Canadian lawmakers reject proposal to cut ties with British monarchy

2022-10-26T20:53:14Z

FILE PHOTO - Canada’s Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-Francois Blanchet delivers remarks on the death of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada September 15, 2022. REUTERS/Blair Gable

Canadian lawmakers on Wednesday rejected a proposal by Canada’s Quebec separatist party asking the federal government to sever ties with the British monarchy.

The motion by Bloc Quebecois was defeated with 44 votes in favour to 266 against in the House of Commons.

Bloc leader Yves-Francois Blanchet introduced the motion on Tuesday, saying allegiance to a foreign sovereign was not only outdated, but also expensive. read more

Britain colonized Canada beginning in the late 1500s, and the country remained part of the British empire until 1982. Now it is a member of the Commonwealth of former empire countries that count the British monarch as head of state.