Front Burner - A royal visit and a high-stakes political moment

Episode Date: May 28, 2025

For the third time in Canadian history, the head of the British monarchy delivered the throne speech before ushering in a new session of parliament. It comes at a time when Canada could use some help protecting its sovereignty in the face of threats from U.S. President Donald Trump.But how does this moment fit in with King Charles’ reign so far, which has been marked by political turmoil, royal rifts, calls for reparations and cutting ties with the British monarchy? We break it all down with Ellie Hall, a freelance reporter and former official royal correspondent for BuzzFeed News. For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

There are two kinds of people in the world. Backward thinkers and forward thinkers. Forward thinkers have plans 15 minutes from now and 15 years from now. They're not just one step ahead, they're 1,000 steps ahead. And when you're a forward thinker, you need a platform that thinks like you do. Workday's AI illuminates decision-making and reimagines how you manage your people and money for long-term success. Workday, moving business forever forward. This is a CBC Podcast. Hi, I'm Aline Chow filling in for Jamie Poisson. It is with a deep sense of pride and pleasure that my wife and I join you here today as

we witness Canadians coming together in a renewed sense of national pride, unity, and hope. King Charles delivered a historic throne speech yesterday as Parliament opened for its 45th session. In some ways, it was what you'd expect, a declaration of this newly elected government's priorities. — Reducing middle-class taxes, remove all remaining federal barriers to internal trade,

accelerate the development of new affordable housing to enhance security at Canada's borders. — And in others, something much more loaded. Today, Canada faces another critical moment. Democracy, pluralism, the rule of law, self-determination, and freedom are values which Canadians hold dear and ones which the government is determined to protect. It was full of references to Canadians' sovereignty and identity, and acknowledged fears about their permanence. Many Canadians are feeling anxious and worried

about the drastically changing world around them. The cause of that anxiety wasn't laid out explicitly, but was clear. Donald Trump's threats of annexation and economic warfare, which he repeated Tuesday evening posting about Canada becoming the 51st state, promising free Golden Dome missile defense in return. The system of open global trade, that while not perfect, has helped to deliver prosperity for Canadians for decades is changing. Canada's relationships with partners are also changing.

As well as the rapidly shifting global security landscape. We must confront the reality that since the Second World War, our world has never been as dangerous and unstable. Canada is now facing challenges which are unprecedented in our lifetimes. Many of the themes are ones we heard from Mark Carney during the campaign, which makes sense. This address was written by the Prime Minister's office with input from the King. Themes like this political moment being one not just of worry, but it is also an incredible opportunity, an opportunity for renewal, an opportunity to think big and to act bigger.

An opportunity for Canada to embark on the largest transformation of its economy since the Second World War. And callbacks to the more friendly eras of U.S.-Canada relations, in trade and on the battlefield. This year, we mark the 80th anniversary of VE Day and VJ Day. On Juneau Beach, at Dieppe, on the Somme, at Beaumont-en-Mel, at Ypres, and on Vimy Ridge. At those places and many others, forever etched into our memories, Canadians fought and died alongside our closest allies.

The whole thing was a high-wire act because the royal family is not meant to wade into the politics of the day, whether they involve Canada, the U.S., or the U.K. Add to that a temperamental US president and some uncertainty around the long-term role of the royal family and you're left with a lot to unpack. Which is what we'll do today with Ellie Hall, a freelance reporter who was the official royal correspondent for BuzzFeed News until it shut down. Ellie and I spoke on Tuesday afternoon before Donald Trump posted yet again about annexing Canada.

Hi, Ellie. Hello. Ellie, this is only the third time that a British monarch has delivered the speech from the throne in Canada, and this visit was announced less than a month out. How significant is that? I cannot emphasize enough how unprecedented it is for a royal visit to be planned this quickly.

Normally when you're talking about a royal visit you can be talking about up to a year of planning. Everything planned down to the detail, sometimes even members of the King's staff traveling ahead of time and going to each different location. I think everyone who watches and covers the royal family was very surprised with how quickly this was put together, particularly in the context of comments that have been made about Canadian sovereignty and everything. So to say this is unprecedented is almost an understatement. The King delivering the throne speech and the whole visit is meant to send a message to US President Trump that Canada is a sovereign nation at a time when he's been threatening to make us, to make Canada the 51st state. As the anthem reminds us, the true north is indeed strong and free.

The speech mentioned how Canada's relationship with its trade partners is going through a period of change, that we're in a moment when the Canada-U.S. relationship is being redefined. The Prime Minister and the President of the United States, for example, have begun defining a new economic and security relationship between Canada and the United States, rooted in mutual respect and founded on common interests, to deliver transformational benefits for both sovereign nations. And you know, the speech also promised legislation to improve security at Canada's borders, something that Trump has criticized Canada on quite a bit.

And how do you think this speech will be received by Trump? You know, is this something that's likely to get Trump's attention? I think that involving the monarchy, involving the king, was the best move that Canada could have taken to make Trump pay attention. Because as we saw during his first term, and even as we've seen more recently with a second royal visit invitation from the King to Donald Trump, the U.S. president loves the royal family. He cares a lot about the royal family. He loves the pomp and circumstance that goes along with everything involving the royal family. And the King being the person to deliver the speech and to deliver these little pointed notes about Canada and about the u.s

relationship with canada I wouldn't be surprised if we get a statement, uh out of trump even You know recording this on tuesday, but if trump has commented on this before This episode airs because this is definitely the thing where Trump would feel he needs to respond and also show a bit of respect because he's had a great relationship with King Charles. He's mentioned it on several occasions and more than any politician, I think a politician

delivering this sort of message would be seen as confrontational, while the king doing it is much more of a reinforcement of the traditions of Canada. And it's a way to sort of stand up for itself without doing it in a way that would make Trump angry or provoke, I think, an intense reaction from him. And as you mentioned, like Trump is a fan of King Charles, right? I think about that moment when the UK Prime Minister, Keira Stammer, presented him with an official letter from the King and he was even quite, I would argue, appeared quite smitten by the whole situation.

There is definitely a lot of fondness and respect, as he's stated himself, towards the King, hey? Oh yeah, that was back in February. Trump's whole on-camera reaction to the official sealed Buckingham Palace letter from the King to Trump with the invitation and the kind words about their relationship. I think Trump called it beautiful

and he showed it off to the camera. It's like how happy he was to see with his invitation. He's a beautiful man, a wonderful man, and we appreciate it. I've known him, gotten to know him very well actually. The king and the monarchy in general is something that I think appeals to Trump's sense of showmanship but also the sense of permanence. And I think that's something that also was sort of an undertone of this entire visit and the speech that politicians come and go. Trump is back in office, but there's a time limit.

The king is always there. All of the sort of sheen of royalty that Trump likes so much and has experienced in the UK, well, hey, guess what? The king is also the king of Canada. I think that's probably something that Trump either wasn't aware of or has never thought about before, that it carries over to more than just the UK. It carries over to the 14 nations of which the King is the head of state. Do we have a sense of what King Charles thinks about Trump?

That's something that, that's a question that you never really want there to be enough information, enough sort of proof to give a firm answer. He was friendly with Trump as Prince of Wales and during visits. We do know that they've had some discourse on ecological issues, which the King obviously has championed for decades now and not so much something that Trump prioritizes. We know that they've had discussions about that, but the relationship is very cordial and the King has grown up knowing the importance of his role as the soft power as the person that different governments can send in to get some work done in a very tactful, nuanced, and non-confrontational way.

I know that the invitation for the state visit did not go over well in Canada, and that was something that a lot of people were unhappy about before this visit was announced. So it's been very interesting for me to watch as an outsider, sort of the changing vibes in Canada about the monarchy that have shifted pretty suddenly from the anger at the visit to now sort of the pride of the king coming to deliver this speech. We'll get into that in a bit, but I just wanted to mention as well, part of the context here, of course, like with the UK is that the UK has its own trade negotiations with the US as well, right? So that is part of the political context here also.

100%, it's a balancing act for the King. And we're seeing that more right now than we've seen in many, many years, because normally, you know, the King goes on a visit to Australia and New Zealand and that's something that's separate. We haven't really seen the king or even this, it's been a while. There were issues about different political priorities many, many years ago involving South Africa that the queen had to negotiate. But this is the first time in a

really long time where the king has had or a monarch has had to negotiate. But this is the first time in a really long time where the king has had, or a monarch has had to balance their roles as the monarch of one country with a certain political agenda and the monarch of another country with what is at sometimes a competing, if not confrontational, political agenda. So watching all of this play out has been really interesting. I want to talk a little bit about Prime Minister Mark Carney's relationship and connections to the royal family. And of course he served for seven years as the governor of the Bank of England at a time when the country was dealing with Brexit.

Tell me a little bit about what his relationship with the royal family is like. Well, I think one thing that's also, I haven't seen Godmudge press, is that his brother works for the royal family. Oh, yeah, his brother is the COO for Kensington Palace. His brother works for Kate and William. So, you know, beyond all of the ties in his personal life, there's a real direct family tie to the royal family. I think that it's sort of hard to really see like where he as

a politician comes down with the royal family, but it's been very friendly. And we saw that recently when he met with the king in the UK. And the sheer fact of this invitation really shows that it's probably not going to be confrontational at all with him as a politician. You were mentioning earlier that Canadians' feelings about the monarchy tend to change. Canadians have been a bit fickle about it over the years, you know, in 2023. And Ipsos' poll found that 67% of Canadians felt that the king and the monarchy shouldn't have a formal

role in Canadian society. Now, in this time of national crisis, less than half of people feel that way. And just from observing the visit, what sort of reaction have you seen that's stood out to you? I've been patrolling social media during the speech and since it's ended and the reactions that I'm seeing from Canadians has right now looks to be pretty positive. This really was a reinforcing of what makes Canada special and what makes Canada different. And it's also one of the biggest examples we've seen in years of the King. I don't want to say, you know, obviously showing that the monarchy remembers Canada and cares about Canada and the importance of Canada to the monarchy and the King personally. the anti-monarchist sentiment really bubbles up during times when we're not seeing that

direct tie between the monarchy and the Commonwealth country, whatever that might be. It stood out to me to see kind of spontaneous folks breaking out in renditions of God Save the King along with O Canada. Yeah, all the signs too. I was watching the sort of procession in Ottawa, and I was very surprised by all the signs in English and in French, sort of welcoming the King and just wishing him well.

While in Canada, the King also met with Indigenous leaders who want to make sure that their treaties are honored and respected, and actually, you know, something notable from the throne speech today was that it started with a land acknowledgement. I would like to acknowledge that we are gathered on the unceded territory of the Algonquin and the Chinabeg people. This land acknowledgement is a recognition of shared history as a nation. While continuing to deepen my own understanding,

it is my great hope that in each of your communities and collectively as a country, a path is found toward truth and reconciliation in both word and deed. Something that Assembly of First Nations National Chief, Cindy Woodhouse-Nepenac said yesterday in regards to this visit and something that Indigenous leaders want to convey to the King is that, quote, colonialism has always infringed on first peoples, and I think we have to reset that relationship and find a new way to respect each other more. And how much is, you know, resetting relationships

and reckoning with the legacy of colonialism, how much is that a part of King Charles' priorities at this time in the monarchy? You know, we're certainly not only seeing that in Canada. Well, that's something that King Charles, even before he became king, when he was the Prince of Wales, he has done, I think, a very good job of balancing act of acknowledging the problems and the historical injustices that the monarchy has participated in. Back in 2021, the king then Prince of Wales attended the ceremony where Barbados formally cut ties with the monarchy and became its own nation. That's something that is a bit of a surprising move.

You're going to be there as you get broken up with. The king has also made some statements about the slave trade in very broad terms, but he has done more than the queen, his mother, ever did in terms of acknowledging some of the wrongs that have happened over the British Empire, colonialism. And I think that everything he did today and what he did in this very short trip sort of reinforced some of that in the context of Canada. I mean, it's contentious, right? Because I just think about 2022 when William and Kate went to the Caribbean and they were met with protests. Like, this is very much part of

the backdrop here. Yes. And again, sort of speaking about that, one of Prince William issued a statement after that visit was over, sort of apologizing for not taking as much attention as probably should have been spent to really address those issues during the trip, which I thought was very interesting. That's something that Charles and then William, I think, are both going to have to deal with. They're going to have to present reasons for their existence. And I think we're going to see more of sort of a reconciliation tour when these visits are made. There are two kinds of people in the world. Backward thinkers and forward thinkers. Forward thinkers have plans 15 minutes from now and 15 years from now. They're not just one step ahead, they're 1,000 steps ahead.

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Visit NoMoreDets.org. I want to spend a little bit of time talking about King Charles' personal life and the royal family being under, I would argue, increased scrutiny in the last few years on the personal front. Charles was diagnosed with cancer February of last year. He's been undergoing treatment and what do we know about the status of his health and also his treatment plan? I know that he has a bit of an affinity for alternative medicine, is that right? He does, but it's been made pretty clear that he's following the recommendations of his medical team and not really deviating from that. We know he's receiving chemotherapy

treatment in London and not last month, in March, he actually had to be hospitalized for a few days due to complications. We don't know what kind of cancer he has. We know that he has some type of cancer. There have been whisperings that it's prostate, but nothing has been confirmed. And we've seen that despite this treatment, the king really is trying to balance his duties and he's trying to get out there and keep his face in front of the people and reinforce his role as monarch, but he's ill. And again, that's another, this visit, this very short visit visit to Canada the fact that during the treatment He took the time to do this very short visit arranged at the last minute Hopefully that says something good about his health. But and again you mentioned

recent family things and and his personal life Prince Harry recently did an interview where he hinted that he wants to reconcile with his family and his father before it's too late. And, yeah, sort of the impression he gave was that there might be a ticking clock in terms of how long the king will be around, despite how healthy he appears, even delivering the speech, how healthy he appeared during that. So that has raised some more questions about whether this is worse than it actually is. And also sadly, you know, his health issues do sort of reinforce the fact that his reign might be seen as more of a transitional one. And it's sort of sad, you know, he's been the longest, the person who was Prince of Wales,

the heir to the throne for the longest amount of time in history. But if he's only going to be around for a few more years, you know, he really wants to be thinking about his legacy. So it makes sense that he's being as active as he can be and trying to get as much in despite his treatment. You know, given what we've seen today in the throne speech and the visit and the various

threads that you have been pulling at during our conversation, how do you think King Charles is shaping what will, you know, eventually be his legacy? As you pointed out earlier, his reign might be more of a transitional reign, right? Yeah, I think that so far, when you think about what has happened during the reign of King Charles III, as I mentioned, I think the fact that he has cancer is going to be part of that. But the other big overriding issue is the issues within the royal family itself. The issues, the estrangement with Prince Harry and his wife Megan

and the tension that is so very public in everything that's happened. And obviously, when the King is thinking about his legacy, he doesn't, I'm quite sure he doesn't want that to be what he is remembered for. And I think that the decision, the last minute decision to travel to Canada and make this speech is really a big swing for him to start defining his legacy the way that he wants to be remembered. This, because obviously this a very politically charged situation, which was, you know, he made reference to in his speech, but the sheer act of coming to Canada and, you know, making the speech for the first time in 40 years, I believe it was, this is probably the most significant political move that he's done so far as King. And this is what he wants to be

remembered for. This is, he wants to be remembered as a force that stepped in and really helped one of the countries for which he is head of state and demonstrating the power of the monarchy and what he can do as king in the very small realm in which he's allowed to operate within. And it'll be very interesting to see sort of where he goes from here in terms of this soft diplomacy and reinforcing his power and what he can do. And I do think that when you know we look back at his reign this is gonna be something that will be in a bullet point. You know what happened during the reign of King Charles III that we need to remember. Oh okay well during this time of tension with the United States and Canada,

he made this unprecedented move to come and reinforce the sovereignty and his own role in the Canadian sort of way of life and government. Ellie Hall, thank you for your time today. Thank you so much for having me. That's all for today. I'm Elaine Chao. Thanks for go to cbc.ca slash podcasts.