Robert Greeley

2018-06-30 17:11:19 -0400

Can someone please confirm the comment below…time frame was 5 years ago…Is this a fact?..



Right now, the two countries are allies, with Canada being a completely separate and sovereign nation. This means the British government has no power over the Canadian government, no taxation by Britain is levied on Canada etc.



Many people get confused because of the royalty, and think ‘Why, you have the same Queen! Therefore you must be part of the same kingdom!’ While it is true the Queen is the same person, officially her title from a Canadian government standpoint is the “Queen of Canada”, not the “Queen of England”. What this means is there is officially no overlap between the British government and the Canadian government, just one person with multiple job roles.



To further the separation, the Queen of Canada resides in England, so while she is not Canada (almost always), her job is done by a Canadian viceroy called the Governor General (currently David Johnson). The elected Prime Minister of Canada ‘recommends’ to the Queen who should be the Governor General (read: the Prime Minister picks the Governor General).



Finally, the role of Queen / Governor General is mainly ceremonial. The Governor General has two real powers. They can, in a round-about way, veto a law coming into power (this has never been done, and is quite the convoluted process), and has the power to grant / refuse the request of the Prime Minister to call an election (Im not sure if the GG has ever refused the request, but it would be a historical event).



Another confusion in the relationship between the two countries lie in the path to sovereignty Canada has taken. It was a long process, and difficult to pinpoint exactly when Canada became a fully separate nation from England.



In 1867 the Dominion of Canada was created with its own government, but Britain retain a lot of control over the country. There are many significant steps from then to present day that mark steps toward further sovereignty. For example, in 1931 the Statute of Westminster meant that Canada now had control over its foreign policy, Britain could no longer force laws on Canada, and Canada could repeal any British law in effect. In 1949 Canada adopted its own Supreme Court, which meant the highest court for Canadian law moved from Britain to Canada. In 1965 we got our own flag, in 1980 our own national anthem, and finally in 1982 Canada brought its constitution home, which meant only the Canadian government could amend the constitution.



I hope this helps! Feel free to ask any further questions.

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