BionicBunny BionicBunny:
If the monarchy were ever to be dropped by Canada, I would no longer consider this my country. I was raised Canadian but in a very British household. I grew up with the royal family being a part of it. If it ever were to go, I know I would just leave to the UK (and I can obtain citizenship). Better for me to be British and no Canadian than no British and one step away from being an American.
And there is no insult intended. An American would most likely have the same shock if suddenly the presidency was tossed away in favour of a Canadian political system (as well as some other changes).
I understand a bit how you feel. A huge, very Canadian part of my soul would be ripped out if Canada became a republic. That just isn't us. We exist, in a way, because of the monarchy, and getting rid of it seems so pointless and silly. It is what originally distinguished us from the Yanks. I'm not saying it's the only thing, but it was the defining question at the beginning: 'You're traitors to the Crown, and we aren't. Go to hell.' I know it's not like that anymore, but if 50 years ago, even 40 years ago, the Crown still had a place in Canadian values I don't see how we can let it die such a dog's death in today's world where nothing matters anymore.
I wouldn't take it so far as to uproot myself and go to the UK. That's a foreign country to me. But Canada as a republic would seem somehow foreign to me as well. Strangely enough, I don't think of the Crown as a UK thing. I truly think of it as Canadian. I know the Queen lives in Britain, but somehow that doesn't even figure into the equation in my head. If the Crown dies, then this country dies a little in me.