The Past, Present and Future of Fixed Election Date Legislation in Canada

(2010) 4 Journal of Parliamentary and Political Law 215

This paper addresses the past, present and future of fixed election dates in Canada. It examines the motivations that led to the introduction of fixed election date legislation in the relevant provincial and federal jurisdictions. It argues that fixed election date legislation grew out of the response to the malaise that we have come to term “the democratic deficit.” Next, it examines the current operation of fixed election date legislation both federally and provincially. Finally, the paper turns to the future prospects for fixed election date legislation in Canada. Here, I analyze the legal, political and practical issues surrounding their implementation. I conclude that if fixed election date laws are to have their desired effect, they will produce a transfer of power from the first Minister to the Lieutenant Governors or the Governor General, as the case may be. This raises a host of subsidiary issues that may be detrimental to the relationship between these offices. I conclude by explaining why I think fixed election date legislation is injurious to Canadian democracy and should be repealed.

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