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Will and Kate tour B.C., Yukon courtesy of Canadian taxpayers

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[The royal tour kicks off Saturday in Victoria. Photo: Hello!]

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrive in Canada this weekend for a seven-day tour that comes courtesy of the Canadian taxpayer.

They were invited, of course, and there is no shortage of excitement that Canada will be host to Princess Charlotte’s first official foray abroad.

But the tab for the royal tour of British Columbia and Yukon is likely to run into a couple of million dollars, to be picked up by Ottawa and the B.C. government.

Will and Kate’s two-day visit in 2011 cost about $1.2 million and a 2009 visit from Charles and Camilla cost about $1.7 million, according to media reports. A 2014 visit from the Prince of Wales and his wife, though, cost an estimated $720,000. The Queen’s nine-day visit in 2010 cost taxpayers $2.79 million. (Canadian Heritage did not respond to a request for that information.)

The tab for all these tours don’t include the cost of providing security for the high-profile public events, which comes from RCMP and municipal police budgets.

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The group Citizens for a Canadian Republic, which would like to see the monarchy replaced in Canada with a Canadian head of state, says the real costs are much higher than reported once security, gifts and the cost of official events are included.

For example, the group believes the 2010 visit from the Queen cost closer to $9 million.

Tom Freda, national director of the group, says the upcoming visit by Will and Kate will likely rival the kind of crowds that come out for the Queen.

“And nothing, especially security, is cheaper since 2010, so perhaps we’ll see costs reach or even exceed 2010,” Freda tells Yahoo Canada News.

Freda says all royal visitors cost the Canadian taxpayer even when they travel here of their own accord. That’s not the case for other visiting heads of state, the prime minister or even our own Governor General.

“You can see why some people have an issue with the policy,” Freda says.

While his group wants an end to the ties to the monarchy and establishment of our own head of state, Freda says they do not protest such visits.

“Our government invited them to Canada, so we should all be as polite and courteous to them as possible,” he says.

And a royal visit does spur discussion, he says.

“As republicans, we don’t necessarily object to the royals visiting, mainly because their presence automatically triggers questions and debate of the relevance of the institution in Canada,” Freda says.

The group says becoming a republic, with a Canadian head of state, does not necessarily change Canada’s relationship with the Royal Family or membership in the Commonwealth.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrive in Victoria this Saturday.

Their visit will include stops in Whitehorse, Haida Gwaii, Bella Bella and Kelowna, in addition to several days in Victoria and Vancouver.

It is the third official visit to Canada by Prince William, who accompanied his father and his brother in 1998.

It will be the first trip to Yukon for both the prince and princess; however, Prince George and Princess Charlotte will not accompany their parents on that portion of the trip.