On CBC, Peter Mansbridge and Don Newman were quick to pour cold water on the Prime Minister's assertion during his televised address that "Canada's government has always been chosen by the people." Both cited the Byng-King affair, in which the Governor-General refused to grant Mackenzie King a dissolution after his government was defeated and called on Arthur Meighen to form government. This is the precedent the opposition parties rely on to justify their request to Governor-General Michaëlle Jean to hand them power without an election.
In fact, Mr. Harper is correct. Mr. Meighen won the most seats in the 1925 election and the Governor-General intended to call on him to form government. However, Mr. King demanded that he be given the chance to form a government, and the Governor-General acceded to the demand. When he was defeated, power was transferred to the winner of the 1925 election, Mr. Meighen (Spector, 3 Dec 08).
So, let me get this straight: Canada's government has always been chosen by the people. Case in point: the time when Meighen's party won more seats in the House and the Governor General asked someone else to form a government.
I am pretty sure that Mr Spector has missed the point of his own argument.
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