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Anatomy of an Election
Canada’s 2019 Federal General Election Through the Lens of Political Law
Elections are the high point of democracy. They provide scheduled opportunities for the people at large to have a participatory voice in their own government. They enable adult citizens to judge those who have governed them recently, to select those whom they want to govern them in the near future, and to give renewed direction to their own country. Contrary to impressions generated by the media, it is a reality of democracy that elections are neither solely political events nor personality contests. In fact, elections are the ultimate blend of constitutionalism, politics, public law, and public policy.
Anatomy of an Election takes a comprehensive and interdisciplinary look at Canada’s 2019 federal election as an example of a democratic election. This book is unique in its explanation of elections and electioneering. It sets the scene by enumerating the foundational elements of Canada’s electoral system, focusing on the constitutional principles, the legislation, and the major court judgments. It then traces the flow of political legal events since 2015 that have led to the forty-third general election. Most importantly, this text provides a day-by-day diary that records the most important political and legal events throughout the campaign. Anatomy of an Election does not favour any party or candidate and is designed to inform Canadian citizens about the electoral process and its fundamental importance in the public life of the country.
Contributors
Gregory Tardi
Gregory TARDI, BCL, LLB, DJur, is a member of the Barreau du Québec. After an initial period in private practice in his father’s law firm in Montreal, he served in the Public Service of Canada. He worked in a variety of departments, including the Privy Council Office and the Department of Justice. His long experience as legal counsel at Elections Canada and as senior parliamentary counsel at the House of Commons led him to formulate his theory of political law. This is a novel way of uniting the various legal aspects of government into a single subject matter; of focusing on the role of law in democratic governing, in contrast to the role of policy and politics; and of conceptualizing the accountability of all public officials to law. In this conceptual framework, the legal aspects of electioneering play a central role. Mr Tardi has taught at Carleton University, McGill University, and Osgoode Hall Law School. He is the author of The Legal Framework of Government, The Law of Democratic Governing, and The Theory and Practice of Political Law, as well as a number of articles. He is the executive editor of the Journal of Parliamentary and Political Law | Revue de droit parlementaire et politique.
