Oath of Allegiance (Canada)

Oath Of Allegiance (Canada)

The Canadian Oath of Allegiance is a promise or declaration of fealty to the Canadian monarch, taken, along with other specific oaths of office, by new occupants of various government positions, including federal and provincial viceroys, appointees to the Queen's Privy Council, Supreme Court justices, members of the federal and provincial parliaments, as well as of the Canadian Forces and Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and in some provinces, all lawyers upon admission to bar. The Oath of Allegiance also makes up the first portion of the Oath of Citizenship, and may form a part of oaths taken by new members of law societies, the judiciary, and federal, provincial, and municipal police forces.

The vow's roots lie in the oath taken in the United Kingdom, the modern form of which was implemented in 1689 by King William II and III and Queen Mary II, and was used in Canada prior to confederation. The Canadian oath was established at that time in the British North America Act, 1867 (now Constitution Act, 1867), meaning that alteration or elimination of the oath for parliamentarians requires a constitutional amendment. The Oath of Allegiance has also been slightly altered and made or removed as a requirement for admission to other offices or positions through Act of Parliament or letters patent, to which proposals have been put forward for further abolishment or modification.