take an oath

In Canada - a Commonwealth country and former British colony - most elected officials have to take an oath in which they swear or affirm they "will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles III" and his "heirs and successors according to law".

A Canadian territory has changed its rules for elected municipal officials, allowing them to take an oath pledging allegiance to the country's constitution instead of the British Crown when they are sworn in.

This is not the first time that elected officials in Canada have refused to take an oath to the King.

In 2022, the French-speaking province of Quebec passed legislation that ended the requirement to have elected officials take an oath to the monarchy.

In a retirement speech in September 2023, Milley — who worries about being recalled to active duty and court-martialed under a new Trump administration, according to Woodward’s latest book, “War” — offered an indirect commentary widely presumed to refer to the former president: “We don’t take an oath to a king or a queen, to a tyrant or dictator, or wannabe dictator.”