Oh, Canada

Yesterday was Canada Day. We haven't attended any of the events for a couple of years, since we always seemed to be traveling on that particular day. But this year, we trekked on down to the park for speeches and cake cutting. As always, I watch from the sidelines as the husband performs his various civic duties. This year, before the speeches and photo ops and cake, there was a Citizenship Re-affirmation ceremony. A petite Chinese-Canadian judge in formal black robes led the crowd in the oath, both in English and French. I did not participate.

I am not a Canadian citizen. I could be, easily. I have lived here the required years for application. Becoming a citizen would mean I could vote in elections here. It's odd to live in a country for nearly 10 years and not participate in the elective process. Heck, I can't even vote for my own husband! But I haven't applied. One reason is the paperwork. Canada just loves her paperwork. And I am lazy. But the real reason I haven't applied is what occurs at the end of the process. The very thing I witnessed yesterday: the swearing of the oath.

Here it is:

I swear (or affirm) that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors, and that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen.

Pretty simple, actually. It is significantly shorter than the oath for the United States, with no vow to serve in case of war, etc. But, it requires that I swear allegiance to the Queen. I am uncomfortable with that.

I realize that the British monarchy, and the monarchy of the Commonwealth that Canada is part of, is merely a figurehead. I have no argument with the Canadian form of government, but I am American, god dammit! And we don't swear allegiance to any king or queen or emperor or whatever. We swear allegiance to an idea, a concept. Okay, we swear allegiance to a piece of paper. But we can change it. We made it. We don't swear allegiance to someone just because of who their parents and grandparents were.

I just can't do it. There is some talk that the Canadian oath may eventually be altered to remove the bit about the Queen, but until that day, I think I will have to let my husband win elections without my vote.

Edit:

Just for clarity's sake, I am not comparing the Canadian or US Oath of Citizenship to the Pledge of Allegiance. Here is the U.S. Oath:

I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.

The U.S. oath is decidedly more militaristic, not to mention the gratuitous mention of God. But the first part of it definitely supports my point. As a citizen of the US, one is required to renounce and abjure allegiance to princes and potentates, etc. I realize that most Americans never swear that particular oath, for that matter, neither do Canadians, which is why they rarely think about the Queen as their head of state.

I also want to assure anyone who isn't a US citizen that I would completely understand why they might not want to take the US oath. Renouncing your fidelity to your birth state might give one pause.

Yeah, I am taking this all far too seriously, aren't I?