Howard Anglin: The constitutional limits on Carney’s powers as prime minister (The Hub)

So, Canada has a new prime minister—almost, and sort of. Any day now, the Governor General will swear in Mark Carney as Canada’s twenty-fourth prime minister, but it’s a title he will hold with an asterisk until he meets the House of Commons and secures its confidence, either before or after an election.

Uniquely in Canadian history, Carney has ascended directly to the highest office, skipping the usual requirement of an election. We have had prime ministers without seats in the House of Commons before, but never one with absolutely no parliamentary experience before becoming prime minister ...

... Carney begins on thin constitutional ice, without the confidence of the House of Commons and facing three hostile opposition parties. This is not normal, to say the least. We are in uncharted territory here. For guidance we must look to established constitutional conventions and the principles that animate them ...

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