Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-c4f8m Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-23T21:22:03.277Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Bagehot, the Crown and the Canadian Constitution*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 November 2009

David E. Smith
David E. Smith
Affiliation:
University of Saskatchewan
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Through his writings, Walter Bagehot gave order and meaning to the institutions of parliamentary government. The English Constitution (1867) acknowledges the Crown as centrepiece but relegates it to the category of symbol. Institutions, Bagehot said, were “dignified” or “efficient” according to their constitutional function, and the Crown was the apotheosis of a dignified element. By contrast, the author argues that the Crown is an integral part of a practical form of government in Canada, and advances as proof three areas of Crown influence: representation, information and participation. The discussion concludes by noting the relevance of the Crown for the study of Canadian federalism.

Résumé

Dans ses écrits, Walter Bagehot a donnà de l'ordre et du sens aux institutions du gouvernement parlementaire. The English Constitution (1867) reconnaît la Couronne comme centre de cette forme de gouvernement tout en la reléguant au rang de symbole. Les institutions, selon Bagehot, se caractérisent soit par la « dignité » soit par l' « efficacité »; il voit dans la Couronne le comble de la dignité. Nous soutenons, au contraire, que la Couronne est partie intégrante d'une forme pratique de gouvernement. En éléments de preuve, trois sphères d'influence de la Couronne sont considérés: la représentation, l'information et la participation. La conclusion de cet article réitère toute l'importance de la Couronne pour l'étude du fédéralisme canadien.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 28 , Issue 4 , December 1995 , pp. 619 - 635
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Political Science Association (l'Association canadienne de science politique) and/et la Société québécoise de science politique 1995

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1 Whittington, Michael S., The Canadian Political System: Environment, Structure and Process (3rd ed.; Toronto: McGraw-Hill Ryerson, 1981), 171Google Scholar.

2 Dawson, R. MacGregor, Constitutional Issues in Canada, 1900–1931 London: Oxford University Press, 1933)Google Scholar.

3 Innis, Harold A., Changing Concepts of Time Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1952), 73Google Scholar.

4 Saywell, John T., ed., The Canadian Journal of Lady Aberdeen, 1893–1898 Toronto: The Champlain Society, 1960), 316–317Google Scholar.

5 Wheare, K. C., “Walter Bagehot,” Lectures on a Master Mind, Proceedings of the British Academy, 60 (1974) London: Oxford University Press, 1975), 173–197Google Scholar, at 195.

6 Mount, Ferdinand, The British Constitution Now: Recovery or Decline? London: Mandarin, 1992), 94Google Scholar.

7 See, for instance, Collini, Stefan, Winch, Donald and Burrow, John, That Noble Science of Politics: A Study in Nineteenth-Century Intellectual History Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983), 161–181CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

8 Pope, Sir Joseph, Correspondence of John A. Macdonald: Selections from the Correspondence of the Rt. Hon. Sir John Alexander Macdonald, G.C.B. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 19[21]), 172–174; and Campbell to Macdonald, March 7, 1888, John A. Macdonald Papers, National Archives of Canada (hereafter NAC), 83495–98.Google Scholar

9 Mount, , The British Constitution Now, 94Google Scholar.

10 Vile, M. J. C., Constitutionalism and the Separation of Powers Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1967), 224–227Google Scholar.

11 Louis St. Laurent to Alan Macnaughton, October 28, 1949, St. Laurent Papers, NAC, file N-10–5(a), National Status. For the incident in question, see Canada, House of Commons, Debates, November 12 and 13, 1945, 2020 and 2075–78.

12 Memoranda: “Record of Interview. Prime Minister of Canada,” October 12, 1939, and “The Crown and Canada,” April 12, 1939, Records of the Governor General's Office, NAC, files 1850A and 185OB. The author of the memoranda was Arthur Shuldham Redfern, KCVO (1939) and CMG (1945), who between 1936 and 1945 served as Secretary to the Governor General.

13 Heuston, R. F. V., Essays in Constitutional Law (2nd ed.; London: Stevens and Sons, 1964), 170Google Scholar.

14 Forsey to Mulroney, August 14, 1985, Forsey Papers, NAC, file 58/23, House of Commons Reform–McGrath Committee, 1985–1986.

15 Vemon Bogdanor has suggested that “it may be inherent in the notion of constitutional monarchy that these powers should remain undefined in scope” (see “The United Kingdom,” in Butler, David and Low, D. A., eds., Sovereigns and Surrogates: Constitutional Heads of State in the Commonwealth [London: Macmillan, 1991], 10–40CrossRefGoogle Scholar, at 19).

16 Canada, House of Commons, Equality Now! Minutes of Proceedings and Evidence of the Special Committee on Visible Minorities in Canadian Society Ottawa: Queen's Printer, 1984), 52Google Scholar.

17 “ ‘The Government will look at the profile of the elected members [of district health boards] and decide if deficiencies can be corrected through the appointment process. For example, if there isn't sufficient representation of women, aboriginals, seniors … the government will appoint people from these groups,’ [the Saskatchewan health minister] said” (“Health Elections Slated for Fall,” Star Phoenix [Saskatoon], February 8, 1995, 3).

18 Cohen, Patricia Cline, A Calculating People: The Spread of Numeracy in Early America Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1982)Google Scholar.

19 For compilations of federal and provincial royal commissions, see Henderson, George Fletcher, Federal Royal Commissions in Canada: A Checklist Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1967)Google Scholar; and Maillet, Lise, compiler, Provincial Royal Commissions and Commissions of Inquiry, 1867–1982: A Selective Bibliography Ottawa: National Library of Canada, 1986)Google Scholar.

20 Dawson, R. MacGregor, The Principle of Official Independence (London: P. S. King and Son, 1922), 179–180Google Scholar. The phrase comes from Wallas, Graham, The Great Society: A Psychological Analysis London: Macmillan, 1932), 238Google Scholar.

21 Lockwood, Thomas J., “A History of Royal Commissions,” Osgoode Hall Law Journal 5 (1967), 172–207Google Scholar, at 174.

22 Munro, John A. and Inglis, Alex I., eds., 1957–1968, Vol. 3 of Mike: The Right Honourable Lester B. Pearson Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1975), 237Google Scholar.

23 Alonso, William and Starr, Paul, “The Political Economy of National Statistics,” Items 36 (1982), 29–35Google Scholar, at 30.

24 Bégin, Monique, “Debates and Silences—Reflections of a Politician,” Daedalus 117 (1988), 335–361Google Scholar, at 345–48.

25 McConnell, W. H., Commentary on the British North America Act Toronto: Macmillan, 1977), 191Google Scholar.

26 House of Commons, Debates, March 1870, 283Google Scholar.

27 Royal Commission on Dominion-Provincial Relations, Report of Proceedings, 3846.

28 Kelso, Kathy, Alamar Education, Electronic Legal Information: Exploring Access Issues Toronto: Canadian Legal Information Centre, 1991), 23–33Google Scholar. See too, Cleaver, Barry et al., Handbook Exploring the Legal Context for Information Policy in Canada London: Faxon Canada, 1992)Google Scholar.

29 Hubbertz, Andrew, “Crown Copyright and the Privatization of Government Information in Canada with Comparisons to the United States Experience,” Government Publications Review 17 (1990), 163CrossRefGoogle Scholar; and Torno, Barry, Crown Copyright in Canada: A Legacy in Confusion Ottawa: Consumer and Corporate Affairs Canada, 1981), 46Google Scholar.

30 Hubbertz, Andrew, “Freedom of Information and Canadian Crown Corporations,” Government Information Quarterly 3 (1986), 63–71CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

31 Auditor General of Canada v. Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources, et al, [1985] 1 F.C. 746; and Auditor General of Canada v. Canada (Minister of Energy, Mines and Resources et al., [1989] 97 N.R. 312, and 305–06.

32 Norman Rogers, McL., “The Compact Theory of Confederation,” Proceedings of the Canadian Political Science Association, 1931, 205–230Google Scholar.

33 [1919] A.C. 935–46, at 944.

34 Federal Government Reporting Study: A Joint Study by the Office of Auditor General of Canada and the United States Government Administration Office Ottawa: Auditor General's Office, 1986), 6Google Scholar.

35 Goreham, Richard, Language Rights and the Court Challenges Program: A Review of Its Accomplishments and Impact of Its Abolition, report submitted to the Commissioner of Official Languages, Ottawa, 1992Google Scholar.

36 Home, Donald, “Who Rules Australia?” Daedalus 114 (1985), 171–196Google Scholar, at 177.

37 See Ward, Norman, “The Formative Years of the House of Commons 1867–91,” Canadian Journal of Economics and Political Science 18 (1952), 431–451CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

38 [1892] A.C. 437.

39 See Nelles, H. V., The Politics of Development: Forests, Mines and Hydro-Electric Power in Ontario, 1849–1941 Toronto: Macmillan, 1974)Google Scholar, and also Beetz, Jean, “Les attitudes changeantes du Québec à l'endroit de la Constitution de 1867,” in Crepeau, P. A. and Macpherson, C. B., eds., The Future of Canadian Federalism/L'Avenir du fédéralisme canadien Toronto: University of Toronto Press; and Montreal: Les Presses de l'Université de Montréal, 1965), 113–138Google Scholar. Whether Quebec's governments were as passive before the Quiet Revolution as much of the standard literature suggests is now being questioned. See, for example, Dupré, Ruth, “Was the Quebec Government Spending So Little? A Comparison with Ontario, 1867–1969,” Journal of Canadian Studies 28 (1993), 45–61CrossRefGoogle Scholar.