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The Parliamentary Regime: The Political Philosophy of Confederation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 August 2023

Ryan Alexander McKinnell Open the ORCID record for Ryan Alexander McKinnell [Opens in a new window]
Ryan Alexander McKinnell*
Affiliation:
Independent Scholar, 1099-B Bank St., Ottawa, ON K1S 3X4, Canada
*
Email: RyanMcKinnell@cmail.carleton.ca
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Abstract

This article clarifies the intellectual origins of Canadian parliamentary government by situating Confederation within a specific strand of liberal political thought. My argument is that the Fathers of Confederation adhered to the political theory of parliamentarianism. Though liberal constitutionalists, the Fathers of Confederation expressly defended a parliamentary political framework that they considered superior to the American system of checks and balances—one characterized by a powerful elected assembly restrained by an unelected upper house, responsible ministers serving in Parliament, and a constitutional monarch. In elucidating the theory of parliamentarianism that underlies the political project of Confederation, my goal is not only to examine a problem in nineteenth-century Canadian political thought but to ground our current political situation within a larger historical perspective.

Résumé

Résumé

Cet article vise à éclaircir les origines intellectuelles du gouvernement parlementaire canadien en situant la Confédération dans un courant spécifique de la pensée politique libérale. Mon argument est que les Pères de la Confédération ont adhéré à la théorie politique du parlementarisme. Constitutionnalistes libéraux, les Pères de la Confédération ont expressément défendu un cadre politique parlementaire qu'ils considéraient supérieur au système américain de freins et de contrepoids. Ce cadre se caractérise par une assemblée élue puissante limitée par une chambre haute non élue, des ministres responsables siégeant au parlement et un monarque constitutionnel. En élucidant la théorie du parlementarisme qui sous-tend le projet politique de la Confédération, mon objectif n'est pas seulement d'examiner un problème de la pensée politique canadienne du XIXe siècle, mais aussi d'inscrire notre situation politique actuelle dans une perspective historique plus large.

Keywords

ConfederationEdmund Burkeparliamentarianismliberal constitutionalismConfédérationEdmund Burkeparlementarismeconstitutionnalisme libéral
Type
Research Article/Étude originale
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 56 , Issue 3 , September 2023 , pp. 550 - 570
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Canadian Political Science Association (l’Association canadienne de science politique) and/et la Société québécoise de science politique

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