This Victoria Day, the usual suspects will decry the holiday — in the name of decolonization. However, so long as Canada’s existence is said to make the world a better place, the process by which this country was created ought not be deplored.

The land that became Canada has been populated for thousands of years, but it only exists as a united sea-to-sea country because it was part of Queen Victoria’s Empire. Nearly all of our political ideals and principles are owed to Britain, whether by the actions of those who came to Canada from across the Atlantic, or the enduring influence of their ideas.

Start with her crown. Entire books have been written about the advantages offered by a constitutional monarchy, rather than a republic.

However, one can simply compare the constitutional monarchies of resource-rich Canada, Australia, and New Zealand to the republics of the resource-richer South Africa, India, and Zimbabwe to see which is preferable for guaranteeing human rights, democracy, and stability — not to mention prosperity.

Having a politically weak but symbolically powerful monarch as the head of state within a Westminster-style democracy has proven to be an effective barricade against........

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