Category Archives: Crown (Powers and Office)

Stripping Disgraced Former Senators of their Honorific Title

Posted on 2022/12/07 by J.W.J. Bowden

The Saga of Former Senator Don Meredith Haunts Us Still Don Meredith resigned as a Senator from Ontario in May 2017 before the Senate could expel him outright on the recommendation of the Second Report of the Standing Committee on … Continue reading →

Posted in Crown (Powers and Office), Expulsion of Members, Parliament, Parliamentary Privilege, The Honours System | 1 Comment

How Would We Amend or Abolish the Oath of Allegiance to the King in the Constitution Act, 1867 ?

Posted on 2022/10/19 by J.W.J. Bowden

The Leaders’ Debate and the Demise of the Crown During Radio-Canada’s leaders’ debate on 22 September 2022, the moderator Patrice Roy barely suppressed his own condescending laughter to ask the leaders of five political parties, “Should we still, in Quebec, … Continue reading →

Posted in Amending Formulas, Constitution (Written), Crown (Powers and Office), Oaths of Allegiance | 2 Comments

The Second Elizabethan Age Draws to a Close

Posted on 2022/09/08 by J.W.J. Bowden

The British earlier this year celebrated the Platinum Jubilee earlier this year by planting trees to form part of “The Queen’s Green Canopy.”  The venerable oak represents strength, endurance, and continuity and seemed the most fitting way to extend the … Continue reading →

Posted in Crown (Powers and Office), Succession (Sovereign) | 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

Democracy Watch Wishes That It Could Quit the Fixed-Date Election Law

Posted on 2022/04/22 by J.W.J. Bowden

  Introduction  Democracy Watch touts itself as “the most effective and successful national citizen advocacy group in Canada at winning systemic changes to key laws since […] 1993.”[1] But it has certainly not met with success in its quixotic crusade … Continue reading →

Posted in Crown (Powers and Office), Dissolution, Fixed-Date Elections, Watching Democracy Watch | 5 Comments