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.

Canada’s Counter-Manifest Destiny

Posted on 2018/07/01 by J.W.J. Bowden

The Dorchester Review latest issue just came out last week. It includes my little piece on George Brown and Canada’s Manifest Destiny, in which I argue that George Brown — the underrated visionary — saw Confederation as the means of … Continue reading →

Posted in Dominion Day, Dorchester Review, History of British North America | 1 Comment

The 1867 as Year Zero School of Canadian History Meets the War of 1812

Posted on 2018/06/08 by J.W.J. Bowden

President Trump has not only killed thirty years of free trade between Canada and the United States but also set off a bizarre firestorm about the War of 1812, of all things. In what has been reported to be a … Continue reading →

Posted in History of British North America | 1 Comment

Will Wade MacLauchlan Become the First Premier to Ignore a Fixed-Date Election Law Twice?

Posted on 2018/05/24 by J.W.J. Bowden

The CBC recently ran an interesting article about electoral speculation — the political journalist’s favourite pastime — in Prince Edward Island when Premier Wade MacLauchlan refused to answer a simple question from an Opposition MLA on when the next general … Continue reading →

Posted in Fixed-Date Elections, Reform | 1 Comment

Suspending The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick

Posted on 2018/04/05 by J.W.J. Bowden

New Brunswick provides an interesting case study in novel interpretations of how parliamentary government works and now in matters of the separation of powers between the executive and legislature. Liberal Premier Brian Gallant recently announced that he, as Liberal leader, … Continue reading →

Posted in Parliament, Parliamentary Privilege | 2 Comments

Montreal: The Capital of the Province of Canada

Posted on 2018/03/24 by J.W.J. Bowden

The Canadian Parliamentary Review recently published an interesting article by two archaeologists, Louise Pothier and Hendrik Van Gijseghem, who have worked on the excavation of the charred ruins of the Parliament of the Province of Canada in Old Montreal. The … Continue reading →

Posted in History of British North America | Leave a comment