Canada is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary system. A significant difference between Canadian and Australian government is that Canada has an appointed Senate unlike Australia's which is elected. The Governor-General appoints the Canadian Senate from recommendations by the Prime Minister. Canada is a federal system and has a bill of rights known as the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This is entrenched into the Canadian Constitution of 1982. Canada has had a bill of rights since 1960, however, prior to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms it was a statutorial act, not a constitutional one.
So what is the platform of the Canadian Republicans?
The goals of Citizens for a Canadian Republic are; a Canadian head of state, an elected head of state and the removal of monarchy from Canadian Government.
Canada has a pretty good history of applying reform. A good example is transitioning from a defaced red ensign to the maple leaf flag. Another is the constitutional rejuvenation in 1982, though that was made easy by Canada formalising its government into one Constitutional Act rather than being spread across numerous statutorial documents as Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia are.
The Citizens for a Canadian Republic are more focused on having an elected head of state than any one model of republican government:
Please note: The objective of Citizens for a Canadian Republic is solely to promote the concept of Canada becoming a republic and present the options available for discussion. For that reason, we do not endorse or promote any of the above [head of state election models] formulas.Democratism appears to be the main drive behind the group - which is not a bad thing by any means.
