King Charles III to open Parliament at end of May, Carney says – National | Globalnews.ca
EDITOR’S NOTE: The last time Queen Elizabeth II opened a session of a Canadian Parliament was 1977, not 1957 as the article previously stated. In 1957, she had opened a new Parliament, rather than a session of an existing one. This has been updated.
Prime Minister Mark Carney says King Charles III will open Parliament later this month to begin the 45th Canadian government.
“We will have the privilege of welcoming His Majesty King Charles III, who will deliver the Speech from the Throne on May 27,” Carney told reporters Friday in his first press conference since his party’s election win. “Her Majesty the Queen will join the visit.”
Buckingham Palace confirmed Carney’s announcement in a post on X, saying the King and Queen would visit Canada from May 26 to 27, with the pair attending the opening of Parliament.
It will be the first time that a sovereign has opened a new Parliament since Queen Elizabeth II last did so in 1957 following that year’s federal election. She had also opened the third session of the 30th Parliament in 1977.
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When a sovereign opens Parliament, they are the one who delivers the Speech from the Throne that outlines what the government plans for its mandate and immediate priorities.
The Liberals are set to form a minority government after Monday’s election, and are projected to hold 168 seats, though two recounts are still pending. The Conservatives will form the Official Opposition with a projected 144 seats, while the Bloc won 23, the NDP seven and the Greens securing one.
The return of a new Parliament will see the election of the Speaker, followed by the Speech from the Throne, normally delivered by the governor general as representative of the Crown.
The King’s visit also comes at a time when Canada’s sovereignty has been repeatedly threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump, who has said multiple times since his re-election that Canada should be the “51st state.”
That rhetoric, as well as Trump’s tariffs, became a key focus of the federal election campaign with party leaders raising the question of who could best stand up to and negotiate with the president.
In the days since the election, Trump congratulated Carney on his win and said he expects to meet with the prime minister at the White House in the coming days, adding he believed a “great relationship” with Canada was possible under Carney.
The King is the head of state in Canada, which is a member of the Commonwealth group of many former British colonies and territories.
They are expected to remain politically neutral but amid Trump’s threats to Canadian sovereignty, some have called for a more active role.
“The Government of Canada should ask the Head of State to underscore Canadian sovereignty,” former Alberta Premier Jason Kenney posted on X in March.
Asked about the King’s visit, Carney said he made the request.
“It clearly underscores the sovereignty of our country,” he said.
The King met with former prime minister Justin Trudeau in early March and then with Prime Minister Mark Carney shortly after he was sworn in that same month.
Trudeau had said following his meeting that it centred on “Canada’s sovereign and independent future.”
In mid-March, the King also presented a senior Canadian parliamentary official, the Usher of the Black Rod, with a sword in a ceremony that appeared loaded with symbolism.
The King also wore Canadian military honours on his uniform in March and planted an Acer rubrum, also known as a red maple, on the grounds of Buckingham Palace to commemorate the late queen’s commitment to forest conservation.
King Charles III has visited Canada multiple times, with his most recent visit in 2022 to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. Other recent visits were in 2017, 2014 and 2012.
Canada is a constitutional monarchy, and King Charles III is the King of Canada and the country’s head of state. But while the state’s powers are derived from the authority and powers of the Crown, via the governor general down through the political leaders she must formally invite to form a government, the monarch does not “rule” Canada.
“In Canada’s system of government, the power to govern is vested in the Crown but is entrusted to the government to exercise on behalf and in the interest of the people,” the government says.
The Government of Canada says the monarch’s role is to “unite Canadians and give a collective sense of belonging to our country.”
The King’s visit to Canada will be his first as sovereign and the first time he would open a Canadian Parliament.
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