Ceremony and Strategy: Decoding the 2025 Throne Speech
Karl Salgo, Rhonda Moore, and David Murchison
June 4, 2025
“The True North is indeed strong and free,” concluded His Majesty King Charles III during the Speech from the Throne, delivered to signal the opening the 45th Parliament of Canada on 27 May, 2025 in Ottawa. The statement received thunderous applause from those present in the room, suggesting the King’s office and the Prime Minister’s office – who collaborated on the speech – succeeded to create a document that struck an appropriate balance of policy commitments and instilling a sense of pride, capability, and unity among those present.
This article explores the role of the Speech from the Throne (SFT) in our federal public governance system and then analyses unique components of the SFT delivered on 27 May, 2025.
About the SFT. On one level, the SFT is a highly ceremonial element of the parliamentary process, the centerpiece of the opening of any new session of Parliament following an election or prorogation, with maces, rods, summoning of the Commons, and similar pomp. Ordinarily the Governor General, as the representative of the King, would read the speech on behalf of His Majesty’s government, which requires the support of parliamentarians for its legislative agenda for the session. (Queen Elizabeth delivered the SFT twice during her reign: first in 1957 and again in 1977.) Parliament debates and votes on the Speech, which is a matter of confidence, meaning that it must receive majority support if the government is to continue in office. While that is no forgone conclusion in a minority Parliament, the other parties are unlikely to join forces in bringing down the government at this point.
Canadian SFTs tend to be longer than their British counterpart, the King’s Speech, averaging about 3,000 words (2,700 in 2021) compared to about 1,000 or less for the King’s Speech. Arguably that reflects a greater tendency for Canadian governments to use the speech as a communications tool.
This SFT was a communications tool in multiple ways, above all in the fact that the King Himself crossed the pond to read it and in so doing underscored our sovereignty. The US ambassador, with a dubious command of tact, commented that there were easier ways to send a message to the US President. But the prime minister was equally sending a message to Canadians about who we are, and, perhaps, about who he is as the orchestrator of such an event.
From a governance perspective, the SFT is a significant manifestation of a core principle: the need for public statements of strategic direction. By strategic direction we mean that specific government initiatives are part of a broader and hopefully coherent agenda. Forward planning contributes to effective performance, while the public nature of the plans contribute to accountability, two other core governance principles. Canadian governments have a relative handful of comprehensive strategic statements: electoral platforms for those who have recently been to the polls, SFTs which often and justifiably resemble electoral platforms, the federal budget (nota bene, Minister Champagne), and its junior sibling the economic update.
Noteworthy in 2025. What piqued our interest and made us sit up and take note this time? Several things! We focus on those portions of the SFT that relate to the governance principles of direction and performance.
On strategic direction, His Majesty made several references changing global dynamics and the uncertainty that presents. Though several references implicated the United States, the messages were directed at Canada’s relationship with the U.S. and the need for “a coalition of likeminded partners and allies around the world” who recognize what Canada has to offer and which “share its values.”
Domestically, His Majesty established the “government’s overarching goal – its core mission – is to build the strongest economy in the G7. This was followed by several policy statements reflected in the Liberal party platform around removing barriers to internal trade and labour mobility, catalyzing projects of “national significance” in partnership with provinces, territories and Indigenous Peoples, that will deepen Canada’s international ties and create high-paying jobs for generations, and a series of measure to ensure more affordable homes for Canadians. But how these challenges are addressed will rely on what makes Canada and Canadians unique, and our longstanding values. The repeated references to Canada’s uniqueness, to Canadian unity and to our values may come as no surprise to some. Especially those who joined us at the IOG offices on 1 May to hear from IPSOS Canada about the dynamics of the recent federal election and what drove voter sentiment from the time the writ was dropped until Canadians went to the polls. The aspects of Canadian culture that distinguish us from the US played a big part in our most recent federal campaign; that moment is becoming a movement.
On effective performance, His Majesty made references to the need for expeditious actions by the government. Two notable references include the commitment to introduce legislation to remove all remaining federal barriers to internal trade and labour mobility by 1 July. The second was a commitment to “strike co-operation agreements with every interested province and territory within six months to realize the goal of “one project, one review”” in support of the Major Federal Project Office.
The SFT also contained a few Easter eggs and what exactly they contain will remain to be seen. First, we note that this SFT marks the first time the sovereign has delivered a land acknowledgement, recognizing the pre-colonial history of this region. The SFT contained several references to upholding its “fundamental” commitment to reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples, and to working together.
Second, the SFT committed that the new single Canadian economy will “build Canada into the world’s leading hub for science and innovation.” Science is not a word we hear often in documents such as these, and we look forward to learning more about how this government views, and employs – science in its decision-making processes. Conversely, innovation is a word we have heard a lot about; under the previous government innovation came to mean many things. Yet under this new government, the term is used sparingly and distinct from industrial policy of which there is much talk.
Whether these commitments reflect symbolic positioning or a pivot toward genuine performance accountability remains to be seen. But in a political landscape often defined by short-termism, the 2025 Speech from the Throne may mark a meaningful effort to project coherence, continuity, and national character.