VOA新闻杂志2022--越来越多的加拿大人不希望君主政体继续存在

More Canadians Do Not Want Monarchy² to Continue

Canada has deep historical ties to Britain and many Canadians generally liked Queen Elizabeth II. But a growing number of Canadians do not want the British monarch¹ to represent them. The risks that come with constitutional reform, however, mean there is little political wish for change.

Britain colonized³ Canada beginning in the late 1500s. The country formally remained part of the British empire until 1982. Now it is a member of the Commonwealth⁴ of former empire countries that have the British monarch as head of state.

A public opinion study by Canada's Angus Reid Institute in April found that 51 percent of Canadians do not want the monarchy to continue as its head of state. That is up from 45 percent in January 2020. Only 26 percent said it should continue.

In addition, a new opinion study by the group Leger found that about 77 percent of Canadians said they feel no attachment⁵ to the British monarchy.

Many Canadians felt sorry for the royal family after the death of the queen. But many find their relationship with the British monarch to be strange.

Those from Quebec, the mostly French-speaking province, feel even less connection with Britain. In the Angus Reid study, 71 percent of people living in Quebec said they no longer see a need for the monarchy.

Twenty percent of Canada's population is new to the country with little connection to Britain. And indigenous⁶, or native, people usually feel little warmth for the colonial power.

Niigaan Sinclair is a professor of Indigenous Studies at the University of Manitoba. In an article for the Winnipeg Free Press, he said: "Besides a whole lot of photo opportunities alongside chiefs in headdresses the reign⁷ of Queen Elizabeth will forever be marked by inaction."

Pro-monarchy Canadians and observers say the constitutional monarchy is a well-functioning democratic system. They also say changing the system would be both complex and politically risky⁸.

"The massive constitutional effort of removing the Crown would inevitably⁹ invite many other suggestions for constitutional change. Canada went down this road in the 1980s and 1990s and the country nearly collapsed¹⁰ from all the competing demands," said Jonathan Malloy. He is a professor of political science at Ottawa's Carleton University.

At least seven provincial¹¹ legislatures representing more than 50 percent of the population, plus parliament, must approve constitutional reforms.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was asked about his position on the monarchy on Tuesday. He said Canada's democracy is healthy and while he is always open to "strengthening" it, "Canadians are almost entirely¹² preoccupied¹³ with the big issues we're facing" like climate change and the economy.

Without fully¹⁴ supporting the monarchy or removing the chance for debate, Trudeau said his government will work on the issues important to Canadians.

Words in This Story

monarch — n. a person who rules a kingdom or empire

empire — n. a group of countries or regions that are controlled by one ruler or one government

opportunity — n. an activity in which several or many people are asked a question or a series of questions in order to get information about what most people think about something

reign — n. the period of time during which a king, queen, emperor, etc., is ruler of a country

inevitable¹⁵ — adj. sure to happen

province — n. any one of the large parts that some countries are divided into

1 monarch   

n.帝王，君主，最高统治者

参考例句：

• The monarch's role is purely ceremonial.君主纯粹是个礼仪职位。
• I think myself happier now than the greatest monarch upon earth.我觉得这个时候比世界上什么帝王都快乐。

2 monarchy   

n.君主，最高统治者；君主政体，君主国

参考例句：

• The monarchy in England plays an important role in British culture.英格兰的君主政体在英国文化中起重要作用。
• The power of the monarchy in Britain today is more symbolical than real.今日英国君主的权力多为象徵性的，无甚实际意义。

3 colonized   

开拓殖民地，移民于殖民地( colonize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The area was colonized by the Vikings. 这一地区曾沦为维京人的殖民地。
• The British and French colonized the Americas. 英国人和法国人共同在美洲建立殖民地。

4 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

5 attachment   

n.附属物，附件；依恋；依附

参考例句：

• She has a great attachment to her sister.她十分依恋她的姐姐。
• She's on attachment to the Ministry of Defense.她现在隶属于国防部。

6 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

7 reign   

n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势

参考例句：

• The reign of Queen Elizabeth lapped over into the seventeenth century.伊丽莎白王朝延至17世纪。
• The reign of Zhu Yuanzhang lasted about 31 years.朱元璋统治了大约三十一年。

8 risky   

adj.有风险的，冒险的

参考例句：

• It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow.这可能有危险，但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
• He is well aware how risky this investment is.他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。

9 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

10 collapsed   

adj.倒塌的

参考例句：

• Jack collapsed in agony on the floor. 杰克十分痛苦地瘫倒在地板上。
• The roof collapsed under the weight of snow. 房顶在雪的重压下突然坍塌下来。

11 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

12 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

13 preoccupied   

adj.全神贯注的，入神的；被抢先占有的；心事重重的v.占据（某人）思想，使对…全神贯注，使专心于( preoccupy的过去式)

参考例句：

• He was too preoccupied with his own thoughts to notice anything wrong. 他只顾想着心事，没注意到有什么不对。
• The question of going to the Mount Tai preoccupied his mind. 去游泰山的问题盘踞在他心头。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

15 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。