The majority of Canadians want Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor cut from the line of succession, a new poll finds.
Three weeks after he was arrested as part of a police investigation looking into whether he shared confidential government information with convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, new data makes it clear that Canadians want the former prince stripped of more than his titles, honours and palatial home.
According to an Angus Reid survey released today, 73 per cent of respondents would “strongly support” removing any chance of Mountbatten-Windsor, currently eighth in line, from ever taking the throne.
When you add in the 11 per cent who “moderately” support his removal, that totals almost four in five Canadians who are keen to make sure there’s no world, however unlikely, where the 66-year-old could become king.
It’s worth noting that it’s not unanimous, according to this survey: There is a small group, just seven per cent, who’d oppose such a move.
Canadian sentiment echoes Carney’s statement yesterday
These poll results come the day after Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney voiced his own support for removing Mountbatten-Windsor from the line of succession.
“I certainly think his actions, which are deplorable and have caused him to be stripped of his royal titles, certainly merit — necessitate, that’s a better word — his removal from the line of succession,” the PM told reporters in Japan when asked about the issue. “Even though he is well down the line of succession, the point of principle stands.”
As a refresher: Mountbatten-Windsor can only be removed from the line of succession by an Act of Parliament in the U.K., which requires the support of all 14 other countries where King Charles is head of state to pass. The British government has signalled that it is considering this action, while Australia has already said it would support such a move.
Mountbatten-Windsor has always denied any wrongdoing in his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
Canadians lukewarm on Royal Family in general
While it’s Mountbatten-Windsor in the headlines, the survey also found that Canadians are finding the Royal Family increasingly irrelevant otherwise.
Fifty-one per cent said that the Windsors were “no longer relevant” to them personally right now. That’s down from 55 per cent in 2021, the year of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s tell-all interview, but a few percentage points up from 2023 and 2025. Twenty-six per cent believe they’re becoming less relevant, and only two per cent think they’re “more relevant than ever.”
It’s no surprise, then, that this survey also reports declining enthusiasm for the Crown itself in Canada. Nearly half of Canadians — 47 per cent to be exact — don’t think Canada should continue as a constitutional monarchy “for generations to come.” That’s up nine per cent since 2016.
In 2026, just 29 per cent of Canadians support the Windsor dynasty’s continuation as our head of state. Contrast that to 1978, when more than half of Canadians were pro-constitutional monarchy.
There’s also been a marked decline in support in just this past decade. In 2016, 42 per cent of Canadians wanted the Windsors on the throne in perpetuity. Since then, we’ve had a decade of headlines — including many negative ones revolving around Mountbatten-Windsor — and cultural shifts (everything from the Netflix show “The Crown” to the rise of social media and the death of deference more broadly) that seem to have changed how we feel about the people over at Buckingham Palace.
Canadians, it seems, are not alone: Just today, for the first time in 37 years, the BBC will not be airing live coverage of the Commonwealth Day Service. Its reason for airing an episode of “Escape to the Country” rather than this tent-pole royal event, which sees all the major members of the family parade into Westminster Abbey? Per a statement, it “reflects the difficult choices we have to make in light of our funding challenge.” Translated: It seems the viewership doesn’t seem to justify the expense.
