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.

Peter Russell on the Prorogation-Coalition Controversy of 2008


Russell’s Errors of Interpretation on Prorogation Ontario News Watch uploaded an interview with Peter Russell on 25 June 2012, in which he displayed his unalloyed Forseyite interpretation of the reserve powers. Russell made several demonstrably incorrect assertions throughout the interview, … Continue reading

Posted in Caretaker Convention & Government Formation, Coalition Government, Conferences and Speeches, Confidence Convention, Constitutional Conventions, Crown (Powers and Office), Formation of Governments, Governor's Discretion, Prime Minister's Powers, Prorogation, Reaffirmation of, Responsible Government, Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Your Canada, Your Constitution: Constitutional Sophistry and Political Activism Trump Scholarly Research and Educating Canadians


Introduction: The Mendacity of Your Canada, Your Constitution Your Canada, Your Constitution (YCYC) has published three other media releases since its formal launch on 4 June 2012; they all demonstrate beyond reasonable doubt that this organization actively promotes constitutional sophistry … Continue reading

Posted in Conferences and Speeches, Crown (Powers and Office), Governor's Discretion, Monarchism v Republicanism, Reviews, The Personal Union | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Bruce Hyer’s Rage Against Responsible Government and Loyal Opposition


Thomas Mulcair: Steeped in the Tradition of Opposition as Alternative Government  On 24 March 2012, the New Democratic party members elected Thomas Mulcair as their new leader. In a television interview a few hours after becoming the leader of the … Continue reading

Posted in Confidence Convention, Loyal Opposition, Reaffirmation of, Responsible Government, Separation of Powers | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Presidents Shouldn’t Play the Game of Thrones


By Convention, Lèse-Majesté Applies to the American Presidency Game of Thrones has sparked a feigned moral outrage because a prosthetic likeness of the head of President George W. Bush appears on a pike alongside Lord Eddard Stark’s, if only for … Continue reading

Posted in Parliamentarism v Presidentialism, Reaffirmation of, Responsible Government | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Thoughts on “It’s Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the New Politics of Extremism”, By Mann and Ornstein


Introduction Thomas E. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein, two eminent Congressional scholars, co-authored their latest book on Congress earlier this year. In It’s Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the New Politics of Extremism, the … Continue reading

Posted in Loyal Opposition, Parliamentarism v Presidentialism, Reviews, Separation of Powers | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments