The Institute for the Study of the Crown in Canada aims:
- To enhance understanding of Canada’s federal and provincial constitutional arrangements and, in particular, the role of the Crown.
- To broaden knowledge of the constitutional role of the Crown; the impartial head-of-state functions performed by the Sovereign, the Governor General, and the Lieutenant Governors; and Canada’s honours and symbols of authority.
Our history
Founded in 2014, the Institute for the Study of the Crown in Canada (Institut d’études sur la Couronne au Canada) is a respected authority on the Crown in Canada, having evolved from an informal network, begun in 2005, of people from a variety of backgrounds interested in promoting knowledge and understanding of the institution of constitutional monarchy in Canada.
The Institute began at Massey College, the graduate college founded at the University of Toronto in 1963 by the first Canadian-born Governor General, the Rt. Hon. Vincent Massey. The head of the College at the time, John Fraser, was founding president of the Institute. It has expanded beyond the confines of a small graduate college to encompass writers, practitioners, and scholars across the country.
The Institute commissions studies and papers dealing with the constitutional, historical, and institutional reality of the Crown in Canada. It seeks alliances, associations, or liaison status with viceregal offices; appropriate public policy and governance institutes; Indigenous organizations; academic and general publishers; and parallel institutions in other countries with similar constitutional arrangements. The Institute is a resource for further studies in this area, as well as making available recognized scholars and other spokespersons in the field of constitutional monarchy.