Canada gets its constitutional monarchy cheap, paying just C.10 (45 pence) per citizen per year, or half the cost of running one of Ottawa's main museums, according to a study by a royalist group.

　　The Monarchist League of Canada said the .10 pays for the expenses of the Governor General, the Queen's representative in Canada, and for the expenses of lieutenant governors in Canadian provinces.

　　It also pays for royal visits, including the Queen's Golden Jubilee tour of Canada next month.

　　That works out at under half the annual cost of the Museum of Civilisation, across the river from the capital Ottawa, or half the cost of running the Senate, Canada's unelected upper house of Parliament, the league said.

　　"It's a pretty bare bones operation," said Monarchist League of Canada Chairman John Aimers." It's a very modest and appropriate expenditure."

　　Aimers said that, even without the monarchy, Canada would still spend money on visiting foreign ambassadors and heads of state, and someone would be required to do the largely ceremonial governor general's job.