Quebec makes oath to King Charles optional for elected politicians

After three members of the opposition Parti Québécois refused to swear allegiance to King Charles III, Quebec adopted a law abolishing the requirement of allegiance to the monarch on Friday.

The Coalition Avenir Québec government enacted the law making it optional to pledge allegiance to the Commonwealth monarch, adding a section to the Constitution Act of 1867 that exempts Quebec’s elected members from the mandatory oath.

In October, 14 of the province’s elected officials refused the oath initially. 11 then backed down while the other 3 were barred from sitting in the provincial legislature.

Opposition Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, who was one of the three politicians  barred from sitting in the legislature, expressed contentment at the unanimously passed law, stating, “This is a fine moment for Quebec democracy.”

Politicians in Quebec previously had to take two oaths, one to the people of Quebec, and another to the crown.

When the legislature proceedings resume after Christmas break in January, Opposition Leader St-Pierre Plamondon, alongside two of his colleagues, will become the first elected politicians in the history of the National Assembly to sit in the legislature without swearing allegiance to the crown.