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.

Gerontocracy in the United States vs the Rise of Generation X in Canada


Since the fall of 2019, I have read a series of articles in mid-brow American news magazines lamenting that a crop of aging politicians born in the 1940s, these Soixante-Huitards and the tailend of the Silent Generation, maintain their deathgrip … Continue reading →

Posted in Comparative, Parliamentarism v Presidentialism | 2 Comments

Picking Up the Shards of the Office of Governor General: A New Advisory Committee Created


Posted in Crown (Powers and Office), Governor General | 2 Comments

Following Up on the Office of Governor General: Documents Not Gazetted


Even without catchy buzzphrases like “deliverology” and “Open Government,” the Government of Canada published more official documents in the mid-20th century than it does today simply out of a sense of common decency and an understanding that liberal-democratic countries must … Continue reading →

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

The Doctrine of Necessity in Newfoundland and Labrador’s Omnishambles Election


Conflating the Caretaker Convention with The Doctrine of Necessity I remain transfixed by the spectacle unfolding in Newfoundland and Labrador and will have to report back once Elections Newfoundland and Labrador counts the ballots cast in this illegitimate election. Last … Continue reading →

Posted in Crown (Powers and Office), Dissolution, Doctrine of Necessity, Elections, Fixed-Date Elections, Reform | 5 Comments

Newfoundland & Labrador’s Omnishambles Election of 2021 Continues


How This Happened Today, on 13 February 2021, Newfoundlanders and Labradoreans across the province should have made their way to their polls and cast their ballots in a general election for their province’s 50th General Assembly. But events intervened. Newfoundland … Continue reading →

Posted in Elections, Fixed-Date Elections, Reform | 2 Comments