U.S. President Donald Trump C welcomes Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney R at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on May 6, 2025. U.S. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney met in the White House on Tuesday, disagreeing on the “51st state” and trade issues, according to the live broadcast of CBC News. (Photo by Hu Yousong/Xinhua via Getty Images)
King Charles and Queen Camilla’s royal visit to Ottawa is more than just ceremonial, according to two experts who are closely watching the couple’s trip to the nation’s capital.
Former CBC Radio managing editor Jeffrey Dvorkin — an expert on public interest in the royal family in Canada — and constitutional expert Errol Mendes, believe the trip sends a message to Washington and serves as a reminder to Canadians.
“This is as much about sending a message to the Trump White House as it is to announce that a new prime minister is in charge,” Dvorkin told Yahoo News Canada.
“It is a sign that Canada is starting to limit its connections to the United States,” he added.
Mendes, an expert on Canada’s relationship with the Crown as a constitutional monarchy, agrees the visit signals a deliberate pivot by Prime Minister Mark Carney at a time when tensions run high with the United States.
Mendes views the royal presence in Ottawa as a “signal to Trump that Canada could never be for sale,” and a push by Carney to reinforce Canada’s identity as a sovereign state which will seek alliances far beyond its southern neighbour, should it come to that.
Tradition meets political symbolism
It is a tradition for the monarch to remain politically neutral in his throne speech, despite the above motive behind inviting the King and Queen to Ottawa.
However, as Mendes told Yahoo News Canada, “the King may surprise us by stating in a couched manner that Canada’s legal and soft power moral standing makes it impossible to be owned by any other nation as his mother and father did in the past.”
A civics lesson, too
For Dvorkin, the royal visit will also act as a reminder of Canada’s democratic institutions to Canadians.
“Many Canadians, especially young Canadians, don’t really know much about how government works,” he said, highlighting a civic gap the monarchy’s visit might help spotlight.