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of the Monarchist League of Canada.]] The Monarchist League of Canada is a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization formed in 1970 by John Aimers and Gary Toffoli. The League's objective is to support and promote awareness of Canada's Constitutional Monarchy (see Monarchy In Canada ). The League claims to have 17,000 members in over 20 branches across Canada , many under the patronage of Lieutenant Governor s. Members finance the League as the organization receives no public subsidies. HISTORY The 1960s and 1970s saw a growing mood of Canadian and '' Québécois '' Nationalism and a resulting criticism from opponents of monarchy who perceived the institution as an archaic and foreign symbol of Colonialism and the British Empire . The Canadian government (first under Lester Pearson , and then Pierre Trudeau ) responded by removing some symbols of the Monarchy in an effort to create a new national identity, though stopping short of completely removing references to the institution. For instance, the Canadian Red Ensign was replaced by the Maple Leaf Flag (under Pearson), use of the word Dominion was dropped from government documents and the names of government departments and holidays (with Dominion Day changed to Canada Day ). '' God Save The Queen '' and the '' Maple Leaf Forever '' were displaced by '' O Canada '', the Queen's Printer for Canada assumed a less visible role, the Royal Mail was rebranded as Canada Post , among other controversial moves. Supporters of the monarchy, including John Aimers (then an eighteen year old Progressive Conservative activist who had come into the orbit of former Prime Minister Of Canada and ardent monarchist John Diefenbaker ), were alarmed by these changes and formed the Monarchist League as a lobby group in favour of the retention of the traditional symbols of monarchy and against what it described as "creeping Republicanism " that would result in the eventual transformation of Canada from a Kingdom into a republic. The League was heavily involved in opposition against constitutional amendment proposals in the 1970s that would have created the Governor General as head of state above the Monarch. Though failing to prevent erosion in some areas, the League did successfully campaign the Government of Canada to maintain a Canadian version of the Victoria Cross as Canada's highest military decoration, and to maintain the Queen's place in the Oath Of Citizenship . The League also persuaded Canada Post to issue a Definitive Stamp bearing the image of the Queen as a mandatory item in all postal outlets (see Queen Elizabeth II Definitive Stamp (Canada) ). The League and the Canadian Royal Heritage Trust were the only organized groups on the Canadian scene dedicated to the question of whether or not Canada should remain a monarchy until 2002 when an opposing group, Citizens For A Canadian Republic , was formed. Other groups dedicated to the retention of the Canadian Monarchy include the Democratic Canadian Union . TODAY Today the Monarchist League of Canada continues to promote awareness of both the larger body of the Crown as a shared link between the Commonwealth Realm s, and the Crown in Right of Canada as an integral institution of the Canadian State , emphasizing in particular those aspects of the Monarchy which it identifies as distinctly Canadian. The League also advocates the retention of Constitutional Monarchy as the preferred model of governance for Canada, encouraging a role for the Crown as a national unifier, both politically and symbolically. Often members and officers of the League are called upon to engage in debate on television and radio shows, or offer commentary on occasions such as the death of Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother , royal visits, or installations of Governors General. Pushing the government to reverse the earlier decision of the Martin government to remove the Queen's name from Letters Of Credence and Recall in favour of the Governor General's name alone, as well as continuing education initiatives, are currently the main goals of the League. ''Canadian Monarchist News'' is a serial publication issued by the League to its members. As a supplement to provincial educational resources, the organization produces and distributes "Red Boxes" (modelled on the Queen's own boxes in which she receives diplomatic and state papers), containing information about the Crown and related activities. Digitalizing these into a CD-ROM format is one of the League's current projects. Also, the League stages an annual Accession Day Luncheon each February to celebrate the accession of the Queen to the throne on February 6, 1952. Organization John Aimers has been Dominion Chairman of the League since its inception in 1970 with the exception of a three-year period from 1972 to 1975 when he worked for the federal Progressive Conservative Party. During this period, John Gould was Dominion Chairman. Arthur Bousfield and Paul Benoit (a Conservative candidate in the 2006 Federal Election ) have been long-time Dominion Vice-Chairmen of the League. In October 2005, three additional Dominion Vice-Chairmen were appointed with the approval of the League's Board of Directors:
Nathan Tidridge has since renounced Vice-Chairman status to become Education Co-Ordinator. The League also maintains a national Student Monarchist group, co-chaired by Eugene Berezovsky, Monica Cop, and Teddy Williams, and a Young Adult Monarchist group chaired by Robert Finch. In February 2006, Aimers stepped aside from active League duties due to his legal problems. In the interim, the League is operated collectively through the Dominion Vice-Chairmen and members of the Board of Directors, with Robert Finch serving as principal spokesman and Interim Chief Operating Officer. Scandal In 2006, the Dominion Chairman and founder John Aimers was named in a lawsuit alleging that he had sexually abused a 13 year old boy in 1977 while he was a teacher at Selwyn House School in Montreal . The accuser had previously approached the Montreal police in 1997, but the department deemed there was insufficient evidence to launch any investigation. Though the petition contains allegations that have not been tested in court, a judge has not yet given permission for the legal action to proceed, nor has a statement of defence yet been filed, on February 4 2006 , Aimers indicated that he would not act as the League's spokesperson or be involved in the organization's day to day functioning until the allegations against him were resolved: :"The cause of the Monarchy and the work of the Monarchist League of Canada is far more important than any one person. In the current circumstances, I will not be speaking on the League's behalf until this matter is resolved; and I have consulted with its Officers to arrange for its day-to-day functioning. I am sorry that this distracts from the devoted efforts of the League's members and friends across Canada." BRANCH LOCATIONS
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