Oath of Allegiance (Canada)

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The Canadian Oath of Allegiance is to the Canadian Monarch, and not to "Canada" or the Constitution of Canada. This is because the Sovereign is vested with all executive power, and thus he or she is seen as one who "personifies the State and is the personal symbol of allegiance, unity and authority for all Canadians." ^[1] The relationship between the Oath taker and the Monarch is a complex one with roots reaching back to historical periods when a monarch ruled and accepted an Oath of fealty. Modern oaths are still reciprocal, but now the oath taker places their allegiance to the continuing State, its laws, etc., as embodied by the Monarch. As the legal personality of the State, the Monarch has obligations to the oath taker. The Monarch's acceptance of her responsibilities to her subjects is symbolized by the Coronation Oath, where he or she promises "to govern the Peoples of... Canada... according to their respective laws and customs."^[1]

The Oath, in its present form, is:

I, ……………, do Solemnly swear (affirm) that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors according to law, forever. So help me God.

A person may choose to replace the word "swear" with "affirm" and to omit the phrase "So help me God." This person is also given the option of "swearing" on a bible or not.

The Oath (or declaration) is usually used only upon induction into the police forces, the military, the Judiciary, the Senate - or on assumption of elected office, along with other specific oaths of office. A modified version, with the added phrase "and I will obey the laws of Canada and fulfill my duties as a Canadian citizen" is used as Canada's Oath of Citizenship.

The Oath for Senators and Members of Parliament has stood the same since Confederation, according to Section 128 of the Constitution Act, 1867 and provides as follows:

"Every member of the Senate and the House of Commons of Canada shall before taking his Seat therein take and subscribe before the Governor General or some Person authorized by him, and every Member of a Legislative Council or Legislative Assembly of any Province shall before the Lieutenant Governor of the Province or some Person authorized by him, the Oath of Allegiance contained in the Fifth Schedule to this Act."

The oath set out in the Fifth Schedule reads as follows:

I, ……………, do swear, that I will be faithful and bear true Allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Victoria.

"The name of the King or Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for the Time being is to be substituted from Time to Time, with Proper Terms of Reference thereto."

For those Parliamentarians whose religion prohibits the swearing of Oaths, there exists a compromise Oath from 1905:

I, ……………, do solemnly, sincerely and truly affirm and declare the taking of an oath is according to my religious belief unlawful, and I do also solemnly, sincerely and truly affirm and declare that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second.

Failure to take the oath of allegiance constitutes an absolute bar to sitting or voting in Parliament or the provincial legislatures of Canada. The only way to change this would be to amend the Canadian Constitution. It is not entirely clear whether this could be done under the general amending formula (through resolutions of Parliament and of the legislatures of at least two-thirds of the provinces having at least 50% of the population) or whether it would require unanimity.