Category Archives: Reform

Fixed-Date Election Foibles in the Provinces

Posted on 2015/03/24 by J.W.J. Bowden

Introduction After the federal general election of May 2011, some provinces found themselves facing the prospect of holding their provincial general elections simultaneously with the federal general election that will occur (presumably still) in October 2015. At the time, Saskatchewan, … Continue reading →

Posted in Crown (Powers and Office), Dissolution, Fixed-Date Elections, Reform | Leave a comment

Premier Marois Copies Prime Minister Harper: The Futility of Fixed-Date Elections Laws

Posted on 2014/03/05 by J.W.J. Bowden

Introduction Notwithstanding Quebec’s new fixed-date election law, Premier Pauline Marois of Quebec advised the Lieutenant Governor to dissolve the 40th Legislature on 5 March 2014, while the assembly was adjourned on recess and even though Marois’ single-party minority Parti Québécois … Continue reading →

Posted in Crown (Powers and Office), Dissolution, Fixed-Date Elections, Governor's Discretion, Prime Minister's Powers, Reform | 3 Comments

Will Wynne Pull a Harper? Fixed-Election Laws and Dissolution in Ontario

Posted on 2013/09/23 by J.W.J. Bowden

Wynne Reassures Ontarians That She Won’t Pull a Harper -Yet  In an interview with the Toronto Star, Premier Wynne assured MPPs and Ontarians that she would not advise an early dissolution if the Conservative Party of Ontario voted to oust … Continue reading →

Posted in Crown (Powers and Office), Dissolution, Fixed-Date Elections, Reform | 2 Comments

Premier Wynne Adopts Prime Minister Harper’s Tactics on Early Dissolution: Will the Media and Scholars Now Vilify Her Accordingly?

Posted on 2013/09/10 by J.W.J. Bowden

Harper Showed the Futility and Uselessness of Canadian-Style Fixed-Election Laws in 2008 As the CBC reported in late August 2008, Prime Minister Harper described the 39th Parliament as “dysfunctional”; in other words, he had judged that his minority government would … Continue reading →

Posted in Confidence Convention, Constitutional Conventions, Fixed-Date Elections, Reform | 3 Comments

Toronto Newspaper Attacks the Undemocratic Centralization of Power in the Prime Minister and the Corrupt, Unelected Senate

Posted on 2013/06/13 by J.W.J. Bowden

I’d like to thank James Anderson and National News Watch for having published my column on putting the current parliamentary scandals into historical perspective. “The Power of the Prime Minister” In “The Power of the Prime Minister”, the editorial board … Continue reading →

Posted in Articles and Books, Crown (Powers and Office), Prime Minister's Powers, Reform, Reviews, Senate Reform | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment