You don't have to be a monarchist to welcome a royal visit to Canada. No matter what they say, deep down anti-monarchists also have reason to delight in such occasions since they are about the only times the issue of the monarchy's role in this country gets much attention.
Certainly nothing that Québec solidaire MNA Amir Khadir ever said in his political career or otherwise has resonated as widely as when he called Prince William and his bride, Catherine, "parasites" following the announcement that the royal newlyweds would make Canada, including Quebec, their first official foreign destination. Same goes for the Réseau de résistance du Québécois, the punk faction of the sovereignty movement, for whom royal visits are a prime occasion for getting attention beyond the fanatic fringe, something that normally eludes them.
On the whole, the young royals are bound to get an enthusiastic reception from those who care enough to turn out to see them in their public appearances, even in this province. William and Kate are not just royals, but superstar royals; the run of Hollywood celebs pales in their majestic shadow. As one commentator put it, they are stars of the ultimate reality show, as the two-billion global audience for their nuptials attests.
While their royal standing will be a draw for some, their celebrity status will likely be the draw for many more. This should be the case particularly in Quebec and among young Quebecers of the couple's generation, for whom the English crown doesn't rate as the symbol of anglo domination and repression it is for many of their nationalist boomer elders now verging on dotage.
As for being parasites, any Canadian taxpayer money spent on this visit is likely to be repaid many times over by the international publicity the visit is bound to generate. Roughly 1,400 journalists from Canada and more than a dozen other countries will be feeding reports on the visit to a worldwide audience. If all goes smoothly and the anti-monarchist element doesn't disgrace us all with their antics, the visit will provide the kind of advertising for this country that money alone can't buy.
As for what this royal visit will mean for the future of the monarchy in Canada, the likely answer is not very much.
There's been talk of the young royals rebranding the monarchy for a new era, but don't expect too much in that respect. In a previsit national survey, in which a representative sample of Canadians was asked what sentiment the royal visit evokes for them, the greatest number - 44 per cent - selected indifference among the offered choices ranging from joy to anger.
This sense of indifference has been growing steadily in Canada over the years, but also slowly. If it grows significantly in years to come, a Canadian government might someday seize the initiative to cut the country's final formal tie to the British crown which has become an anachronism, if not an embarrassment.
But it would be a complicated thing to do in that it would require a constitutional amendment backed by the federal Parliament and all 10 provincial governments. And there would be the sticky question of replacing the British monarch with a Canadian head of state and how that position would be filled. In this respect indifference plays in favour of the monarchy's retention, since there is as yet no abolitionist tide strong enough to compel a Canadian government to grasp this nettle.
In any case, the royal function in Canadian governance has been reduced over the years to a purely ceremonial role that manifests itself in harmless if somewhat pricey pageantry. As such, it can be freely enjoyed or freely ignored by Canadians.
At the very least, William and Catherine should be accorded a polite Canadian reception. Insulting them will only make us look like churlish rubes in the eyes of the rest of the world that will be tuning in to this royal show.