In Quebec, the Queen’s death raises questions about future of the monarchy in Canada

The majority of Quebecers don't look kindly on the monarchy for historical reasons as well as their support for democracy, according to a historian and sociologist.

The mixed reactions in Quebec to the death of Queen Elizabeth II highlight the province’s complex relationship with the monarchy.

In the days after the Queen’s death, incumbent Premier François Legault — who is currently on the campaign trail ahead of an Oct. 3 election — has faced questions about whether the province should now eliminate the position of lieutenant governor, as well as criticism from the Parti Québécois for lowering the Quebec flag to half mast in honour of the late queen.

Quebec media outlets ran both tributes to the monarch and retrospectives about a riot during her 1964 visit to Quebec City that has become known as “Truncheon Saturday.”

The majority of Quebecers don’t look kindly on the monarchy for historical reasons as well as their support for democracy, said Gerard Bouchard, a historian and sociologist who teaches at the Université du Quebec a Chicoutimi.

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“In Quebec, this appears to be a vestige of a colonialist era that we thought had disappeared,” he said in an interview. “In Quebec, the majority of people would say, ‘we don’t know why this continues in Canada and we don’t know why this has been imposed on us in Quebec.”’

While Quebecers may respect the late queen as an individual, the monarchy brings up memories of the British conquest of New France and British colonial rule over French-speaking Canada, said Bouchard, who studies national myths.

The idea that the head of state is a European monarch also runs counter to Quebecers ideas of democracy, he said, adding opposition to the monarchy is stronger in Quebec among federalists and English-speakers than it is in other parts of Canada.