Photo: Contributed

A national pro-monarchy organization was surprised to hear the District of West Kelowna doesn't want to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II becoming the longest-reigning monarch in modern history.

Mayor Doug Findlater says it's nothing personal.

The Monarchist League of Canada sent out requests to all municipalities in Canada, urging them to mark Sept. 9 as the day Queen Elizabeth II overtakes Queen Victoria’s 63-year reign.

The organization was hoping municipalities would be interested in celebrating with a “simple, no fuss, inexpensive event at City Hall,” said Robert Finch, chairman of the Monarchist League of Canada.

The District of West Kelowna was the only municipality that responded with a “rejection out of principle,” he said.

“You can start connecting the dots. It's obvious that somebody there doesn’t like the monarchy,” Finch said.

Findlater says the rejection wasn't personal, but a matter of policy.

“We simply do not get involved in promoting proclamations for all of the requests we get,” Findlater said. “We are running a fairly minimal local government.”

But Finch says this is a historic event that is worthy of celebration.

“It’s paying tribute to the woman who has reigned as the Queen of Canada for what will be over 63 years,” he said. “We’re hoping that common sense prevails.”

West Kelowna is a young municipality at only seven years old and is therefore careful about what it gets involved in, Findlater said.

“(We) remain very focused on the core services that a municipality needs to provide,” he said.