Yukon Municipal Elected Leaders No Longer Need to Swear Oath to King

The Yukon provincial flag flies on a flag pole in Ottawa in a file photo. The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld

The Yukon government has said municipal elected officials taking office no longer need to swear an oath to the King. The announcement comes after newly elected councillors in Dawson City refused to take the oath.

Instead, the government says elected representatives can have an option to affirm their allegiance to the laws and the Constitution of Canada, the territorial government said on Nov. 29.

“The revised oath offers elected local government officials the opportunity to swear or affirm their allegiance to either the laws and the Constitution of Canada, or the Crown. Before the change, elected municipal officials were required to make an Oath of Allegiance to the Crown,” the government said in a news release.

The Municipal Act requires councillor-elects to take the Oath of Allegiance of within 40 days of being voted in, or they will lose their seat and a byelection will be called, according to a Nov. 29 Yukon government news release.

In the original Oath of Allegiance, councillors need to swear they will be faithful and bear true allegiance to the Crown.

“This decision does not require a change to legislation and allows elected municipal officials to take the Oath of Allegiance in a way that better aligns with their values and cultural identities,” the government said.

In 2017, Ontario made a similar move, amending the Public Service of Ontario Act to allow those of indigenous backgrounds to be exempt from swearing or affirming allegiance to the Crown, if the individual feels making the oath would be inconsistent with their views on the relationship between the Crown and indigenous peoples.

The act also has an alternative oath that leaders can take upon taking office.

In 2022, Quebec also changed the pledge after several members of the Parti Quebecois refused to say it, and were barred from sitting as a result.

Prior to the change, Quebec members of the legislature had to swear two oaths, one to the Quebec people and another to the Crown. Some politicians opted to take the oath to the Crown in private, away from the public witness.

Quebec Solidaire’s 11-member caucus had also refused to swear the oath in 2022, but opted to do it privately rather than lose their seats.

Earlier this year, New Brunswick MPs voted down a bill that would have removed the requirement for swearing an oath to the Crown.

The bill, which was given its first reading in June 2023, would have given MPs the option of pledging allegiance to the Constitution or to the Crown. It was defeated in April.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.