Most Canadians want to see the British monarchy come to an end

When Queen Elizabeth II of Britain first took the throne, symbols of the crown and royal coat of arms appeared seemingly everywhere in Canada, which remains part of the Commonwealth, including on mundane objects like mailboxes.

In the decades since, most of those symbols have disappeared — a diminished presence that is reflected as Canada celebrates the queen’s Platinum Jubilee not with an extended weekend or grand tribute, but with a series of low-key, mostly local events.

There will be tree plantings by air cadets in Calgary, Alberta; a geocaching walk in, perhaps appropriately, Cache Creek, British Columbia; plus military parades, garden parties, artistic performances, a photo exhibition and a sound and light show on the nation’s Parliament buildings.

All 325 examples of the Canadian dollar pure-platinum Platinum Jubilee coin are sold out at the Royal Canadian Mint, but Canada Post has plenty of commemorative stamps available.

Queen Elizabeth still commands wide support and respect among Canadians. In an April survey conducted by the Angus Reid Institute, a nonprofit public opinion agency, 62 percent of respondents expressed a favorable view of the queen.

The following month, Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, made a three-day whirlwind royal tour across the vastness of Canada to mark his mother’s reign.

Yet there is growing national ambivalence in Canada over the monarchy as a whole.