Does the monarchy make you proud to be Canadian? If you think that's a bizarre question, you're in good company, as a new poll commissioned by the Montreal-based Association for Canadian Studies indicates most of us no longer take pride in the Royal Family.

According to the study - an online poll of 2,207 people surveyed during the week of Nov. 5 - just 39 per cent of respondents view the monarchy as a source of personal or collective pride, while 59 per cent are unimpressed. In fact, 32 per cent find the monarchy "not at all important" - the single most popular response.

While nostalgia can be soothing and for many of us, the Queen is a likeable and even admirable person, it's time for Canada to dump the monarchy. The Royal Family should be a source of pride for Britons, not Canadians.

Decades ago, we justified our ties to the royals as something that made us "different from the Americans." Since then, we've developed a stronger sense of ourselves as a sovereign nation, and no longer need to cling to another country's royal family for our identity.

Those who love the monarchy are free to read up on Will and Kate's quest for a baby, enjoy the pomp and circumstance of royal weddings and cringe as Prince Harry is caught in yet another scandal. For the rest of us, though, the Windsors are no more Canadian than U.S. President Barack Obama and the charming First Lady Michelle Obama, even though it's fun to keep tabs on all of them.

Queen Elizabeth has had a great reign, but it's winding down. When it ends, let's focus on Canadian accomplishments - from a universal health-care system and a stable economy to a tolerant population and a peaceful image abroad. The monarchy? It will always have a place in our history books.