Canadian King.

Technically he should be known as King Charles I in Canada (since we never had one before him.)

 

Patriation:

Canada has only been independent since March 29, 1982 (Patriation.)

 Before 1982 every Canadian Law was made by the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa then had to be approved by the British Parliament in London, signed by the British Monarch in London and then sent back to the Canadian Parliament where it was signed by the Canadian Monarch (from 1953-1982.)

Since 1982, the Canadian Parliament makes its own laws and the Canadian Monarch signs them.

 

Succession:

Unlike, the British Monarchy – which is Hereditary – the Canadian Monarchy is not. The Canadian Monarch is regulated by the Succession to the Throne Act of 2013.)

Like the British Monarchy (and the Monarchies of the 13 other Commonwealth Realms) the Canadian Monarch has to be a Protestant (there is no Separation of Church and State – the State is the Church.)

 

Commonwealth Citizen:

Every Citizen of a Commonwealth Member State is a Commonwealth Citizen, but the Citizens of the 15 Commonwealth Realms have more rights and privileges when visiting another Commonwealth Member Country.

Ie. A Canadian Citizen is also a Commonwealth Citizen.

The Commonwealth Realms: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, The Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, and the United Kingdom.