Barbados just got rid of the Queen — should Canada follow suit?

When Barbados' then-Governor General Sandra Mason uttered a few words on a low stage in National Heroes Square in the early morning of Nov. 30, she did more than change the country.

As she was sworn in as president, she was no longer a representative of Queen Elizabeth, but head of state herself. That shifted Barbados from a constitutional monarchy into a republic — and reopened an old debate.

Barbados is the first country to remove the Queen as sovereign since Mauritius did the same 30 years ago. Now, Canada is among the last 15 countries — of the 32 total since Elizabeth began her rule — to continue to hold her in their highest office. 

And as Mason uttered the few words pledging herself to her new role, and for the first time putting a person born in the country as the head of state, it raised a pertinent question: If Barbados can do it, why can't Canada?

Barbados' move from a constitutional monarchy to a republic was aided by a sweeping election win in 2018. Prime Minister Mia Mottley's Barbados Labour Party won all 30 seats in Parliament — paving the way for a vote, for which Mottley only required a two-thirds majority in both houses of Parliament.

And while some citizens were upset there was no public vote on the issue, they were able to enact the change in little over a year.

Philippe Lagassé, a constitutional expert and associate professor at Carleton University in Ottawa, explained that it would be much more difficult to do the same in Canada. For the country to amend the Constitution and replace the Queen as head of state, they would need to enact article 41(a) of the Constitution Act of 1982. That statute requires a majority approval from "Senate and House of Commons and of the legislative assembly of each province" — meaning all ten provinces would need to agree (though not the territories).

And while a referendum is not legally required, he said it's incredibly unlikely any — let alone all — would move forward without one.

Even then, that's far from the only thing standing in the way. First, as Canada's current governing party is far from the majority that Mottley's enjoyed, it would be virtually impossible to change Canada's governmental system — even if a vote did pass.

"As we saw when it came to efforts to amend the Constitution in the past," Lagassé said, "individual members have mechanisms at their disposal where they could delay or potentially derail that effort, even if a majority of members who might be in favour."

But even getting to that point would prove unlikely. While a recent poll by the Angus Reid Institute found 52 per cent of Canadians said the country shouldn't remain a constitutional monarchy indefinitely, Canada continues to enjoy a unique relationship with the Crown.

Carolyn Harris, a Toronto historian and author specializing in the history of the monarchy, explained that Canada is the country that has received the most royal visits of any of the commonwealth realms — the Queen has visited Canada more than any other country outside the United Kingdom.

And while many Canadians don't want to see the monarchy go on forever, there is still a favourable view of Queen Elizabeth herself.

There have been fewer visits of late as Elizabeth, who is 95, has had declines in health — but after "waxing and waning" interest between the 1960s and 1990s, Harris said interest in the Queen and the monarchy in general actually increased after she visited for her Golden Jubilee in 2002, then celebrated Canada Day on Parliament Hill in 2010.