King Charles III says Canada is seeing a “renewed sense of national pride, unity and hope” at a critical time while delivering the throne speech on Tuesday.
“It is with a deep sense of pride and pleasure that my wife and I join you here today as we witness Canadians coming together in a renewed sense of national pride, unity and hope,” the King said.
“I’ve always had the greatest admiration for Canada’s unique identity, which is recognized across the world for bravery and sacrifice in defence of national values and for the diversity and kindness of Canadians,” the King added.
Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech from the throne, used by prime ministers to outline their plans for the upcoming session, focused heavily on a sense of national unity, economic growth and global trade.
Amid the ongoing trade war and threats to Canada’s sovereignty by U.S. President Donald Trump, the King remarked that in the past 50 years since Queen Elizabeth II read her last Canadian throne speech in 1977, the country has set an example “as a force for good.”
“As the anthem reminds us, the True North is indeed strong and free,” he said.
King Charles III in the speech echoed previous comments by Carney that the global trading system was changing, saying that Canada’s “relationships with partners are also changing.”
The speech noted that Carney and U.S. President Donald Trump were already defining a new economic and security relationship between the two countries “rooted in mutual respects and founded on common interests.”
Amid anxiety about how the world is changing, the speech noted that the changing world presents an opportunity.
“This moment is also an incredible opportunity, an opportunity for renewal, an opportunity to think big and to act bigger, an opportunity for Canada to embark on the largest transformation of its economy since the Second World War,” the King read.
“A confident Canada, which has welcomed new Canadians, including from some of the most tragic global conflict zones, can seize this opportunity by recognizing that all Canadians can give themselves far more than any foreign power on any continent can ever take away,” he said.
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While focused on Canada’s sovereignty and unity, the speech also reiterated promises made by the Liberals during the federal election campaign, including a middle-class tax cut and cutting the GST on homes at or under $1 million for first-time home buyers.
“The government’s overarching goal, its core mission, is to build the strongest economy in the G7,” the speech read.
Among this, the speech noted, is by reducing interprovincial trade barriers — a promise the prime minister made both during and after the federal election campaign.
Former prime ministers Kim Campbell, Stephen Harper and Justin Trudeau were in attendance, as well as the late former prime minister Brian Mulroney’s widow Mila Mulroney. Former governors general David Johnston and Michaelle Jean were also in the audience, as well as Supreme Court of Canada judges, Chief of the Defence Staff Gen. Jennie Carignan and former Speakers of the House of Commons including Geoff Reagan and Peter Milliken, and Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, among other high-profile guests.
The Liberals will need to get the support of members from at least one other party to pass the speech from the throne, which is considered a confidence test and could bring down the government if enough MPs vote against the implementing legislation.
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However, with a Liberal caucus of 168 MPs — Speaker Francis Scarpaleggia was elected as a Liberal but must remain impartial and only votes in the event of a tie — the Conservatives, Bloc Québécois and NDP would all have to vote against the government to defeat it in a confidence motion.
Even if Green Party MP Elizabeth May voted against the government and the NDP were to abstain, it would not be enough votes.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre criticized the speech, saying the party saw a lot of “slogans and political talking points but no clear plans to get it done.”
Poilievre went on to say the speech talks about reining in government spending yet noted nothing on specific savings, and said while the government made promises on building it did not touch on pipelines or the oil sector.
“No specific plans to get anything done, even though as the prime minister said we are in a crisis to break our dependence on the American economy,” he said.
Having lost his riding in the federal election, Poilievre does not have a seat in the House of Commons and so is not able to give the formal response of the Opposition leader which is given in that chamber. He instead spoke to reporters outside the chamber in the foyer of the House. Former Conservative Party leader and current Regina-Qu’Appelle MP Andrew Scheer is acting as interim Opposition leader while Poilievre waits to run for a second chance at a seat in an upcoming byelection.
The Conservative leader, asked if his party would support the speech, said the Conservatives will put forward a “constructive” amendment to add plans that would include repealing Bill C-69, the government’s environmental assessment act.
“Our amendment will put real plans in place rather than slogans and talking points,” Poilievre said.
Interim NDP Leader Don Davies did not signal how his party will vote yet, but said he felt there was “nothing really new.”
“It’s essentially the policies that the Liberals have announced over the past several months in broad platitudes,” Davies said. “I will say there are some positive indications in that throne speech that the New Democrats can support.”
Davies said this includes promises around housing, diversifying trade, and building a “strong, independent Canadian economy,” though he had concerns over a speech he said was not “worker-centred” or focused on health care.
The last time a monarch delivered the speech from the throne in Canada was in 1977.
The speech is normally delivered by the governor general — the monarch’s representative in Canada — but after the federal election, Carney announced the King would be delivering that speech.
It comes at a time when U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened Canada’s sovereignty by saying the country should be the 51st state.
The King reflected on what the Crown symbolizes for Canada, saying it has been a “symbol of unity.”
“It also represents stability and continuity from the past to the presence,” King Charles III said. “As it should, it stands proudly as a symbol of Canada today in all her richness and dynamism.”
The vote on the speech will likely not happen right away, but once presented normally gets about six days of debate.
— with files from Global News’ Sean Boynton
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