In a modern Canadian context, the monarchy is pretty much an excuse to have pretty letterhead. But you do have a excellent point, there is a certain degree of paternalism in Canadian politics that is not present in America, and shouldn't be present here either. It's also connected to the more modest goals of our government. "Peace, order and good government" is a LOT different from "Don't Tread on Me".
Having a monarchy, or a government deriving it's legitimacy from a monarchy would put a higher premium on stabilty than it would freedom, and that might be the source of some of our problems today.
I thought perhaps having a connection to a monarchy, even one thousands of miles distant, might have proven destructive to Canada's collective psyche...if there is such a creature. In the context of that TV program on Liberty/The American Revolution, one of the saddest quotes was from a Tory gentleman who'd fled back to England because he didn't believe he could resume his life in America (maybe he thought he'd be ridden out of town on a rail...but surely he could have settled elsewhere?).
The man said, and I'm paraphrasing here, that he felt like a lost soul. He was truly an American, yet couldn't go home and was destined to spend the rest of his life mourning what he'd lost. I grew up in a sleepy MA town,where an old church parsonage front door still sports a musketball hole from an incident just before 1776, when the local militia marched down the street and demanded that the good reverend come out and declare himself either for the rebels or the crown. He cowered in the front hall, and they shot a hole in the door.
He fled to Canada with his family. He must have been terrified half out of his wits.
I've always considered the incident from the rebels' point of view, the same militia who, several nights a week, practiced maneuvers in a field a few miles away and then repaired to the local tavern to get drunk. If you were a betting man, you wouldn't have put your money on the rebels. A more unlikely crew to beat the most formidable army in the world you couldn't hope to find, but we had a few fanatics on our side (and you know how dangerous fanatics are!), and some blind luck. It's an interesting series if you happen to catch it. All the quotes and dialogue come from letters and writings of the day, so you get a good feel for how people were thinking at the time.