Category Archives: Constitutional Conventions

The Caretaker Convention Gobbles Up More Time and Space: The Case of Prince Edward Island in 2023

Posted on 2023/03/20 by J.W.J. Bowden

Since 2015 or so, a segment of Canadian academics, the Privy Council Office in Ottawa and the various Executive Council Offices of the provinces, as well as the media, have decided to propagate a new, expansive, and mostly unfounded interpretation … Continue reading →

Posted in Caretaker Convention & Government Formation, Constitutional Conventions | Leave a comment

The Notwithstanding Clause Strikes Again!

Posted on 2022/11/03 by J.W.J. Bowden

Another moral panic against the Notwithstanding Clause has broken out and gripped the salons and cafes of Toronto in a repeat of the previous Panic of 2018;  Andrew Coyne outed himself yesterday as the Geraldo Rivera of this second wave.

Posted in Constitution (Written), Constitutional Conventions, Notwithstanding Clause | 2 Comments

My Latest Article in the Journal of Parliamentary and Political Law: How Governor General Lord Aberdeen Reinforced the Caretaker Convention and Dismissed Prime Minister Tupper from Office

Posted on 2022/07/14 by J.W.J. Bowden

I first uncovered the correspondence in which Governor General Lord Aberdeen dismissed Prime Minister Sir Charles Tupper from office in July 1896 all the way back in 2012 while conducting research on something else. The documents have proven more fruitful … Continue reading →

Posted in Appointment of PM, Caretaker Convention & Government Formation, Confidence Convention, Constitutional Conventions, Crown (Powers and Office), Governor General, Governor's Discretion | 2 Comments

The Importance of Narrative in Politics: The Example of Cabinet Manuals in Canada

Posted on 2022/03/10 by J.W.J. Bowden

Sometimes the narrative surrounding an issue and the way that someone presents an issue overshadows the facts of the matter. Take, for instance, the case of the Guide for Ministers in Canada and this issue of cabinet manuals which some … Continue reading →

Posted in Constitutional Conventions, Officialization of Convention | 1 Comment

Cabinet Manuals As Prime Minister’s Manuals: Review of “The Prime Minister’s Constitution”

Posted on 2022/02/26 by J.W.J. Bowden

Nicholas Barry, Narelle Miragliotta, and Zim Nwokora have followed up on their work from 2018 “The Dynamics of Constitutional Conventions in Westminster Democracies” with an article on cabinet manuals entitled “The Prime Minister’s Constitution: Cabinet Rulebooks in Westminster Democracies.” They … Continue reading →

Posted in Articles and Books, Constitutional Conventions, Officialization of Convention, Reviews | 1 Comment