Direct Democracy in Canada: The History and Future of Referendums

Agar Adamson is the author of Letters of Agar Adamson, 1914–19 and former chair of the Department of Political Science at Acadia University in Nova Scotia.

This companion to Boyer’s The People’s Mandate: Referendums and A
More Democratic Canada (1992) is probably the more significant,
particularly for students of Canadian politics and history.

In the strongest part of the book, Boyer traces the evolution of direct
democracy in Canada, starting with the argument of those who desired a
vote in 1866 on the question of “Confederation.” The text also
includes a description and analysis of the 1992 Constitutional
Referendum on the Charlottetown Accord. Whatever one’s view on that
vote, Boyer is correct when he states that “almost by accident we now
have developed a constitutional custom or convention which . . . is the
same as the clear wording contained in the Australian Constitution
requiring a referendum to ratify any constitutional change in that
country.” Let us hope that our experience will be more successful than
that of Australia, for referendums in that country have made even the
mildest constitutional changes virtually impossible. Swiss, American,
and Australian experiences illustrate that you cannot hold referendums
simultaneously with parliamentary elections. Secondly, too many
referendums tend to diminish voter interest and thus allow a small group
to decide the outcome.

Boyer may be a passionate advocate of direct democracy, but he does not
go to the extremes that Michael Bliss does in the foreword. Boyer
deserves credit for his research and for presenting his argument in a
cogent and articulate manner. This is an important debate, for as events
in California have illustrated, the growth of direct democracy has a
negative impact on political parties and on the legislative process.
Advocates like Boyer and Bliss would be well advised to examine the
problems caused by direct democracy in California, Australia, and
Switzerland before taking their crusade to the people.

In spite of Boyer’s efforts we still require a work that looks at all
aspects of referendums. Direct democracy is not a panacea—rather, it
is like a piсata filled with surprises that can crash down on
unsuspecting citizens.