Author Archives: J.W.J. Bowden

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About J.W.J. Bowden

My area of academic expertise lies in Canadian political institutions, especially the Crown, political executive, and conventions of Responsible Government; since 2011, I have made a valuable contribution to the scholarship by having been published and cited extensively. I’m also a contributing editor to the Dorchester Review and a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Parliamentary and Political Law.

Quebec’s Irredentist Designs on Labrador

Posted on 2021/07/21 by J.W.J. Bowden

Some of you might be interested in my piece in the latest issue of the Dorchester Review on the Labrador Boundary Dispute, Quebec’s continuing irredentist designs on the territory, and the story of the most recent constitutional amendment passed under … Continue reading →

Posted in History of British North America | 3 Comments

The Privileges of Aristocracy: Solicitor-Client Privilege Under the Access to Information Act

Posted on 2021/06/30 by J.W.J. Bowden

“The American aristocracy is at the attorneys’ bar and on the judges’ bench.” In On Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville argued that lawyers had already emerged as the aristocratic class of the United States of America by the 1830s. … Continue reading →

Posted in History of British North America | 2 Comments

The Letters Patent Removing Julie Payette from the Office of Governor General

Posted on 2021/05/04 by J.W.J. Bowden

I’m circling back, as Jen Psaki would say when she has more news to convey, and closing the loop on this saga of the spectacular remnant of Julie Payette’s supernova. On 10 April 2021, the Trudeau government gazetted the letters … Continue reading →

Posted in Crown (Powers and Office), Governor General | 1 Comment

Dissolution By Demise of the Crown in Canada

Posted on 2021/04/27 by J.W.J. Bowden

Three Ways of Dissolving Parliament In his famous treatise Commentaries on the Laws of England, Blackstone identified that dissolution can occur through one of three ways: “1. By the king’s will […]; 2. By a demise of the crown […]; … Continue reading →

Posted in By Demise of the Crown, Dissolution, History of British North America | 5 Comments

An Unlawfully Long Writ Rewards the Incumbent and Will Be Allowed to Stand

Posted on 2021/03/30 by J.W.J. Bowden

Elections Newfoundland & Labrador announced the results of the ill-begotten election on Saturday at 1030 Eastern Daylight Time. The Liberals have won a bare majority of 22 out of 40 seats in the House of Assembly, where the Furey government … Continue reading →

Posted in Crown (Powers and Office), Dissolution, Fixed-Date Elections, Reform | 2 Comments