“They don’t want to foot the bill” … Canadians chilled by the arrival of Meghan and Harry

• Harry recently joined his wife Meghan and their son Archie in Canada after the couple decided to give up their central role in the British royal family.
• Despite the country’s sympathy for these new arrivals, the reception was not unanimous.
• “A large number of Canadians are very happy to know that Meghan and Harry are going to settle here, but they do not want to pay the bill related to their protection,” said ex-Quebec minister Benoît Pelletier, in particular.

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From our correspondent in Montreal

Harry, Meghan and Archie are finally reunited in Canada. But, after two weeks of media and family storms following the announcement of the withdrawal of the couple, will the trio find a haven of peace there? The reception is in any case far from being unanimous in this member country of the Commonwealth, as large as fifteen times France. And especially regarding the financial aspect.

“We wish the best of luck to Meghan and Harry in their wish to become financially independent,” wrote the Canadian Taxpayers Federation in a petition already signed by 80,000 people. After these politeness, she asked Prime Minister Justin Trudeau “to make sure that taxpayers’ money is not used to support” the couple, this being “incompatible” with the new family lifestyle. Proof that the subject is sensitive, almost three out of four Canadians refuse to pay the least cent to participate in such costs, according to a
recent Angus Reid Institute survey.

The monarchy debate revived

“A large number of Canadians are very happy to know that Meghan and Harry are going to settle here, but they do not want to pay the bill linked to their protection,” added Quebec constitutional and former minister Benoît Pelletier. This concern has been echoed by several newspapers, both French and English. But everyday Globe and Mail goes even further. On January 13, he published an editorial explaining why “it goes beyond the possibility that the federal government may have to find a few million more dollars.” According to the editorial team, which wishes to keep members of the royal family at a distance to maintain a “virtual” monarchy, to welcome the Duke and Duchess of Sussex “does not correspond to the nature of the long-established relations between Canada and Britain, and (between) Canada and the Crown. ”

This opinion is not shared by Professor Benoît Pelletier. “The monarchy is alive and well appreciated in Canada,” he says. “The powers of the monarch are essentially symbolic, as are those of the Governor General and the lieutenant-governors, but not only.” If sympathy for the royal family is not discussed, in itself, by Canadian editorialists, the arrival of Harry and Meghan therefore rekindles the debates on the constitutional monarchy, at a time when 45% of Canadians do not wish to keep this plan in the future, according to the same survey conducted by Angus Reid among 1,200 people.

Culture shock and confusion

In Quebec, where the proportion jumped to 69%, the couple’s arrival went almost unnoticed outside newsstands. And Nicole Madore, owner of the Magasin Général du Vieux-Montréal, thinks she knows why. “I am sometimes offered to sell souvenirs in a style british or “mounted police”, but here, it doesn’t speak to us. It’s probably closer to English culture, ”said the shopkeeper. Who still plans to buy some products bearing the image of the royal family, in order to test them in the coming days. The new life of Harry and Meghan in Canada also reacts on the side of the Bloc Québécois’ independenceists. “I already have a subscription to Netflix, so I think Netflix should finance season 4 of The Crown” (to participate in the costs generated by the arrival of the couple), quipped the party leader, Yves-François Blanchet, quoted in The Press. A matter of money, again.

At the newsagent, these excitement does not make everyone laugh. “I hope that the debate will not get out of hand and that this case will not take up too much space at the media level, to the detriment of more important substantive questions”, reacts on the spot Daphné Brouillet, professor of cinema and communication, for whom “The current monarchical system is obsolete”. “We are little aware of the mechanics at work and of our duties towards the royal family,” continues the Montrealer, regretting the confusion in political and media speeches on the subject. Several elements remain in effect, starting with the amount of the invoice to ensure the couple’s safety and their child, estimated at between 1.7 million and 10 million dollars per year.

No immigration privilege

Contrary to what certain British media announced, Justin Trudeau has not yet confirmed to Queen Elisabeth that Canada will assume these security costs. “We support them in their decision, but we also have responsibilities,” said the Prime Minister on January 13 in an interview with the network. Global News, noting that a “number of decisions” remained to be made by the royal family and by the Sussex themselves.

In the area of ​​immigration, which also creates some tensions in a country that welcomed more than 321,000 new immigrants in 2018, the government is being clearer. “To become legal permanent residents of Canada, they should apply through our normal immigration process,” said the federal immigration department at Radio Canada. In fact, neither the Duke of Sussex nor his wife automatically have Canadian citizen status.

Environmental scandal in sight?

These administrative formalities did not prevent the couple from projecting in British Columbia (West), where they were already located. according to The sun, the former American actress is said to have spotted a luxurious property on the edge of the Pacific, displayed at 25 million euros. “If they stay in Canada and they travel less, they will pollute less, that’s always the point,” tries to positivize Daphne Brouillet. For some observers, the ecological footprint of the couple, who wishes to live between North America and the United Kingdom, could create controversy in a country where,
according to an Environics Institute survey completed in October 2019,
the environment is at the top of concerns citizens.

But other challenges are already taking over the family. While the media pressure weighed heavily on their decision to take off, the couple said they are already spied on by paparazzi on Vancouver Island. Supported by their neighborhood in the town of North Saanich, where their current residence is located, they benefit from a certain “sympathy capital” and the support of several English-speaking press titles, such as the Toronto Star and the National Post.

The Sussexes… in Sussex?

At the other end of the country, in New Brunswick precisely (Southeast), a mayor hopes to receive their visit. He’s the one from… Sussex. Considered the capital of milk production in the Maritime provinces, the town of 4,000 inhabitants has been in the spotlight since the satirical publication The Manatee proposed it as a place of residence for the princely family.

For the time being, the family probably has other priorities, such as preventing the “Megxit” from causing such a stir on this side of the Atlantic.