# King Charles will open the next Canadian Parliament **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 3, 2025, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-charles-will-open-the-next-canadian-parliament/1017810 "2025-05-03T03:05:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2025, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-charles-will-open-the-next-canadian-parliament/1017810/21 "2025-05-04T01:07:32Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > A few weeks ago, the King mentioned in an unrelated speech that he was _King of Canada_ and for a monarchy that usually limits expressing opinions to the colour of a tie, or the brooch worn at an event, it was seen as a _huge_ statement against Trump and his 51st state nonsense. I hope it’s recognized as an important statement and that, along with the King’s visit here to open Parliament, it helps reinforce Canada’s sovereignty to the Orange Doofus. I just wish that Keir Starmer wasn’t such a total wimp and suckup to Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2025, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-charles-will-open-the-next-canadian-parliament/1017810/22 "2025-05-04T01:36:58Z")
Yes, it was in a speech to the Italian Parliament: > [@](#): > > “Tomorrow in Ravenna, as King of the United Kingdom and of Canada, I will have the great honour of commemorating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of that province … in which British and Canadian forces played a key role,” he said. > … > I think this was a deliberately chosen moment for the King to be able to make this statement and to be able to show the support [for Canada] in a more direct way than wearing a red tie," royal historian Justin Vovk said in an interview. > > “That is a really big step for the sovereign to take and a surprisingly explicit show of support that we are not used to seeing.” > … > “The King is head of state of Canada — and he has been at pains to send symbolic signs of support to Canada, at a time when it has been put under pressure by U.S. President Donald Trump," [the BBC reported](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c4g88ne5jp1o). # In Italy, King Charles offers ‘a surprisingly explicit show of support’ for Canada [https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.7511706](https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.7511706) ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2025, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-charles-will-open-the-next-canadian-parliament/1017810/23 "2025-05-04T15:30:50Z")
How is the King’s French? Is he going to switch back and forth during the speech? ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2025, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-charles-will-open-the-next-canadian-parliament/1017810/24 "2025-05-04T16:14:35Z")
I’m not sure, but our Governor General Mary Simon doesn’t really speak French either. She is Inuk and speaks English and Inuktitut. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2025, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-charles-will-open-the-next-canadian-parliament/1017810/25 "2025-05-04T16:24:49Z")
He’s fluent albeit with a strong accent, according to the interwebs. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2025, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-charles-will-open-the-next-canadian-parliament/1017810/26 "2025-05-04T18:27:28Z")
He’s managed all right in Welsh and German in the past. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2025, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-charles-will-open-the-next-canadian-parliament/1017810/27 "2025-05-04T18:40:54Z")
> [@alphaboi867](#): > > How is the King’s French? Is he going to switch back and forth during the speech? Queen Elizabeth spoke fluent French, and King Charles is said to be fluent, but judge for yourself: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/6fZrUmDlNKk/hqdefault.jpg "King Charles speaks in French as he thanks Macron for Versailles banquet") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fZrUmDlNKk) ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2025, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-charles-will-open-the-next-canadian-parliament/1017810/28 "2025-05-04T21:27:54Z")
He likely will switch back and forth. There will be simultaneous translation. ---
**Author:** ![Civil\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d78d45/32.png) [@Civil\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Civil_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2025, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-charles-will-open-the-next-canadian-parliament/1017810/29 "2025-05-04T21:37:46Z")
I sat in on a session of Canadian Parliament once. In the visitors gallery, they had comfy chairs, each with a headset and a dial with two channels, French and English, sure. It’s just a matter of course. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2025, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-charles-will-open-the-next-canadian-parliament/1017810/30 "2025-05-04T23:13:02Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > expect Carney to play hardball. What would that look like? Serious question. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2025, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-charles-will-open-the-next-canadian-parliament/1017810/31 "2025-05-05T00:00:21Z")
> [@Kropotkin](#): > > What would that look like? Serious question.   **[Like this](https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/politics/and-she-won-host-highlights-how-trump-was-recently-forced-to-concede-defeat/ar-AA1E9LbU?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=352d786743d349eeb4a191ee0255ac9e&ei=9)**. Not precisely like this, necessarily, but as an example: > “In late February, Maine Governor Janet Mills made national headlines for standing up to Trump during a verbal altercation in the White House, during which the president threatened to withhold federal funding from the state if Mills didn’t comply with his February 5 executive order barring trans athletes from competing in sports that don’t comport with their gender at birth. But Mills wasn’t interested in bending to Trump’s will because she was following state law, which bars discrimination based on gender identity, and as she said, she’d be happy to let a judge decide in court,” Cohen wrote. > > But it did not end there. Trump’s White House ultimately gave up, according to the host his own YouTube shows. > > “But after the dust had settled on Trump’s chest beating and grandstanding, on Friday, the Trump administration opted to quietly settle with the state of Maine, dropping its funding freeze and asking Maine to drop its lawsuit against the federal government,” he added. > > Continuing, Cohen wrote, “It’s worth highlighting this development because Trump wielded the full force of his position against Mills.” > > “He verbally accosted her from the White House, singling her out and threatening her among her colleagues. He tried to illegally freeze federal funding to her state as political retribution. Whatever he _could_ do to Mills, he did. But still she fought back. And she won,” he said before calling it “the issue of our time.” > > “At some point or another, every company, institution, CEO, media outlet, law firm, and university is going to have to choose: when threatened by Donald Trump, will you capitulate or will you fight?” the host asked. “I _understand_ the desire to capitulate. No one _wants_ to sign up for a fight against the most powerful person in the world. But keep in mind, first of all, the immense damage inherent in capitulating.” ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2025, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-charles-will-open-the-next-canadian-parliament/1017810/32 "2025-05-05T14:24:58Z")
> [@Kropotkin](#): > > What would that look like? Serious question What I’d like to see is Carney refusing to participate in one of Trump’s little sit-down press conferences. I’d give good odds that Trump would use it as an opportunity to humiliate Carney, like he did with Zelenskiy. Trump loves his spotlight, and telling him he can’t have it until we have an actual deal, not just “concepts of a plan”, is going to drive him nuts. ---
**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2025, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-charles-will-open-the-next-canadian-parliament/1017810/33 "2025-05-05T14:52:38Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > The King will open the Parliament and give the Speech from the Throne, the first time the monarch has done so since Queen Elizabeth in 1957. How many Parliaments outside of Britain did the Queen open? Is there a tradition for the monarchs to make the rounds to all their parliaments’ openings? (Or perhaps this is the beginnings of the tradition?) ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2025, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-charles-will-open-the-next-canadian-parliament/1017810/34 "2025-05-05T15:06:52Z")
> [@Pleonast](#): > > How many Parliaments outside of Britain did the Queen open? Quite a few, mostly in the first few decades of her reign. The last anywhere was New South Wales in 1992, so it’s been a while. But those openings were often sort of manufactured, in that there would be a long-planned visit and the parliament would be prorogued (the session would be ended) simply so that a fancy occasion could be had. The King being flown in at short notice because the government thinks it will give the speech more heft in trying times is a new thing. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2025, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-charles-will-open-the-next-canadian-parliament/1017810/35 "2025-05-05T17:40:12Z")
When Carney plays hardball, it’s done quietly, behind closed doors, no photo ops. Never an acknowledgment. I like that about the guy. The world could use more of that energy. We’ve all had enough ‘loud’ in my humble opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2025, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-charles-will-open-the-next-canadian-parliament/1017810/36 "2025-05-05T18:45:02Z")
You’ve put your finger on it: showing up for the narcissist gives him a win in his mind, and it is pretty hard to play hardball in such a situation without looking like a jerk. I’d love it if Trump would start his usual bullshit and Carney would just deck him, turn on his heel, and leave, but the secret service might have something to say about that. What examples of Carney playing hardball do we have? The bond story seems unverifiable still. Does Carney have the clout of the governor of Maine, who has access to the courts? And while we may have dodged a bullet with the defeat of Poilievre, it’s not so clear that this Liberal government will be very different from a Conservative one on some major issues, such as the environment, austerity, social programs. After all, the Liberal tradition is to run left and govern right, and the Overton window has shifted to the right. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/king-charles-will-open-the-next-canadian-parliament/1017810.md?page=1)