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.

The Prime Minister of Ontario Was Also a Member of Provincial Parliament

Posted on 2019/09/11 by J.W.J. Bowden

Introduction Ontario has paradoxically always held itself as superior to the other provinces yet also as the quintessential representation of Canada itself: Ontarians are the most likely of all Canadians to refer to and think of themselves as Canadian only, … Continue reading →

Posted in Crown (Powers and Office), Prime Minister's Powers | 1 Comment

Prince Edward Island’s First Successful Minority Government

Posted on 2019/08/20 by J.W.J. Bowden

MacLauchlan’s Early Dissolution Gambit Fails Premier Wade MacLauchlan on 26 March 2019 advised Lieutenant-Governor Antoinette Perry to dissolve the 65th General Assembly of Prince Edward Island and issue writs of election for polling day on 23 April 2019.[1] Prince Edward … Continue reading →

Posted in Caretaker Convention & Government Formation, Crown (Powers and Office), Fixed-Date Elections, Formation of Governments, Reform | 4 Comments

Manitoba’s Early Election Expands the Caretaker Convention

Posted on 2019/08/15 by J.W.J. Bowden

Introduction  Brian Pallister, Premier of Manitoba after leading the Progressive Conservatives to a parliamentary majority and 53.1% of the popular vote and 40 of 57 seats in April 2016, has decided to ignore Manitoba’s fixed-date election law in the most … Continue reading →

Posted in Caretaker Convention & Government Formation, Dissolution, Fixed-Date Elections | Leave a comment

New Brunswick’s Lieutenant Governor Has Died In Office

Posted on 2019/08/02 by J.W.J. Bowden

Jocelyne Roy-Vienneau, the Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick, has just died of cancer after having revealed the diagnosis in the fall of 2018 around the time of the last change of government from Gallant to Higgs. CBC News reports that … Continue reading →

Posted in Crown (Powers and Office), Lieutenant Governors, Succession (Sovereign) | 3 Comments

“There’s Nothing Strategic About This”: How Dwight Ball’s “New Government” Distorted the Caretaker Convention

Posted on 2019/08/01 by J.W.J. Bowden

By James Bowden & Lyle Skinner[1]   Table of Contents Introduction: An Early Election Leads to a Hung Parliament The Caretaker Convention in Canada and Newfoundland & Labrador Summoning the New House of Assembly, Electing the Speaker, and Tabling the … Continue reading →

Posted in Appointment of PM, Caretaker Convention & Government Formation, Comparative, Confirmation Voting, Constitutional Conventions, Constructive Non-Confidence, Crown (Powers and Office), Officialization of Convention, Succession (Prime Minister) | 1 Comment