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Of the more than 1,200 delegates who voted on whether severing ties with the monarchy should become party policy, 67% were opposed.

Prior to the vote, some Liberals had described the idea as the type of bold policy idea that Canadians — and party members — were looking for.

“Last night, our party chose to adopt a more open process to select our leader,” said delegate Sean Sutherland. “It’s time that we had a discussion about doing the same with our head of state.”

Others reminded delegates of the role the Liberal party played in repatriating the Constitution and creating the Maple Leaf.

Those opposed, however, worried about creating a republic with the head of state beholden to politics as well as the impact on Aboriginals given that treaties are with the Crown.

“We need to tread very carefully before we make this decision,” said Liberal aboriginal affairs critic Carolyn Bennett.

Debate over whether to legalize marijuana was equally contentious, though 77% of delegates voted in favour of legalization.

Samuel Lavoie, president of the Young Liberals of Canada, which proposed both motions, said he was excited to see the “overwhelming” support from members to legalize marijuana, but isn’t certain whether it will get into the party’s federal election platform.

“There is no doubt that there’s a strong will from the membership to have this part of our election platform,” Lavoie said. “As to whether it will be a platform commitment in 2015, we will see.”