The Monarchist League of Canada is an organization formed in 1970 by John Aimers and Gary Toffoli . The League's objective is to support Canada's constitutional monarchy.
The League claims to have 17,000 members in over 20 branches across Canada, many under the patronage of Lieutenant-Governors. Members finance the League as the organization receives no public subsidies.
History
The 1960s and 1970s saw a growing mood of Canadian and Quebec nationalism and a resulting criticism of the monarchy as an archaic and foreign institution. The Canadian government responded by removing symbols of colonialism and monarchy in an effort to create a national identity. For instance, the Canadian Red Ensign was replaced by the Maple Leaf flag, use of the word dominion was dropped from government documents, and the names of government departments and holidays (with Dominion Day becoming Canada Day),God Save the Queen and the Maple Leaf Forever were displaced by O Canada the Queen's Printer for Canada became Publications Canada, the Royal Mail was rebranded Canada Post among other moves. Supporters of the monarchy were alarmed by these changes and formed the Monarchist League as a lobby group in favour of the retention of traditional symbols of monarchy and against what it viewed as "creeping republicanism" which would result in the eventual transformation of Canada from a monarchy into a republic.
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