More than half of Canadians against indefinite constitutional monarchy: Poll

Long live the Royal Family in Canada? According to a new Angus Reid poll , not so much if Queen Elizabeth isn't at the helm.

Fifty-two per cent of those polled said Canada should not remain a constitutional monarchy indefinitely, while only 25 per cent said it should.

The data reflects a decline in royal support given that a little more than five years ago, 40 per cent of those polled said the country should remain a constitutional monarchy for generations to come.

However, as long as Queen Elizabeth is on the throne, 55 per cent say they support Canada's place in the monarchy. The 95-year-old Queen will mark 70 years as Canada's head of state next year.

If her presumed successor Prince Charles is in charge, that number decreases to 34 per cent.

Opposition to the royals was highest in Quebec, with 72 per cent of those polled saying Canada should no longer be a constitutional monarchy.

One-third of women over age 54 said the Royal Family is as relevant as ever.

When asked how the Queen's death might affect them, 56 per cent said they'd feel sad while 19 per cent said they wouldn't feel anything.

For those who want Canada to continue with a royal as the country's head of state, 57 per cent said they will be “very sad” at the Queen's death.

The results of the study were released as Barbados became a republic Tuesday, ending the Queen's role as its head of state.

The online survey was conducted Nov. 26-29 among a representative randomized sample of 1,898 Canadian adults who are members of Angus Reid Forum.

For comparison purposes only, Angus Reid says, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of +/- 2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.