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.

An Outbreak of Snap Election Fever During a Pandemic

Posted on 2020/05/28 by J.W.J. Bowden

Whenever Canadian journalists get bored or run out of other things on which to write, they often engage in idle speculation about snap elections. This time John Ivison of The National Post became Patient Zero in this latest strain of … Continue reading →

Posted in Dissolution, Fixed-Date Elections | 2 Comments

On the Doctrine of Necessity: The Division of Powers Does Not Apply During a Pandemic

Posted on 2020/05/18 by J.W.J. Bowden

On 1 April, Quebec announced what I presumed at the time must have been an April Fool’s Joke: that it would use its provincial police, La Sûreté du Québec, and municipal police forces to set up border checkpoints with Ontario, … Continue reading →

Posted in Constitution (Written), Division of Powers, Doctrine of Necessity | 8 Comments

The Fixed-Date Election Law Forced Saskatchewan’s Upcoming Pandemic Election

Posted on 2020/05/17 by J.W.J. Bowden

Introduction Brian Pallister’s unnecessary early election last year – done ostensibly to prevent an election from occurring during the celebrations of Manitoba’s sesquicentennial in 2020 and to avoid accusations that his government would short-circuit rules against advertising to benefit the … Continue reading →

Posted in Crown (Powers and Office), Dissolution, Fixed-Date Elections | 3 Comments

Electoral Reform: Quebec Will Hold a Referendum With a Clear Question

Posted on 2020/05/01 by J.W.J. Bowden

Last spring, I wrote about the prospect that the Legault government in Quebec would implement mixed-member proportional representation in time for the next provincial general election scheduled for 2022 in a piece for Policy Options. Recent developments answer this question … Continue reading →

Posted in Electoral Reform, Reform | 7 Comments

The Constitution of the Confederate States of America Disproves the States’ Rights Narrative & Contains a Parliamentary Twist

Posted on 2020/04/29 by J.W.J. Bowden

During this lockdown and quarantine, I recently re-watched Ken Burns’s epic documentary series on the Civil War, serenaded with the dulcet, non-rhotic tones and mellifluous commentary of the late Shelby Foote. I also read several speeches and essays by one … Continue reading →

Posted in Comparative, Parliamentarism v Presidentialism | 4 Comments