Charles, the Prince of Wales, and his wife, Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, are touring Canada this week.

From Newfoundland and Labrador, they traveled to Ontario; then it’s on to British Columbia, Quebec, and finally to Ottawa. They’ll return to England on November 12.

Because Canada remains a constitutional monarchy, Queen Elizabeth II is technically the Queen of Canada, the country’s official Head of State. As heir to the British throne, the Prince of Wales is in line to become Canada’s official ruler.

If you’re a newcomer to Canada, particularly if you’ve come from the very non-royalist United States, you may be surprised by the degree to which the monarchy is alive and well north of the border. While the Queen’s role is largely symbolic, her portrait graces Canadian money and stamps, and the Canadian media covers a royal visit in minute detail.

Yet Canadians have mixed feelings about their royal ties.

Although Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff once famously dismissed the relevance of the monarchy with “Enough of this nonsense…,” a Sun Media poll taken in the week before this most recent royal visit found that “support for dumping the monarchy stands at 45% nationally, while support for keeping the Queen as our head of state is slightly lower at 44%.”

Regardless of your views on the monarchy, you can get the complete itinerary for the royal visit here.

Photo ©Carolyn B. Heller