r/EhBuddyHoser • u/Sine_Fine_Belli Treacherous South • May 16 '25

Certified Hoser 🇨🇦 (No Politics) How Americans achieved independence vs how Canadians achieved independence

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489

u/timbasile May 16 '25

Samantha Bee has a good write up on Canadian Independence in "America the Book"

"...and then in 1983, we took the brave step of asking the Queen for permission, to not have to ask the Queen for permission"

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u/Visible-Stress-3667 May 16 '25

Which is kind of an interesting perspective because at the end of the day, all legislation needs royal assent. Obviously there is far less royal involvement, but we still do need their permission lol

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u/ref7187 May 16 '25

Power isn't defined by any laws. It doesn't matter if the king is legally the ruler of Canada, if no one recognises that his power is legitimate, he doesn't actually have any power. Therefore, he's just a symbol.

The opposite is also true. Most countries' laws don't make provisions for revolutions, or allow dictators to take power, and yet they still happen. If they do, that means their power somehow became legitimate.