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.

Ousting Party Leaders: From the King Doctrine to the Unenforceable Reform Act

Posted on 2024/10/25 by J.W.J. Bowden

Introduction Justin Trudeau stood defiant on 24 October 2024 and declared four days before the deadline that he would stay on as leader of the Liberal Party and Prime Minister in defiance of about one-fifth of Liberal MPs: “We’re going … Continue reading →

Posted in Electing & Ousting Party Leaders, Party Discipline | 2 Comments

Dissenting Liberal MPs Fail to Thatcher Trudeau

Posted on 2024/10/24 by J.W.J. Bowden

Even after suffering the worst defeat in electoral history in 2011, the Liberals had managed to cling onto their redoubt of Toronto—St. Paul’s and their core support of urban Torontonians who would surely never abandon them. A Conservative had not … Continue reading →

Posted in Electing & Ousting Party Leaders, Party Discipline | 2 Comments

“I Had No Option”: How John Turner Became Pierre Trudeau’s Patronage Patsy in 1984

Posted on 2024/09/25 by J.W.J. Bowden

Pulling the Thread That Unravels the Tapestry  Like many interesting stories, this begins with a mistake and a clerical error. My colleague David Brock and I wrote an article for the Saskatchewan Law Review called “Beyond the Writ: The Expansion … Continue reading →

Posted in Appointment of PM, Caretaker Convention & Government Formation, Constitutional Conventions, Crown (Powers and Office), Formation of Governments | Leave a comment

Doug Ford’s Gibberish on Gerrymandering: Why Ontario Needs Its Own Separate Provincial Electoral Boundaries Commission

Posted on 2024/08/11 by J.W.J. Bowden

Introduction: Readjusting Federal Electoral Boundaries Section 51(1) of the Constitution Act, 1867 requires that the number of MPs per province be recalculated after each decennial census and, consequently, that the electoral boundaries of ridings within each province be readjusted every ten years. … Continue reading →

Posted in Electoral Boundaries Readjustments | 1 Comment

The Commonwealth Realms Diverge: Whether the Prime Minister Determines the Duration of the Ministry or Not

Posted on 2024/07/10 by J.W.J. Bowden

Introduction Britons went to the polls on 4 July 2024 and ended up giving Labour a massive majority of 411 out of 650 MPs. By the next morning, outgoing Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had already tendered his resignation to … Continue reading →

Posted in Appointment of PM, Caretaker Convention & Government Formation, Commonwealth Realms, Comparative, Constitutional Conventions, Crown (Powers and Office) | Leave a comment