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For Queen and country

When listing off symbols of Canadiana, there's at least one person who doesn't want the nation to forget its link to royalty alongside its kinship to Mounties, maple leafs and beavers. Kevin MacLeod has good reason to promote the monarchy.
Kevin MacLeod
Canadian secretary to the Queen, Kevin MacLeod, in the Senate chamber in 2009.

When listing off symbols of Canadiana, there's at least one person who doesn't want the nation to forget its link to royalty alongside its kinship to Mounties, maple leafs and beavers.

Kevin MacLeod has good reason to promote the monarchy. As Canadian secretary to the Queen, MacLeod is responsible for co-ordinating royal tours, like the recent trip abroad by Charles, Prince of Wales, and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, to Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Manitoba in May.

"Canada's always been a monarchy, a constitutional monarchy, and that's something we have to be very proud of," said MacLeod, adding that some of the "most robust democracies in the world," such as Sweden, Spain and Norway are also constitutional monarchies. "A lot of people look upon monarchy as an archaic system. Well, actually it's not. It's a system of government that has continued to evolve and meet the needs of Canadian society and I think it does it very well."

MacLeod compared the role of the monarchy to that of a fire extinguisher.

"You see it, it's very colourful, you know it's there and you know it's there for a very good purpose," he said. "You hope you never have to use it, but you know it's there."

The monarchy works quietly in the background in Canada, said MacLeod, which he characterized as both a strength and weakness.

It can, however, be thrust into the spotlight, such as when Prime Minister Jean Chretien recommended parliament be prorogued in 2002 and when Prime Minister Stephen Harper advised the same in 2008 and 2009.

"What amused me was to see the number of political scientists in this country who became constitutional experts overnight. Up until that point they couldn't pronounce the word let alone understand its meaning," said MacLeod. "But the issue of prorogation brought into focus that there are still some very genuine reserved and prerogative powers of the crown that are there to be exercised."

There are some people who are hoping the monarchy does take centre stage a little closer to home.

Following his birth almost a year ago, Prince George Mayor Shari Green said she would be extending an invitation for the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Catherine, to bring young Prince George to his namesake city in 2015 to help ring in the city's centennial.

Royal tours are planned up to a year in advance, explained MacLeod, and there are currently no plans for next year.

"I presume that will be looked at probably in the next few months. At this point we have no clear indication as to whether there will be a royal tour in 2015 and which members of the Royal Family may be involved," he said.

If it happens and Prince George ends up on the itinerary, it would mark the fourth official stop by a member of the British monarchy to the city.

The first was a 1958 visit by the Queen's sister Princess Margaret during a tour of B.C. for the 100th anniversary of the founding of the colony, which included stops in Prince George, Fort St. John, Quesnel and Williams Lake.

A 1986 visit by Prince Charles and Princess Diana included stops in P.G., Kamloops, Vernon and Vancouver, where they opened Expo '86.

The only visit by a reigning monarch came in August 1994, when Queen Elizabeth officially opened the University of Northern B.C. The school will also celebrate a milestone, with its 25th anniversary happening in 2015.

The odds of more royal tours in Canada over the next few years are pretty high, MacLeod indicated, given the volume of upcoming national anniversaries and milestones, both military and civilian.

Official royal tours are conducted after an invitation is extended by the prime minister, supported by the premiers of the provinces and territories that have signaled an interest to have the tour stop in their locales.

"What normally happens is if a municipality - let's say the city of Prince George or whomever - would like to be included in a royal tour, then they would register their desire for a royal tour with the chief of protocol with the province," said MacLeod. "We must have a signal from the premier that he or she is prepared to support a royal tour to, let's say in this case, British Columbia in 2015."

Cost-sharing arrangements are carefully worked out using what MacLeod called an elaborate equation.

"It's a standard template we've been using for years," he said.

The federal and provincial governments foot the bill for their specific events and share the expense for items such as motorcade movements and security.

Royal tours are scheduled practically down to the minute with full days for all involved.

"I don't want to overstate the case, there is a lot of scripting, but at the same time it's quite interesting when you get into a walkabout situation where it becomes totally unscripted," said MacLeod. "And that becomes fun because that's when [the Royal Family] totally can be themselves."