Category Archives: Caretaker Convention & Government Formation

Rejecting Constitutional Advice Equals Dismissal from Office: How Governor General Lord Aberdeen Forced Sir Charles Tupper’s Resignation in 1896

Posted on 2020/01/01 by J.W.J. Bowden

When I first embarked on this constitutional odyssey in 2011, I encountered scholars who propagated a novel constitutional interpretation with no basis in history, nor in the principles of Responsible Government itself, which I call “Reserve Powers Without Consequence”: the … Continue reading →

Posted in Caretaker Convention & Government Formation, Dorchester Review, Formation of Governments, My Published Works | 2 Comments

Justin Trudeau Remains Prime Minister But Also Subject to the Caretaker Convention

Posted on 2019/10/23 by J.W.J. Bowden

Results of the Election         On 21 October, voters elected members to a minority parliament, the fourth in the last fifteen years. In this House of Commons, engorged to 338 members since 2015, a party needs at least 170 to form … Continue reading →

Posted in Caretaker Convention & Government Formation, Constitutional Conventions, Crown (Powers and Office), Formation of Governments | 1 Comment

Andrew Scheer Is Not Exactly Wrong: Forming Governments in Minority Parliaments

Posted on 2019/10/21 by J.W.J. Bowden

“Whichever party gets the most votes and the most seats, if not an absolute majority, has the first right to seek to govern, either on its own or by reaching out to other parties.”

Posted in Caretaker Convention & Government Formation, Crown (Powers and Office), Formation of Governments | 3 Comments

The Over-Zealous Caretakers of the 2019 Election

Posted on 2019/10/14 by J.W.J. Bowden

Caretaker Convention During the writ in 2015, Parks Canada infamously agonised over issuing a routine public advisory about the threat that bears and mountain lions posed to hikers in Rocky Mountain national parks that fall, falsely believing that the Caretaker … Continue reading →

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

The Caretaker Convention and the Appointment of Supreme Court Justices During Elections: 2015 vs 2019

Posted on 2019/09/27 by J.W.J. Bowden

Prime Minister Appoints New Justice to the Supreme Court During the Election On 24 April 2015, Marshall Rothstein announced that he would retire as a justice of the Supreme Court of Canada on 31 August 2015.[1] On 27 July 2015, … Continue reading →

Posted in Caretaker Convention & Government Formation, Constitutional Conventions | 6 Comments