Who is the King of Canada?

The King of Canada is His Majesty King Charles III, the head of state of Canada and 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles III succeeded his mother Queen Elizabeth II on September 8, 2022, the day she died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. He was formally proclaimed King of Canada by the federal Privy Council and officially crowned in London on May 6, 2023. The King is represented in Canada at the federal level by the Governor General and at the provincial level by the 10 Lieutenant Governors.

The King's title in Canada is 'Charles the Third, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom, Canada and His other Realms and Territories King, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith'. The Royal Style and Titles Act of Canada (most recently updated in 2023) prescribes the Canadian title. The King visits Canada periodically (his most recent visit as King was in May 2025 to deliver the Speech from the Throne), with about 30 royal tours of Canada in his lifetime including as Prince of Wales.

The Crown is foundational to Canadian government. Section 9 of the Constitution Act, 1867 vests the executive government and authority of and over Canada in the Queen (now King). All federal Acts of Parliament receive Royal Assent from the Governor General on the King's behalf, all federal land is Crown land vested in the federal Crown (or in the provincial Crown for provincial land), all federal Crown corporations are owned by the federal Crown, and all senior judges and military officers serve at the King's pleasure (in practice, on the advice of the Prime Minister). The Cabinet exercises Crown prerogative powers including the power to declare war, conclude treaties, and dissolve Parliament.

Republican movements have proposed replacing the monarchy with an elected or appointed president since the 1960s. The Citizens for a Canadian Republic and similar groups argue for the abolition of the monarchy, while the Monarchist League of Canada and the Royal Commonwealth Society defend the current arrangement. The Constitution Amendment, 1982 (the amending formula in section 41 of the Constitution Act, 1982) requires unanimous consent of Parliament and all 10 provincial Legislative Assemblies to abolish the monarchy, making republican reform constitutionally extremely difficult. Public opinion polls in 2024 to 2025 typically show modest majorities favouring the abolition of the monarchy, but the issue has low political salience.