disavowal.ca: no oath to the monarchy!

Citizen	Oath date / Disavowal date	Notes
Ashok Charles	1997 / May 20, 2004	Ashok is the Executive Director of Republic Now. He was the first to disavow the oath, writing to The Honourable Ms. Judy Sgro, then the minister of citizenship and immigration: "It is my view that it is entirely inappropriate for Canada to require of its citizenry, allegiance to a monarch. I see this state-sanctioned subjugation as detrimental to our national spirit and to the fulfillment of Canada's role, internationally, as an independent democracy". His disavowal letter, and the government's response, are here.
Peter Rosenthal	Circa 1990 / November 14, 2015	Peter was the primary counsel to the applicants in McAteer v. Canada. His formal disavowal letter is here (pdf, unsigned) and here (jpg, signed). He writes: "In case my silence was or is interpreted as acquiescence, I hereby disavow any implication that I ever affirmed any allegiance to any monarch."
Dror Bar-Natan ✉	November 30, 2015 / same day	Dror is the curator of this web site and was one of the applicants in McAteer v. Canada. "I sent an intent/explanation letter to the citizenship judge and two government ministers before taking the oath. At the very end of the citizenship ceremony I said to the citizenship judge: I affirm my allegiance, my true allegiance, to Canada and to the people of Canada, yet I wish to disavow the royalty part, and only the royalty part, of the citizenship oath. I then handed him a written disavowal letter. A more complete description of my relationship with the oath is here."
Masrour Zoghi	2001 / November 29, 2015	Masrour: "As someone put it recently, because it's 2015."
Josh Smithson	May 16, 2014 / November 29, 2015	Josh: I became a Citizen on May 16th 2014 and was not looking forward to "pledging allegiance" to some woman who was born to privilege.
Karolina Sygula	November 20, 1985 / November 29, 2015	Karolina: Monarchies are anachronistic abominations; addressing other human beings as "Your Majesty" or "Your Royal Highness" is utterly absurd. I am no one's subject.
Ali Paknia	2011 / November 29, 2015	Ali: "I cannot be faithful to a person since I'm a free human being".
Jonathan Korman	Early 90s / November 30, 2015	Jonathan: "I agree with all you said in your letter about Monarchy being a symbol of privilege".
Suraia Sahar	1993 (by a parent) / November 30, 2015	Suraia: "I pledge my solidarity with the Indigenous people of this land".
Adrian Harper	November 21, 1975 / November 30, 2015	Adrian: "at last!", "I was surprised and disappointed to discover that in order to gain my Canadian citizenship, I had to swear an oath, partly, to the queen I thought I'd left behind."
Terence Stone	February 11, 2015 / November 30, 2015	Terence: "Since February 11, I have carried the terrible feeling that I compromised my integrity; and so now I'm repairing that harm to myself by disavowing my pledge of allegiance to the Queen and body Royal in perpetuity."
Vincent Delogne	2001 / November 30, 2015	Vincent: "I am proud to be a Canadian citizen but have no feeling of allegiance to the British crown. In fact, I think royalty is an antiquated tradition that has no place in 2015 anywhere in the world, especially not in a modern, dynamic and equalitarian country like Canada."
Songhao Li	August 21, 2012 / December 1, 2015	Songhao: "I look forward to the day that Canada becomes a republic."
Maria Marquez	1998 / December 1, 2015	Maria: I took the Oath in 1998 which today December 1st, I disavow. Instead I take this new oath created in 1991 as requested by Citizenship and Immigration Canada "I am a citizen of Canada and I make this commitment: to uphold our laws and freedoms, to respect our people in their diversity, to work for our common well-being and to safeguard and honour this ancient Northern land." I love this country!!!!!
Seyed N. Mousavian	March 2012 / December 1, 2015	Seyed: "I hereby disavow any implication that I ever affirmed any allegiance to any monarch."
Harvey Nagelberg	April 14, 2003 / December 1, 2015	No comments.
Steven: Bydeley	December 12, 1961 (by a parent) / December 1, 2015 and April 1, 2016	Steven: I disavow that I will be "faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors." I pledge instead to stand, as equals, with the people on this geographical land mass known as Canada and the rule of Law, "To live honourably; to hurt nobody; to render to everyone his due."
Gerard Muir	June 15, 1983 / December 1, 2015	Gerard: I became a Canadian Citizen June 15, 1983, and consider Canada my home. On December 1, 2015, I disavow the section of the Citizenship oath that pledges allegiance to the British Crown in perpetuity. The British Crown and what is represented by it are incompatible with my values.
Nicolas Le Gall	September 1, 2010 / December 1, 2015	My name is Nicolas, originally from France. I have been living in Canada (Montréal) for 10 years and took the oath of Canadian citizenship on September 1st, 2010. I must admit that I have always been sort of ashamed for pledging allegiance to the Queen of England. I would like to bring you my support and thank you for your initiative. Please register my disavowal on your website. The part of the oath about the Queen has always bothered me for several reasons: - I feel no allegiance whatsoever to the Queen of ENGLAND. - Monarchy in general is preposterous, an antiquated sign of the people's submission to a chosen few on dubious grounds. - Why must we new Canadian citizens take the oath while people who were born Canadians do not have to? Though we had a choice, it seems like a double standard to me. - Other countries like New Zealand and Australia have removed from their oath the part about the Queen. - Although I fully understand that it comes with the territory (so to speak), I moved to Québec more than I moved to Canada (which I have nothing against - it's just a vastly different culture). The Queen is even less relevant here, and the most convenient way for me to stay here was to become a Canadian citizen. Keep up the good work and please don't let a few haters deter you from continuing your fight.
Georgi Krumov	October 2010 / December 1, 2015	Georgi: I disavow the section of the Citizenship oath that pledges allegiance to the British Crown in perpetuity. I hereby disavow any implication that I ever affirmed any allegiance to any monarch.
Valleri Blake	1975 / December 2, 2015	Valleri: As an immigrant from a former British colony, I was particularly unhappy about the oath which I took in 1975 to become a citizen of this amazing country. I would like to finally register my disavowal of that oath and proudly substitute a slightly revised Australian version. "From this time forward, under God, I pledge my loyalty to Canada and its people, whose democratic beliefs I share, whose rights and liberties I respect, and whose laws I will uphold and obey,"
Patricia Warwick	March 8, 1973 / December 2, 2015	Patricia: Here is what I would prefer to have vowed "I affirm that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen." Before coming to Canada I was a British subject, and I was not required to take the oath back there - and I wouldn't have, even there.
Patrice Obertelli	2005 / December 3, 2015	Patrice: Promettre sa fidélité et allégeance à la reine d’Angleterre est politiquement absurde, anachronique et raciste : La reine n’a aucun vrai pouvoir ici et personne ne devrait avoir un privilège dû purement au fait qu’il est sorti d’un ventre plutôt que d’un autre. Le pouvoir héréditaire est un d’autre temps.
Sheila McCrindle	1983 / December 3, 2015	Sheila: I Sheila McCrindle, took the oath of Citizenship in 1983. I did not like swearing allegiance to a monarch then, so I am thankful for the opportunity to disavow the part of the oath in which I said I would swear allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors. I will however continue to be faithful to the laws of Canada and fulfill my role as a Canadian citizen. Monarchy is such a ridiculous medieval concept. And it’s 2015.
Sujeewa Kumaratunga	December 2, 2015 / December 4, 2015	Sujeewa: As it is not in accordance with my democratic principles, I hereby disavow any allegiance to the monarch that might have been implied in the portion of the oath of citizenship, taken on December 2nd, 2015, in Montreal, QC that reads: "I affirm that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors". This is in accordance with the advice of Weiler, Lauwers and Pardu JJ.A., in their ruling on McAteer v. Canada, 2014 ONCA 578, paragraph 76: "... the appellants have the opportunity to publicly disavow what they consider to be the message conveyed by the oath. ...".
Nassim Noroozi	November 21, 2014 / December 5, 2015	Nassim: I took the pledge of allegiance to the Royal family while I was literally shivering: how can one pledge allegiance to a royal family who has inherited a legacy of colonialism and genocide of indigenous peoples of the americas, the peoples whose lands we are standing on while taking the oath? I believe that fighting for a more ethical and just world is in contradiction with taking this oath. As someone else said, I am hoping to repair my compromised integrity by this disavowal. I wish to publicly disavow my oath and reaffirm my commitment to being a good citizen and an ally to the indigenous people of the Americas - specifically the people of the Haudenosaunee territories.
Asif Rahman	1999 / December 12, 2015	Asif: Effective immediately please register my disavowal to the British monarchy and I reaffirm that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfill my duties as a Canadian citizen. I became a Canadian citizen in 1999. I wish I knew then what I know now. I let myself down the day I declared my allegiance to a monarchy who's foreign policy was to invade foreign lands and subjugate its inhabitants. I have relieved myself from a heavy burden today.
Jake Javanshir ✉	1973 / December 21, 2015	Jake: I came to Canada on August, 1970 and disavow on December, 21, 2015. I resented the part of the oath in regard to a few privileged people in England in 1970 but could not do anything about it, and resent it up to this day. My solidarity is to Canada and humanity which is based on justice and decency and being a good citizen of the world, not to an antiquated system of "Royals and Royalties, kings, queens, princesses and on..." which should have been done away with, long long ago. This was a form of abuse of the masses then and still is in one way or another. No, no allegiance to any family in a country which I have nothing to do with.
Bernie Roycroft	1994 / January 5, 2016	Bernie: I came to Canada from the Republic of Ireland in 1990, became a citizen in 1994, and took the Citizenship Oath feeling like a small child with fingers crossed behind my back. It has nagged my conscience ever since, and thank you for bringing the issue to the fore, and allowing people like me to clear the air. The monarchy, in my view, is a relic of times gone by, and should have no place in today's Canada.
Kerstin Jarecki-Khan	April 2006 / January 14, 2016	Kerstin: I disavow any implied allegiance to Royalty, yet uphold the principles of democracy, freedom and compassion as a Canadian citizen.
Eric Dumonteil	February 19, 2016 / same day	French, English, then Doc. French: "J’ai décidé de désavouer la partie du serment de citoyenneté concernant la monarchie car il est assez difficile pour moi d’assumer consciemment de jurer d’être fidèle et de porter sincère allégeance à quelqu’un qui a hérité de ses privilèges, et qui n’a à prouver d’autre mérite que le fait d’être né “enfant de”. A fortiori, comment pourrais-je rationnellement jurer la même chose à ses héritiers et successeurs? Signer un chèque en blanc à des personnes qui n'existent pas? Pas moi. Il semblerait que nous vivions dans un pays libre, les gens qui le veulent sont libres de le faire. Cette partie monarchiste du serment ne devrait pas exister, selon moi." English: "I have decided to disavow because it is pretty hard for me to assume consciously to swear to be faithful and to bear true allegiance to someone which has inherited of her privileges, and without having to prove any other merit than the fact to be the "child of". A fortiori, how could I rationally swear the same thing to her heirs and successors? Signing a blank check to some people that don’t exist yet? Not for me. It seems that we are living in a free country, people who want to do that are free to do it. This monarchy part of the oath doesn’t have to exist, according me." Doc: LetterToJudge.pdf
Ezra de Leon	2002 / February 28, 2016	Ezra: When I swore my citizenship oath in 2002 I thought of the oath to the Queen as a pointless formality. However, upon reflection since then I realized that it is undemocratic to force a new Canadian to swear allegiance to an unelected and unaccountable hereditary ruler who doesn't even reside in Canada. Monarchy is an outdated and unnecessary system and the fact that many Canadians still feel beholden to the English royal family is an embarrassment. Canada is a modern country that deserves to stand on its own and does not need to harbour such provincial attitudes. The oath to the Queen must be removed and Canada must become a republic.
Vahid R. Afshar	April 2, 2014 / February 29, 2016	Vahid: Folks, by taking a look into history, being loyal to the royal family of England (United Kingdom of Great Britain), which has inherited a legacy of colonialism of indigenous peoples of the americas and those people whose lands we are standing on, while taking the oath in the twenty-first century, is morally not right. For this reason I disavow that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty. Instead, I affirm my allegiance to Canada and to the people of Canada.
Chi Shun Hui	1987 / March 9, 2016	Chi Shun: To right the wrong of the past, I wish to have an aboriginal person as a first elected president in Canada. Read Chi Shun's full letter to the Honourable John McCallum, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.
Lorraine Harrilal	March 14, 2016 / same day	Lorraine's disavowal letter is titled "Love for Canada: Repudiation of Monarchy". Click on it for the full size version.
Bill Bedford	January, 2016 / March 31, 2016	Bill: I became a Canadian citizen in Jan 2016 and I'd like to join your list. I am a Brit by birth and believe both countries would be much better of ditching this anachronistic institution.
Graham Morton	? / March 31, 2016	Graham: I made the oath at my citizenship swearing-in at the age of 16 along with my family. I was shocked and angered at the time but didn't want to embarass my parents. As an anti-monarchist I was surprised that the oath was included, but the anger came from the fact that in such a modern country, a reasonable person would be coerced into supporting an outdated and irrelevent concept in order to participate fully in society. It is a sneaky and dishonest way to distort the level of support for a an institution that represents the predatory and obsolete traditions people came to Canada to escape.
Marcia Sarjudeen	November 11, 2014 / April 14, 2016	Marcia: I did not wish to pledge my allegiance to any individual. I felt uncomfortable doing it because it went against my principles. The United States gives the citizenship candidate an opportunity to waive parts of the oath (see here). This should also be the case in a forward thinking country like Canada which considers itself to be a tolerant soceity. I therefore through this website publicly disavow on this day April 14th 2016, the oath I made to the Queen and her successors on the day of my citizenship November 11th 2014.
Srabon Salim	April 29, 2016 / same day	The Prince George Citizen: New citizen takes stand against swearing allegiance to the Queen.
Gwyn Campbell	November 4, 2016 / same day	Gwyn: I salute the commitment to multiculturalism, defined in “Discover Canada” as a “fundamental characteristic of the Canadian heritage and identity.” However, as a Welsh-speaking Welshman, French-speaking resident of Québec, and Canada Research Chair in Indian Ocean World History at McGill University, I am acutely conscious that for many in this plural society the Crown represents a deeply divisive history of English colonialism and imperial exploitation. Read Gwyn Campbell's full disavowal letter.
Khushwant Singh Aulakh	2006 / November 8, 2016	Khushwant: I took my citizenship oath in 2006 and I was gritting my teeth when I had to owe allegiance to the Monarchy. Now I have an opportunity to make the right choice. I, KHUSHWANT SINGH AULAKH, publicly disavow the allegiance I swore to Queen Elizabeth II and her successors.
Robert L. Jerrard	January 19, 2017 / same day	Robert: As a new Canadian citizen, I support abolishing the monarchy and replacing it by a political system with an elected head of state.
Giuseppe Bentivegna	1960s / February 6, 2017	Giuseppe: I also have felt uncomfortable and humiliated for many years about having taken the Oath and pledging allegiance to the queen. I am a proud Canadian and a law-abiding citizen and I rather pay allegiance to Native Americans or historical Canadian figures. The queen is only symbolic and powerless and abstract; she is non-existent for me. Besides, she is a foreigner whereas I'm a Canadian and I count more than her in this beautiful and fantastic country.
Azfar Zaheer	March 9, 2017 / same day	Azfar: I am not going to swear allegiance to anyone with privilege and who have earned and maintained that privilege by colonizing and exploiting nations all over the world. I should be treated with dignity and respect and not as a subject to a monarch. Read Azfar Zaheer's full disavowal letter.
Rozmin Parpia	May 15, 2015 / April 7, 2017	Rozmin: I'm originally from India and as a child I read in my History text books the atrocities of British rule in India. I remember feeling so conflicted during the pledging allegiance to the queen part of the oath ceremony. I strongly believe people should be permitted to opt out of it. It shouldn't be a mandatory requirement for citizenship.
Khalid Qureshi	2005 / same time and May 21, 2017	Khalid: I affirm my allegiance to Canada and to the people of Canada, yet I wish to disavow the royalty part, and only the royalty part, of the citizenship oath. I cannot bear allegiance to any person especially with that families colonial past.
Sabbiha Mamoona	2009 / same time and May 21, 2017	Sabbiha: I affirm my allegiance to Canada and to the people of Canada, yet I wish to disavow the royalty part, and only the royalty part, of the citizenship oath. I cannot bear allegiance to British Royals.
Iram Irfan	October 20, 2017 / same day
Anshul Agrawal	January 8, 2018 / January 10, 2018	Anshul: I affirm my allegiance, my true allegiance, to Canada and to the people of Canada, yet I wish to disavow the royalty part, and only the royalty part, of the citizenship oath. As a Canadian and a native of a former British Colony, I do not feel right about swearing allegiance to the British Crown, which is responsible for the genocide of indigenous people in Canada and the people of pre-independent India.
Florin Salajan	April 24, 2018 / April 24, 2007	Florin: I understand that, in the Supreme Court's interpretation, allegiance to the monarch is largely symbolic and should be taken as a commitment to Canada's form of government. However, in its current formulation, the oath generates ambiguity with this implicit claim, since the perceived image of the monarch as a representation of the state cannot exist in the absence of a physical representation of the monarch. No less problematic in this dualistic image is the inherent imposition of an unequal hierarchical power relation between the monarch and her/his subject(s), which departs from modern democratic government norms of equality, fairness and inclusiveness with which many new Canadians associate their adoptive country. Read Florin Salajan's full disavowal letter to the Prime Minister of Canada.
Ann Magner	May 2003 / July 2018	Ann: We are all human beings, our allegiance must be to our fellow human beings, our Mother Earth and all living things. I hereby disavow allegiance to the queen, her heirs and successors, and I affirm that I am a citizen of Canada, and I make this commitment: to uphold our laws and freedoms; to respect our people in their diversity; to work for our common well-being; and to safeguard and honour this ancient northern land. Read the exchange between Ann Magner and Neil R. Ellis, M.P., Bay of Quinte.
Mohammadhadi Baligh	December 7, 2007 / August 24, 2018
Kianoosh Mokhtarian	July 17, 2018 / September 11, 2018	Kianoosh: I took the pledge of allegiance to the monarchy at the citizenship ceremony solely out of necessity and with much discomfort, and would like to take it back now. Monarchy has no place in a 21st century democracy, let alone that the British Monarchy is more of a symbol of colonialism and genocide than of the Canadian pride.

Citizen

Oath date / Disavowal date

Notes

Ashok Charles

1997 / May 20, 2004

Ashok is the Executive Director of Republic Now. He was the first to disavow the oath, writing to The Honourable Ms. Judy Sgro, then the minister of citizenship and immigration: "It is my view that it is entirely inappropriate for Canada to require of its citizenry, allegiance to a monarch. I see this state-sanctioned subjugation as detrimental to our national spirit and to the fulfillment of Canada's role, internationally, as an independent democracy". His disavowal letter, and the government's response, are here.

Peter Rosenthal

Circa 1990 / November 14, 2015

Peter was the primary counsel to the applicants in McAteer v. Canada. His formal disavowal letter is here (pdf, unsigned) and here (jpg, signed). He writes: "In case my silence was or is interpreted as acquiescence, I hereby disavow any implication that I ever affirmed any allegiance to any monarch."

Dror Bar-Natan ✉

November 30, 2015 / same day

Dror is the curator of this web site and was one of the applicants in McAteer v. Canada. "I sent an intent/explanation letter to the citizenship judge and two government ministers before taking the oath. At the very end of the citizenship ceremony I said to the citizenship judge: I affirm my allegiance, my true allegiance, to Canada and to the people of Canada, yet I wish to disavow the royalty part, and only the royalty part, of the citizenship oath. I then handed him a written disavowal letter. A more complete description of my relationship with the oath is here."

Masrour Zoghi

2001 / November 29, 2015

Masrour: "As someone put it recently, because it's 2015."

Josh Smithson

May 16, 2014 / November 29, 2015

Josh: I became a Citizen on May 16th 2014 and was not looking forward to "pledging allegiance" to some woman who was born to privilege.

Karolina Sygula

November 20, 1985 / November 29, 2015

Karolina: Monarchies are anachronistic abominations; addressing other human beings as "Your Majesty" or "Your Royal Highness" is utterly absurd. I am no one's subject.

Ali Paknia

2011 / November 29, 2015

Ali: "I cannot be faithful to a person since I'm a free human being".

Jonathan Korman

Early 90s / November 30, 2015

Jonathan: "I agree with all you said in your letter about Monarchy being a symbol of privilege".

Suraia Sahar

1993 (by a parent) / November 30, 2015

Suraia: "I pledge my solidarity with the Indigenous people of this land".

Adrian Harper

November 21, 1975 / November 30, 2015

Adrian: "at last!", "I was surprised and disappointed to discover that in order to gain my Canadian citizenship, I had to swear an oath, partly, to the queen I thought I'd left behind."

Terence Stone

February 11, 2015 / November 30, 2015

Terence: "Since February 11, I have carried the terrible feeling that I compromised my integrity; and so now I'm repairing that harm to myself by disavowing my pledge of allegiance to the Queen and body Royal in perpetuity."

Vincent Delogne

2001 / November 30, 2015

Vincent: "I am proud to be a Canadian citizen but have no feeling of allegiance to the British crown. In fact, I think royalty is an antiquated tradition that has no place in 2015 anywhere in the world, especially not in a modern, dynamic and equalitarian country like Canada."

Songhao Li

August 21, 2012 / December 1, 2015

Songhao: "I look forward to the day that Canada becomes a republic."

Maria Marquez

1998 / December 1, 2015

Maria: I took the Oath in 1998 which today December 1st, I disavow. Instead I take this new oath created in 1991 as requested by Citizenship and Immigration Canada "I am a citizen of Canada and I make this commitment: to uphold our laws and freedoms, to respect our people in their diversity, to work for our common well-being and to safeguard and honour this ancient Northern land." I love this country!!!!!

Seyed N. Mousavian

March 2012 / December 1, 2015

Seyed: "I hereby disavow any implication that I ever affirmed any allegiance to any monarch."

Harvey Nagelberg

April 14, 2003 / December 1, 2015

No comments.

Steven: Bydeley

December 12, 1961 (by a parent) / December 1, 2015 and April 1, 2016

Steven: I disavow that I will be "faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors." I pledge instead to stand, as equals, with the people on this geographical land mass known as Canada and the rule of Law, "To live honourably; to hurt nobody; to render to everyone his due."

Gerard Muir

June 15, 1983 / December 1, 2015

Gerard: I became a Canadian Citizen June 15, 1983, and consider Canada my home. On December 1, 2015, I disavow the section of the Citizenship oath that pledges allegiance to the British Crown in perpetuity. The British Crown and what is represented by it are incompatible with my values.

Nicolas Le Gall

September 1, 2010 / December 1, 2015

My name is Nicolas, originally from France. I have been living in Canada (Montréal) for 10 years and took the oath of Canadian citizenship on September 1st, 2010. I must admit that I have always been sort of ashamed for pledging allegiance to the Queen of England. I would like to bring you my support and thank you for your initiative. Please register my disavowal on your website.

The part of the oath about the Queen has always bothered me for several reasons:
- I feel no allegiance whatsoever to the Queen of ENGLAND.
- Monarchy in general is preposterous, an antiquated sign of the people's submission to a chosen few on dubious grounds.
- Why must we new Canadian citizens take the oath while people who were born Canadians do not have to? Though we had a choice, it seems like a double standard to me.
- Other countries like New Zealand and Australia have removed from their oath the part about the Queen.
- Although I fully understand that it comes with the territory (so to speak), I moved to Québec more than I moved to Canada (which I have nothing against - it's just a vastly different culture). The Queen is even less relevant here, and the most convenient way for me to stay here was to become a Canadian citizen.

Keep up the good work and please don't let a few haters deter you from continuing your fight.

Georgi Krumov

October 2010 / December 1, 2015

Georgi: I disavow the section of the Citizenship oath that pledges allegiance to the British Crown in perpetuity. I hereby disavow any implication that I ever affirmed any allegiance to any monarch.

Valleri Blake

1975 / December 2, 2015

Valleri: As an immigrant from a former British colony, I was particularly unhappy about the oath which I took in 1975 to become a citizen of this amazing country.
I would like to finally register my disavowal of that oath and proudly substitute a slightly revised Australian version.

"From this time forward, under God, I pledge my loyalty to Canada and its people, whose democratic beliefs I share, whose rights and liberties I respect, and whose laws I will uphold and obey,"

Patricia Warwick

March 8, 1973 / December 2, 2015

Patricia: Here is what I would prefer to have vowed "I affirm that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfil my duties as a Canadian citizen." Before coming to Canada I was a British subject, and I was not required to take the oath back there - and I wouldn't have, even there.

Patrice Obertelli

2005 / December 3, 2015

Patrice: Promettre sa fidélité et allégeance à la reine d’Angleterre est politiquement absurde, anachronique et raciste : La reine n’a aucun vrai pouvoir ici et personne ne devrait avoir un privilège dû purement au fait qu’il est sorti d’un ventre plutôt que d’un autre. Le pouvoir héréditaire est un d’autre temps.

Sheila McCrindle

1983 / December 3, 2015

Sheila: I Sheila McCrindle, took the oath of Citizenship in 1983. I did not like swearing allegiance to a monarch then, so I am thankful for the opportunity to disavow the part of the oath in which I said I would swear allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors. I will however continue to be faithful to the laws of Canada and fulfill my role as a Canadian citizen.

Monarchy is such a ridiculous medieval concept. And it’s 2015.

Sujeewa Kumaratunga

December 2, 2015 / December 4, 2015

Sujeewa: As it is not in accordance with my democratic principles, I hereby disavow any allegiance to the monarch that might have been implied in the portion of the oath of citizenship, taken on December 2nd, 2015, in Montreal, QC that reads: "I affirm that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, Her Heirs and Successors".

This is in accordance with the advice of Weiler, Lauwers and Pardu JJ.A., in their ruling on McAteer v. Canada, 2014 ONCA 578, paragraph 76: "... the appellants have the opportunity to publicly disavow what they consider to be the message conveyed by the oath. ...".

Nassim Noroozi

November 21, 2014 / December 5, 2015

Nassim: I took the pledge of allegiance to the Royal family while I was literally shivering: how can one pledge allegiance to a royal family who has inherited a legacy of colonialism and genocide of indigenous peoples of the americas, the peoples whose lands we are standing on while taking the oath?

I believe that fighting for a more ethical and just world is in contradiction with taking this oath. As someone else said, I am hoping to repair my compromised integrity by this disavowal. I wish to publicly disavow my oath and reaffirm my commitment to being a good citizen and an ally to the indigenous people of the Americas - specifically the people of the Haudenosaunee territories.

Asif Rahman

1999 / December 12, 2015

Asif: Effective immediately please register my disavowal to the British monarchy and I reaffirm that I will faithfully observe the laws of Canada and fulfill my duties as a Canadian citizen.

I became a Canadian citizen in 1999. I wish I knew then what I know now. I let myself down the day I declared my allegiance to a monarchy who's foreign policy was to invade foreign lands and subjugate its inhabitants.

I have relieved myself from a heavy burden today.

Jake Javanshir ✉

1973 / December 21, 2015

Jake: I came to Canada on August, 1970 and disavow on December, 21, 2015.
I resented the part of the oath in regard to a few privileged people in England in 1970 but could not do anything about it, and resent it up to this day.
My solidarity is to Canada and humanity which is based on justice and decency and being a good citizen of the world, not to an antiquated system of "Royals and Royalties, kings, queens, princesses and on..." which should have been done away with, long long ago. This was a form of abuse of the masses then and still is in one way or another.
No, no allegiance to any family in a country which I have nothing to do with.

Bernie Roycroft

1994 / January 5, 2016

Bernie: I came to Canada from the Republic of Ireland in 1990, became a citizen in 1994, and took the Citizenship Oath feeling like a small child with fingers crossed behind my back. It has nagged my conscience ever since, and thank you for bringing the issue to the fore, and allowing people like me to clear the air. The monarchy, in my view, is a relic of times gone by, and should have no place in today's Canada.

Kerstin Jarecki-Khan

April 2006 / January 14, 2016

Kerstin: I disavow any implied allegiance to Royalty, yet uphold the principles of democracy, freedom and compassion as a Canadian citizen.

Eric Dumonteil

February 19, 2016 / same day

French, English, then Doc.

French: "J’ai décidé de désavouer la partie du serment de citoyenneté concernant la monarchie car il est assez difficile pour moi d’assumer consciemment de jurer d’être fidèle et de porter sincère allégeance à quelqu’un qui a hérité de ses privilèges, et qui n’a à prouver d’autre mérite que le fait d’être né “enfant de”. A fortiori, comment pourrais-je rationnellement jurer la même chose à ses héritiers et successeurs? Signer un chèque en blanc à des personnes qui n'existent pas? Pas moi. Il semblerait que nous vivions dans un pays libre, les gens qui le veulent sont libres de le faire. Cette partie monarchiste du serment ne devrait pas exister, selon moi."

English: "I have decided to disavow because it is pretty hard for me to assume consciously to swear to be faithful and to bear true allegiance to someone which has inherited of her privileges, and without having to prove any other merit than the fact to be the "child of". A fortiori, how could I rationally swear the same thing to her heirs and successors? Signing a blank check to some people that don’t exist yet? Not for me. It seems that we are living in a free country, people who want to do that are free to do it. This monarchy part of the oath doesn’t have to exist, according me."

Doc: LetterToJudge.pdf

Ezra de Leon

2002 / February 28, 2016

Ezra: When I swore my citizenship oath in 2002 I thought of the oath to the Queen as a pointless formality. However, upon reflection since then I realized that it is undemocratic to force a new Canadian to swear allegiance to an unelected and unaccountable hereditary ruler who doesn't even reside in Canada. Monarchy is an outdated and unnecessary system and the fact that many Canadians still feel beholden to the English royal family is an embarrassment. Canada is a modern country that deserves to stand on its own and does not need to harbour such provincial attitudes. The oath to the Queen must be removed and Canada must become a republic.

Vahid R. Afshar

April 2, 2014 / February 29, 2016

Vahid: Folks, by taking a look into history, being loyal to the royal family of England (United Kingdom of Great Britain), which has inherited a legacy of colonialism of indigenous peoples of the americas and those people whose lands we are standing on, while taking the oath in the twenty-first century, is morally not right. For this reason I disavow that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty. Instead, I affirm my allegiance to Canada and to the people of Canada.

Chi Shun Hui

1987 / March 9, 2016

Chi Shun: To right the wrong of the past, I wish to have an aboriginal person as a first elected president in Canada.

Read Chi Shun's full letter to the Honourable John McCallum, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration.

Lorraine Harrilal

March 14, 2016 / same day

Lorraine's disavowal letter is titled "Love for Canada: Repudiation of Monarchy".

Click on it for the full size version.

Bill Bedford

January, 2016 / March 31, 2016

Bill: I became a Canadian citizen in Jan 2016 and I'd like to join your list. I am a Brit by birth and believe both countries would be much better of ditching this anachronistic institution.

Graham Morton

? / March 31, 2016

Graham: I made the oath at my citizenship swearing-in at the age of 16 along with my family. I was shocked and angered at the time but didn't want to embarass my parents. As an anti-monarchist I was surprised that the oath was included, but the anger came from the fact that in such a modern country, a reasonable person would be coerced into supporting an outdated and irrelevent concept in order to participate fully in society. It is a sneaky and dishonest way to distort the level of support for a an institution that represents the predatory and obsolete traditions people came to Canada to escape.

Marcia Sarjudeen

November 11, 2014 / April 14, 2016

Marcia: I did not wish to pledge my allegiance to any individual. I felt uncomfortable doing it because it went against my principles. The United States gives the citizenship candidate an opportunity to waive parts of the oath (see here). This should also be the case in a forward thinking country like Canada which considers itself to be a tolerant soceity. I therefore through this website publicly disavow on this day April 14th 2016, the oath I made to the Queen and her successors on the day of my citizenship November 11th 2014.

Srabon Salim

April 29, 2016 / same day

The Prince George Citizen: New citizen takes stand against swearing allegiance to the Queen.

Gwyn Campbell

November 4, 2016 / same day

Gwyn: I salute the commitment to multiculturalism, defined in “Discover Canada” as a “fundamental characteristic of the Canadian heritage and identity.” However, as a Welsh-speaking Welshman, French-speaking resident of Québec, and Canada Research Chair in Indian Ocean World History at McGill University, I am acutely conscious that for many in this plural society the Crown represents a deeply divisive history of English colonialism and imperial exploitation.

Read Gwyn Campbell's full disavowal letter.

Khushwant Singh Aulakh

2006 / November 8, 2016

Khushwant: I took my citizenship oath in 2006 and I was gritting my teeth when I had to owe allegiance to the Monarchy. Now I have an opportunity to make the right choice.

I, KHUSHWANT SINGH AULAKH, publicly disavow the allegiance I swore to Queen Elizabeth II and her successors.

Robert L. Jerrard

January 19, 2017 / same day

Robert: As a new Canadian citizen, I support abolishing the monarchy and replacing it by a political system with an elected head of state.

Giuseppe Bentivegna

1960s / February 6, 2017

Giuseppe: I also have felt uncomfortable and humiliated for many years about having taken the Oath and pledging allegiance to the queen. I am a proud Canadian and a law-abiding citizen and I rather pay allegiance to Native Americans or historical Canadian figures. The queen is only symbolic and powerless and abstract; she is non-existent for me. Besides, she is a foreigner whereas I'm a Canadian and I count more than her in this beautiful and fantastic country.

Azfar Zaheer

March 9, 2017 / same day

Azfar: I am not going to swear allegiance to anyone with privilege and who have earned and maintained that privilege by colonizing and exploiting nations all over the world. I should be treated with dignity and respect and not as a subject to a monarch.

Read Azfar Zaheer's full disavowal letter.

Rozmin Parpia

May 15, 2015 / April 7, 2017

Rozmin: I'm originally from India and as a child I read in my History text books the atrocities of British rule in India. I remember feeling so conflicted during the pledging allegiance to the queen part of the oath ceremony. I strongly believe people should be permitted to opt out of it. It shouldn't be a mandatory requirement for citizenship.

Khalid Qureshi

2005 / same time and May 21, 2017

Khalid: I affirm my allegiance to Canada and to the people of Canada, yet I wish to disavow the royalty part, and only the royalty part, of the citizenship oath. I cannot bear allegiance to any person especially with that families colonial past.

Sabbiha Mamoona

2009 / same time and May 21, 2017

Sabbiha: I affirm my allegiance to Canada and to the people of Canada, yet I wish to disavow the royalty part, and only the royalty part, of the citizenship oath. I cannot bear allegiance to British Royals.

Iram Irfan

October 20, 2017 / same day

Anshul Agrawal

January 8, 2018 / January 10, 2018

Anshul: I affirm my allegiance, my true allegiance, to Canada and to the people of Canada, yet I wish to disavow the royalty part, and only the royalty part, of the citizenship oath. As a Canadian and a native of a former British Colony, I do not feel right about swearing allegiance to the British Crown, which is responsible for the genocide of indigenous people in Canada and the people of pre-independent India.

Florin Salajan

April 24, 2018 / April 24, 2007

Florin: I understand that, in the Supreme Court's interpretation, allegiance to the monarch is largely symbolic and should be taken as a commitment to Canada's form of government. However, in its current formulation, the oath generates ambiguity with this implicit claim, since the perceived image of the monarch as a representation of the state cannot exist in the absence of a physical representation of the monarch. No less problematic in this dualistic image is the inherent imposition of an unequal hierarchical power relation between the monarch and her/his subject(s), which departs from modern democratic government norms of equality, fairness and inclusiveness with which many new Canadians associate their adoptive country.

Read Florin Salajan's full disavowal letter to the Prime Minister of Canada.

Ann Magner

May 2003 / July 2018

Ann: We are all human beings, our allegiance must be to our fellow human beings, our Mother Earth and all living things. I hereby disavow allegiance to the queen, her heirs and successors, and I affirm that I am a citizen of Canada, and I make this commitment: to uphold our laws and freedoms; to respect our people in their diversity; to work for our common well-being; and to safeguard and honour this ancient northern land.

Read the exchange between Ann Magner and Neil R. Ellis, M.P., Bay of Quinte.

Mohammadhadi Baligh

December 7, 2007 / August 24, 2018

Kianoosh Mokhtarian

July 17, 2018 / September 11, 2018

Kianoosh: I took the pledge of allegiance to the monarchy at the citizenship ceremony solely out of necessity and with much discomfort, and would like to take it back now. Monarchy has no place in a 21st century democracy, let alone that the British Monarchy is more of a symbol of colonialism and genocide than of the Canadian pride.

Citizen	Oath/birth date / Disavowal date	Notes
Margaret Buchan (lawyer's oath)	1993 / December 1, 2015	Margaret: When I was called to the bar in 1993 the oath included allegiance to the Queen. I still remember gritting my teeth. Now that part is optional. In case anyone cares, I DISAVOW!
Dominique Liboiron (federal employee's oath)	May, 2003 / March 17, 2016	I, Dominique Liboiron, publicly disavow the allegiance I swore to Queen Elizabeth II and her successors. I was led to believe this is a condition of employment with the federal government and was told that I wouldn't be paid until I signed the oath. Coercion isn't a Canadian value. Neither should be submission to a foreign monarch. I encourage you to speak with your elected officials to express your desire for Canada to detach itself from the royal family. I'm embarrassed that so many citizens don't want Canada to stand on its own two feet. We are no longer an English colony.
Tom McMahon (lawyer's / federal employee's oath)	1986 and 1991 / November 24, 2016	Tom: I likely swore an oath of allegiance to the Queen when I became a lawyer in Manitoba in 1986 and/or when I joined the federal public service in 1991. To be clear, I wish to ensure that I am on record as disavowing any such oath. I feel no allegiance whatsoever to the Protestant heirs and successors of Sophia of Hanover. I completely reject the reasoning of the the Ontario Court of Appeal in McAteer. My allegiance is to a democratic Canada, the rule of law especially the values expressed in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, my fellow Canadians and to honouring the treaties and indigenous rights of the original peoples of this land. Read Tom McMahon's article Reconcile this: Canada's Oath to the Queen, the Doctrine of Discovery, Indigenous Peoples, New Canadians and Freedom of Expression.
Mark Faccia (Canadian by birth)	September 29, 1985 / September 29, 2017	Mark: On this date of my 32nd birthday, I rescind any assumed allegiance to the crown of the United Kingdom as defined by my Canadian citizenry. It is a detestable practice to demand loyalty to a bygone empire as a requirement of citizenship to this free country.
Nick Marchese (Canadian by birth)	1962 / January 1, 2018	Nick: Surely, a monarchical system of governance is antithetical to all of us who believe in true democracy and that we are equal under the law. Thus, I want to make public my disavowal of allegiance to a monarchy or any undemocratic institution.
Vincent Lassonde (Canadian by birth)	1992 / October 21, 2018	Shenyang, Chine 21 Octobre 2018 Moi, Vincent Lassonde, refuse de prêter allégeance à Sa Majesté Élizabeth II, Reine du Royaume-Uni de Grande-Bretagne et d'Irlande du Nord, ainsi que chef d'État des anciennes colonies britanniques intégrées au Commonwealth. En ma qualité de citoyen Québécois, indépendantiste et nationaliste, je refuse de supporter cette institution raciste, rétrograde, classiste et qui a, à de nombreuses reprises, manifester son mépris envers mon peuple, ma culture, mon identité et par extension, envers ma personne. Ma naissance sur ce territoire ne constitue ni mon support, ni mon consentement envers la Couronne britannique et ses représentants. Conséquemment, je souhaite me libérer de tout engagement moral ou institutionnel envers Sa Majesté, ainsi que ses descendants, et je souhaite être considéré en tant qu'homme libre, citoyen d'une république manifeste, réelle, moderne et inclusive. Vincent Lassonde.

Citizen

Oath/birth date / Disavowal date

Notes

Margaret Buchan
(lawyer's oath)

1993 / December 1, 2015

Margaret: When I was called to the bar in 1993 the oath included allegiance to the Queen. I still remember gritting my teeth. Now that part is optional.

In case anyone cares, I DISAVOW!

Dominique Liboiron
(federal employee's oath)

May, 2003 / March 17, 2016

I, Dominique Liboiron, publicly disavow the allegiance I swore to Queen Elizabeth II and her successors. I was led to believe this is a condition of employment with the federal government and was told that I wouldn't be paid until I signed the oath. Coercion isn't a Canadian value. Neither should be submission to a foreign monarch. I encourage you to speak with your elected officials to express your desire for Canada to detach itself from the royal family. I'm embarrassed that so many citizens don't want Canada to stand on its own two feet. We are no longer an English colony.

Tom McMahon
(lawyer's / federal employee's oath)

1986 and 1991 / November 24, 2016

Tom: I likely swore an oath of allegiance to the Queen when I became a lawyer in Manitoba in 1986 and/or when I joined the federal public service in 1991. To be clear, I wish to ensure that I am on record as disavowing any such oath. I feel no allegiance whatsoever to the Protestant heirs and successors of Sophia of Hanover. I completely reject the reasoning of the the Ontario Court of Appeal in McAteer. My allegiance is to a democratic Canada, the rule of law especially the values expressed in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, my fellow Canadians and to honouring the treaties and indigenous rights of the original peoples of this land.

Read Tom McMahon's article Reconcile this: Canada's Oath to the Queen, the Doctrine of Discovery, Indigenous Peoples, New Canadians and Freedom of Expression.

Mark Faccia
(Canadian by birth)

September 29, 1985 / September 29, 2017

Mark: On this date of my 32nd birthday, I rescind any assumed allegiance to the crown of the United Kingdom as defined by my Canadian citizenry. It is a detestable practice to demand loyalty to a bygone empire as a requirement of citizenship to this free country.

Nick Marchese
(Canadian by birth)

1962 / January 1, 2018

Nick: Surely, a monarchical system of governance is antithetical to all of us who believe in true democracy and that we are equal under the law. Thus, I want to make public my disavowal of allegiance to a monarchy or any undemocratic institution.

Vincent Lassonde
(Canadian by birth)

1992 / October 21, 2018

Shenyang, Chine
21 Octobre 2018

Moi, Vincent Lassonde, refuse de prêter allégeance à Sa Majesté Élizabeth II, Reine du Royaume-Uni de Grande-Bretagne et d'Irlande du Nord, ainsi que chef d'État des anciennes colonies britanniques intégrées au Commonwealth. En ma qualité de citoyen Québécois, indépendantiste et nationaliste, je refuse de supporter cette institution raciste, rétrograde, classiste et qui a, à de nombreuses reprises, manifester son mépris envers mon peuple, ma culture, mon identité et par extension, envers ma personne.

Ma naissance sur ce territoire ne constitue ni mon support, ni mon consentement envers la Couronne britannique et ses représentants.

Conséquemment, je souhaite me libérer de tout engagement moral ou institutionnel envers Sa Majesté, ainsi que ses descendants, et je souhaite être considéré en tant qu'homme libre, citoyen d'une république manifeste, réelle, moderne et inclusive.

Vincent Lassonde.