CANADA

Face value � 50 cents
Metal � nickel
Mintage � *** pieces
In circulation since 2002

The year of the Queen's golden jubilee

Queen Elizabeth II, as is common for all her other non-UK realms, is generally regarded as "Queen of Canada" only when she is actually present in Canada or when she otherwise performs ceremonies relevant to Canada, such as conferring Canadian honors in the UK or participating in the Canadian World War II memorial ceremonies in France.
The Queen is a regular visitor to Canada. The cultural importance that Canadians attached to the monarchy as a British institution, however, visibly declined in the decades following World War II as Canada began to emerge and blossom into a mature nation in her own right. For example, though the Royal Union Flag remains an official flag in Canada, a distinctly Canadian flag was adopted in 1964; God Save the Queen remains the royal anthem and forms a part of the Vice-Regal Salutes, but O Canada has been adopted as the national anthem instead. The federal and provincial governments now recognize and promote the Queen's role as monarch of Canada as separate to her position as Queen of the United Kingdom.
In 2002, the year of the Queen's golden jubilee, polls were taken by Canada's three biggest polling firms on Canadian views of the monarchy.
The 2002 Ekos poll found that support for abolition of the monarchy is declining yet also highlighted many contradictions in public opinion. 48% agreed and 35% disagree with the statement, "Instead of a British monarch, we should have a Canadian citizen as our head of state." Yet at the same time 43% disagreed and 41% agreed to the same question worded slightly differently: "it's time to abolish the monarchy in Canada."
The 2002 Ipsos-Reid poll found that 79% of Canadians support "the constitutional monarchy as Canada's form of government where we elect governments whose leader becomes Prime Minister." However, republicans suggest the result may have been skewed by the inclusion of "where we elect governments whose leader becomes Prime Minister." Also, 62% believe the monarchy helps to define Canada's identity. At the same time, 48% of Canadians say that "the constitutional monarchy is outmoded and would prefer a republican system of government with an elected head of state", and two-thirds (65%) believe the royals are merely celebrities and should not have any formal role in Canada.
The 2002 Leger Marketing poll found 50% said "yes" to the statement, "Elizabeth II is currently the Queen of Canada. Do you (yes or no) want Canada to maintain the monarchy?" 43% said "no". Also, a majority (56%) said "yes" to: "In your opinion, should we replace the head of Queen Elizabeth II on the Canadian dollar by those of people who have influenced Canadian history?" 39% said "no".