Prince’s Visit Sparks Debate On Monarchy

The Prince of Wales toured this wintry gateway to Canada’s agricultural heartland Thursday during a weeklong trip to Canada which many are treating as a Canadian audition by the heir to the British throne.

Media treatment of the visit has referred to Prince Charles as “the man who would be king of Canada,” but some are ready to put a question mark at the end of that phrase.

His trip has revived the national debate on whether Canada should sever its ties with the British monarchy when the reign of Queen Elizabeth II ends.

On the prince’s arrival Tuesday, a parliamentary backbencher of the ruling Liberal Party, Alex Shepherd, issued a call for the sovereign to be replaced by a “uniquely Canadian head of state.”

“It is time for us to grow up as a country,” Shepherd told reporters.