Against that backdrop, there is little reason to believe Canadians are ready to shed the monarchy anytime soon. But if we are ever to grow up as a country — and outgrow the motherland — there is no better place to start the conversation than in Ontario.

Yes, this is the historical homeland of United Empire Loyalists, whose official motto is: “Loyal she began, loyal she remains.” True, the Union Jack ensign endures in our provincial flag, a retort to the new Maple Leaf flag conjured up by renegade royalists in the mid-1960s.

But who better than today’s Ontarians, with our distinctive diversity, to lead the way in modernizing our national identity? If Ontario could break free from the yoke of its own outdated self-image — white proto-monarchists showing their undying loyalty to the realm centuries ago — Canada’s biggest province could reshape the national debate.

Whatever your views on Brexit, it’s hard to argue that a Canadexit from the House of Windsor would wreak havoc on our constitutional system. As our 150th birthday approaches, and as Canadians ponder the arrival of King Charles III and Camilla, the conversation about cutting the ties that bind is just beginning.