Ontario, Canada is part of the Commonwealth, which is an encompassing term designated to the international organization of 54 independent member states. The countries typically have highly developed economies, and the members work to promote representative democracy and individual liberty, and free trade, most notably.
According to the London Declaration, Queen Elizabeth II is the head of the Commonwealth for a minority of the members (16) as the position is symbolic. Thirty-three members are republics and five have their own monarchy houses. Canada’s follows the House of Windsor in which the Queen was born (Saxe-Coburg-Gotha line). The Commonwealth members have a combined population of 2.1 billion people, ranging across six continents. Canada is one of four major contributors to the combined gross domestic product, contributing $1.3 trillion to the Commonwealth.
New members must have a direct constitutional link to an existing member. In Canada’s case, we are a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as the head of our state.
The commonwealth flags can be seen on Ottawa’s Parliament building flagpole.
History of Canadian Commonwealth
In 1867, Canada became the first colony to be recognized as a “Dominion,” making them equal with the British. Shortly after, other parts of the empire became Dominions – Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Irish Free State – which led to separate signatures on the peace treaty of WWI, the Treaty of Versailles (1919). These former colonies became self-governing Dominions, in which their prime ministers adopted the Balfour Report (1926) definition of the Dominions as:
“…autonomous communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another in any aspect of their domestic or external affairs, though united by common allegiance to the Crown, and freely associated as members of the British Commonwealth of Nations.”
Following this Report, the Statute of Westminster (1931) clarifies the powers of the Canadian Parliament and the other Dominions as being “equal in status” with Britain. After consulting Canada’s federal and provincial government, the British North American Act of 1867-1930 was specifically exempt from the terms of the Statue of Westminster. The amendment of the Canadian constitution occurred in 1982 when the BNA Act was renamed the Constitution Act, 1982.
Complementing the Constitution Act, 1982, are British and Canadian statutes that have constitutional effects, including unwritten principles known as “the conventions of the constitution.” Such conventions give power to the Crown to dissolve Parliament and call a general election under the advice of the prime minister.
