Thread: Happy Dominion Day, Canada ! Who Should Become the First King (or Queen) of Canada?

Who Should Become the First King (or Queen) of Canada?
Happy Dominion Day! Isn't it time for the country to appoint a native monarch of its own?

By Andrew Cohen
Jun 30 2011, 9:31 AM ET


Friday is Canada Day, marking the anniversary of the date the world's second largest nation (in terms of land mass, anyway) was politely granted its independence from Great Britain. It happened 144 years ago, in 1867, just two years and two months after the Civil War ended and Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. Today, congenitally collegial Canadians often celebrate Canada Day by enjoying Tim Hortons doughnuts, evacuating the cities to their country houses on pristine lakes, and watching the free-agency signing frenzy begin in the National Hockey League (live on TSN, natch).

This year, however, right in time for the holiday, Canadians will get a special treat. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, otherwise known as William and Kate, otherwise known as the hottest couple on the planet, will be visiting what is by far the coolest of the remaining nations of the Commonwealth. The visit, in turn, evidently has caused an uptick in chatter about a Canadian monarchy or, more precisely, why there isn't one. And that, in turn, led to the suggestion that the Duke of Cambridge's brother, Harry, would be a fine choice to serve as the King of Canada (technically, of course, the job's already taken by Harry's grandmother).

I think those dogged Canadian monarchists have it all wrong. The next Canadian royal ought to be the first Canadian royal. If Canada really wants to go down this road, it's time to pick a real Canadian to be King or Queen. My father had to sing "God Save the King" (in honor of George V, Edward III, and George VI) when he went to school in Montreal in the 1930s. I learned to recite "God Save the Queen" (in honor of Elizabeth II) when I went to school there 40 years later. So I feel like I've earned the right to suggest we vote for candidates far better suited than Harry to be Canada's first on-its-own Queen or King.

You can make your selections from the suggestions below -- and you can also offer your alternatives. (Be nice! And be careful. For example, if you suggest Celine Dion, your computer will automatically implode. And if you select famous Canadian actress Pamela Anderson, who was born on July 1, 1967, exactly one hundred years after Canada was born, that dude from the video will visit your home.) You can vote for Queen and King or just for one candidate. On the eve of another Dominion Day (that's what they called it when I lived there), here are my first ten prospects to bring the monarchy back to North America.

more: Who Should Become the First King (or Queen) of Canada? - Andrew Cohen - International - The Atlantic

Do Canadians really want their own monarch?