By Lorelee Sankarlal
On September 8, Canada lost Queen Elizabeth II as its Monarch and gained King Charles III. Whether you are a monarchist or not, this does affect all Canadians in some important ways. Here are just some of the ways things will change for Canadians.
Passports – Passports currently are issued under the wording: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Canada requests, in the name of Her Majesty the Queen, all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely, without hindrance, and to afford the bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary.”
The wording will now have to be changed to “… in the name of His Majesty the King…”. It has not yet been determined by the federal government when the new changes to passports will take place or when they will be issuing the new versions. With the current passport wait times being what they are, this probably won’t be happening quickly.
Currency – New currency will also be made bearing the image of the new King. But what happens to the currency we all have bearing the Queen’s image? As Queen Elizabeth’s image is on every piece of coin currency that Canadians own, it will be quite a long time before you only see King Charles III’s image on all our coins.
At present, there are no short-term plans coming from the Royal Canadian Mint. It takes time for the new obverse (the head image on a coin) of the King to be made ready, approved and then cast. But rest assured, the current currency will remain valid until such time as the new one comes into play. The current $20 bill has the Queen’s image on it and the Bank of Canada currently has no plans to replace it either.
Oath of Allegiance for New Citizens – The wording for Canada’s Oath of Allegiance now changes to: “I, [NAME], do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles III.” New Canadians who formerly swore allegiance to the Queen will not need to swear allegiance to the new King.
Stamps – New stamps with the image of King Charles will be made. Again, not a quick process as photographs must be taken, images approved, then they go into production.
The above are just some of the changes that will be introduced to Canadians in the coming weeks and months. It’s exciting and challenging at the same time – the logistics are impressive. It is truly an historic moment for our country and we will have the privilege to tell future generations we lived in the second Elizabethan age.