the US annex its northern neighbour prompted new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney to invite Charles to give the speech from the throne on Tuesday where he will lay out the Canadian government’s agenda when Parliament reopens. The monarch is the head of state in Canada, which is a member of the British Commonwealth of former colonies. “Canada has a steadfast defender in our sovereign,” Carney said when he announced the visit earlier this month.

It is extraordinarily rare for the monarch to deliver the throne speech in Canada. Charles’ mother, Queen Elizabeth II, only did it twice in her 70-year reign. The last time was in 1977.Canadians are largely indifferent to the monarchy, but Carney has been eager to show the differences between Canada and the US and he said that the king’s visit clearly underscores the sovereignty of Canada.

The Americans had a revolution to gain independence from Britain. Canada remained a colony until 1867 and continued thereafter as a constitutional monarchy with a British-style parliamentary system. “We’re different,” former Quebec Premier Jean Charest said. “We are not the United States. It sounds simple, but that’s what the visit says. “We don’t have the same institutions. We don’t have the same history,” Charest said. “We are a different country with a different choice in terms of how how we built ourselves, and King Charles tells that story.”  This will be Charles’ first visit as monarch. He visited Canada 19 times as prince. The king has been showing his support for Canada in recent months, including displaying Canadian military medals on his chest during a visit to a Royal Navy aircraft carrier. (Jamaica Gleaner)