Canada is a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy with The Queen as Sovereign.

As a constitutional monarch, The Queen abides by the decisions of the Canadian Government, but she continues to play important ceremonial and symbolic roles.

In all these duties, The Queen acts as Queen of Canada, quite distinctive from her role in the United Kingdom or any of her other realms.

Over the course of more than 50 years The Queen has been a regular visitor to Canada, paying over 20 visits. Together with The Duke of Edinburgh, The Queen has travelled through every part of the different provinces to meet people from all cultures, walks of life and regions.

Find out more about the Canadian monarchy in this section.

The Commonwealth celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2009. To find out more about the work of the Commonwealth Secretariat in this special year, click on the logo below.