Author Archives: J.W.J. Bowden

Unknown's avatar

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.

Prime Minister May’s Bane: The Fixed-Term Parliaments Act and the Perils of Early Dissolution

Posted on 2017/06/09 by J.W.J. Bowden

British Prime Minister Theresa May has learned a hard lesson: early dissolution is like a corrosive, volatile substance whose bearer must handle it carefully or risk being burned. She also learned its corollary: election campaigns matter. A poorly run campaign … Continue reading →

Posted in Fixed-Date Elections | 3 Comments

The Harry Potter Parliament: British Columbia’s 41st Legislature

Posted on 2017/05/31 by J.W.J. Bowden

A geeky, Obsessive Pop-Culture Disorder-like thought about British Columbia’s 41st Legislature just occurred to me. Whomever the assembly elects as its Speaker, and whether the Clark ministry survives or a Horgan ministry takes its place, the razor-thin margin between the … Continue reading →

Posted in Humour | Leave a comment

O Canada, “Thou Dost in Us Command”

Posted on 2017/05/31 by J.W.J. Bowden

Senator Plett, a Conservative representing Manitoba, moved an amendment to the O Canada Bill on 18 May, which would still conform to the purpose of the bill (making the language gender neutral), but which would restore Robert Stanley Weir’s original … Continue reading →

Posted in Dorchester Review, O Canada | Leave a comment

Can the 41st Legislature of British Columbia Elect a Speaker?

Posted on 2017/05/30 by J.W.J. Bowden

A Hung Parliament and Revival of 19th-Century Norms British Columbians went to the polls on 9 May 2017 and appeared to elect a hung parliament. Elections British Columbia had to conduct some mandatory recounts and count absentee and other ballots … Continue reading →

Posted in Formation of Governments | 40 Comments

The Provinces Show How Fixed-Date Election Laws Affect Dissolution by Efflux of Time

Posted on 2017/05/26 by J.W.J. Bowden

You can read my article on dissolution by effluxion here: Bowden, James W.J. “When the Bell Tolls for Parliament: Dissolution by Efflux of Time.” Journal of Parliamentary and Political Law 11, no. 1 (2017): 129-144. As sometimes happens with writers, I only noticed … Continue reading →

Posted in By Efflux of Time, Dissolution, Fixed-Date Elections | Leave a comment