OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — King Charles III arrives in Ottawa this week to underscore Canada’s sovereignty to U.S. President Donald Trump.
Trump’s repeated suggestion that the U.S. prompted Prime Minister Mark Carney to invite Charles to give the speech from the throne that will outline his government’s agenda for the new Parliament. The king is the in Canada, which is a member of the British Commonwealth of former colonies.
“His Majesty King Charles III will read the speech from the throne and thus present the plan of our government, our priorities, as Canada is facing a pivotal moment in its history, the biggest transformation of the global trading system since the fall of the Berlin Wall,” Carney told his caucus Sunday.
Carney said “Canada has a steadfast defender in the sovereign” when he announced the visit earlier this month.
It is rare for the monarch to deliver what’s called the speech from the throne in Canada. Charles’ mother, Queen Elizabeth II, did it twice in her 70-year reign. The last time was in 1977.
Canadians are largely indifferent to the monarchy, but Carney has been eager to show the differences between Canada and the U.S. and he said that the king’s visit clearly underscores the sovereignty of Canada.
The Americans had a revolution to gain independence from Britain. Canada remained a colony until 1867 and continued thereafter as a constitutional monarchy with a British-style parliamentary system.
“We are different and the king illustrates that,” former Quebec Premier Jean Charest said. “If you look at why King Charles is reading the speech from the throne than you have to then acknowledge Canada’s story.”
But new U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra said sending messages isn’t necessary and Canadians should move on from the 51st state talk, telling the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that if there’s a message to be sent there’s easier ways to do that like calling him or calling the president.
Royal historian Carolyn Harris expects Trump to notice the visit because the president has repeatedly spoken about his admiration for the royal family.
Harris said Trump might see how different Canada is from the U.S.
“It is a very distinctive history that goes back to the waves of loyalists who settled here after the American revolution,” Harris said. “And we’re going to seeing the king in a Canadian context, escorted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, surrounded by Canadian symbolism. This is very much King Charles III in his role as King of Canada.”
The speech, which will be delivered Tuesday, is not written by the king or his advisers in the U.K., as the king serves as a nonpartisan head of state. The king will read what is put before him by Canada’s government.
“Charles can only act with the consent and with the advice of his prime minister. But at the same time he cannot act in a way that would throw any of the other 14 Commonwealth realms under the bus. So it is finest tightrope to walk,” said Justin Vovk, a Canadian royal historian.
Canadians were not happy when U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer extended a state visit invitation to Trump on behalf of the king during a time when Trump threatened Canada’s sovereignty.
“To be frank,” Carney told Britain’s Sky News. “They weren’t impressed by that gesture, quite simply, given the circumstance. It was a time when we were quite clear … about the issues around sovereignty.”
The king has more recently been showing support for Canada, including displaying Canadian military medals on his chest during a visit to a British aircraft carrier.
After he arrives on Monday he will drop the ceremonial first puck or ball during a street hockey game. He will also attend a community event and meet with Carney and Canada’s governor general, his representative as head of state. The king will return to the U.K. after Tuesday’s speech and a visit to Canada’s National War Memorial.
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