IS A PRIME MINISTER AS POWERFUL AS A PRESIDENT?
WHAT CAN CANADA’S LEADER GET AWAY WITH?
U. S. President Donald Trump has al r eady pushed through an astonishing portion of his campaign platform without needing a hint of Congressional approval. And with more orders to come, Trump opponents are suddenly dusting off their law books to see just how much executive power he has to play with.
But what if Trump woke up as the prime minister of Canada? What kind of unilateral power would he have then?
With the assistance of Ottawabased Westminster expert Philippe Lagassé (who probably had better things to do), the National Post presents this guide to how much our head of government is legally allowed to get away with. Buckle up, reader. It turns out we’ve got some crazy rules in this country.
A PRIME MINISTER OF A MAJORITY GOVERNMENT IS BASICALLY A DICTATOR
In his 2001 book, author Jeffrey Simpson called Canada a “friendly dictatorship.” During the years of U.S. president Barack Obama, U.S. right- wingers were fond of noting Stephen Harper was the most powerful conservative in the Western Hemisphere.
These observations underlie a simple fact: When a Canadian prime minister heads up a majority government that routinely votes his or her way, the only true limit to their power is the Supreme Court and/or rebellious city and provincial governments.
Harper fully ensured marijuana dispensaries were illegal, but the City of Vancouver decided to simply not act on it. Similarly, Justin Trudeau can impose a carbon tax on Saskatchewan, but Premier Brad Wall could simply rebate every dollar collected from it.
SAY A PRIME MINISTER GOES CRAZY, WHAT IS THERE TO STOP THEM?
Let’s call this the Crazy Prime Minister Scenario: We wake up one morning and Justin Trudeau is appearing in an emergency broadcast to outline how he’s abandoning all his other prime ministerial duties to focus exclusively on fighting invisible leprechauns.
In ideal circumstances, the Crazy Prime Minister is simply shunted out the door in one of those caucus coups the British and Australians are so fond of. But the caucus coup is still dependent on a shunned leader politely deciding to resign.
The Crazy Prime Minister, however, can simply prorogue parliament, dismiss the cabinet and begin filling civil service positions with compliant lackeys. At that point, the only thing the ( prorogued) House of Commons can do is withhold funding. Eventually, Prime Minister Crazy is going to run out of money. And when they convene parliament to get a budget bill, their joyride will come to an end with a vote of non- confidence.
CAN THE GOVERNOR GENERAL SAVE US?
Yes, in fact. All of a prime minister’s executive powers are funnelled through the Governor General.
Stephen Harper could have technically ordered a unilateral invasion of Mexico at a moment’s notice. But, if he staggered into Rideau Hall reeking of ouzo and holding a cocktail napkin scrawled with the words “Mexico war planz,” the hope is David Johnston would have fired him and appointed a new prime minister.
There is some precedent for a Queen’s representative putting the brakes on a government leader. In the early 1990s, B.C. Lieutenant-Governor David Lam said he was fully prepared to fire scandalplagued B.C. premier Bill Vander Zalm ( it was ultimately a moot point, since Vander Zalm resigned).
But there’s a loophole: David Johnston, Adrienne Clarkson and Michaëlle Jean all got their jobs because a prime minister recommended them to the post. Thus, we have the Achilles heel of Canadian democracy: If a prime minister gets their drinking buddy into Rideau Hall, they’ve suddenly got an all- powerful duumvirate. This duumvirate can’t make any new laws without the House of Commons, but they’ve got a whole treasure chest of executive powers. But here again, the PM- GG duo is still limited by cash.
YES, QUEEN ELIZABETH CAN TECHNICALLY FIRE A ROGUE PRIME MINISTER
All those pictures of Queen Elizabeth on the money are there for a reason: She’s Canada’s head of state, and is technically the vessel from which all power flows. If Canada suddenly found itself in the grip of a duumvirate, we would have the legal option of begging the Queen to fix everything.
Presumably, a ( preferably multi- party) delegation would fly to London, curtsy and request an audience with Her Majesty. If the Queen sympathized with the plight of her Canadian subjects, she would then tear up a 1947 document signed by her father (King George VI) which effectively handed the powers of the Crown to Canada’s Governor General. Then, with the Governor General thus neutered, the Queen would pick a new prime minister to fix everything and hopefully never bother her again.
NIGHTMARE SCENARIO: A PRIME MINISTER GOES CRAZY THE DAY AFTER APPOINTING A CRAZY GOVERNOR GENERAL