Stock photo of King Charles III and Prime Minister Mark Carney courtesy of the Canadian Press

By Liam Verster

Royal Family Apathy

Vernonites seemingly uninterested with King Charles’ visit to Canada

May 27, 2025 | 2:23 PM

King Charles III and Queen Camilla arrived in Ottawa Monday, with the King delivering the Throne Speech in parliament Tuesday, but their presence in the country did not seem to capture the interest of local residents.

Vernon Matters hit the street to speak with area residents about their visit.

Of the roughly 30 people approached, more than 20 declined an interview saying they were either unaware of the King’s trip and his role in Parliament, or were uninterested in the royal family.

One woman, who did agree to speak, believes Charles’ visit is a good thing.

“I’m all for it. I’m glad he is here. I wish I could go out to Ottawa and partake in the festivities,” Sandra said, adding she believed it especially important for his visit in the wake of ongoing tariffs and threats of annexation from the United States.

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“This is what we need right now: unity. Things are slowly coming together, with our refusal to deal with the U.S., and we need to unite as a country.”

However, Trevor, the only other person who agreed to go on record with Vernon Matters, said he found it odd that the King was giving the speech from the throne.

“I don’t recall that ever happening in my 48 years, so it seems odd,” he said, adding he did not believe the threats from the U.S. posed any real risk.

It has been almost 50 years since the last Throne Speech was delivered by the head of state, when Queen Elizabeth II did so in 1977.

“I think we just need to focus on keeping our own house in order and we don’t need to worry about being annexed. I think that whole kind of election topic was misguided,” Trevor said.

A few others told Vernon Matters they like the monarchy and were in favour of the King’s visit and his attempt to unify the country, but refused to go on record.

The apparent apathy reflected in the comments from Vernonites seems to mirror feelings from across Canada.

A study by Angus Reid, published May 26, showed that 83 per cent of Canadian respondents were indifferent or didn’t care about the monarch’s visit or his historic speech from the throne.

While Charles is constitutionally the King of Canada, the results of the study found that Canadians were more than three times as likely to view him only as a British monarch.

The survey did show that 29 per cent of Canadians found Charles very favourable/favourable, compared to 42 per cent who found him very unfavourable/unfavourable. Eighteen cent were unsure.

That was an improvement from the last survey in August of 2023 when 28 per cent found him favourable or better, 48 per cent found him unfavourable or worse, and 25 per cent were unsure.