The Canadian House of Commons : Representation / Norman Ward.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ward, Norman, author.

Series:

Heritage

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Canada. Parliament. House of Commons.

Canada.

Representative government and representation--Canada.

Representative government and representation.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (308 pages)

Place of Publication:

Toronto : University of Toronto Press, [2019]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

A STUDY of representation in a democratic legislature must be directed towards actual membership of the legislature and towards laws and practices governing the selection of members. The electoral system must be broadly viewed as embodying the devices by which constituencies are established and altered, the franchise which determines the extent of the electorate, and the provisions which are intended to control corrupt campaign tactics and otherwise prevent perversions of representation. The first few decades after Confederation were years of bitter struggle over election laws. The result was that genuine reform of the electoral machinery in the public interest was a literal impossibility until well after the turn of the century. That honesty in elections became possible, and even profitable, was the result at least as much of forces beyond the reach of legislative enactment as of positive federal policies conscientiously adopted and administered. The chronicle of this development, as it can be observed in several major sections of the electoral system, follows in these pages. In the first chapter the general nature of representation is discussed. The alteration of constituency boundaries after each decennial census is analysed in Part I. Membership in the legislature is examined in Part II. Part III covers the electoral machinery, both in its narrow aspect as a technique by which members of Parliament are returned, and in a broader sense as a large organization which includes the franchise, electoral corruption, and election expenses. Part IV comprises the conclusion.

Contents:

Frontmatter

PREFACE

A NOTE ON THE SOURCES

CONTENTS

Part I. INTRODUCTION

I. The Nature of Representation in Canada

Part II. THE CONSTITUENCIES

II. Redistribution, 1867-1892

III. Redistribution, 1892-1948

Part III. THE MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT

IV. Qualifications and Disqualifications of Members

V. The Independence of Parliament

VI. The Payment of Members

VII. The Personnel of Parliament

Part IV. ELECTIONS

VIII. Nominating and Voting Procedure

IX. The Election Officials

X. The Voters' Lists

XI. The Election

XII. The Franchise

XIII. The Disfranchisement of Citizens

XIV. Electoral Corruption and Controverted Elections

XV. Election Expenses

Part V. CONCLUSION

XVI. Conclusion

APPENDIXES

A. Relevant Sections of the British North America Acts

B. Dates and Results of General Elections since 1867

C. A Note on the Statistics on Representation

Index

Notes:

"Reprinted in 2018"--Title page verso.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 25. Sep 2019)

ISBN:

1-4875-8493-8

OCLC:

1121054629