Emmett Macfarlane

Declarations of Invalidity is a Substack focused on constitutional politics and law in Canada where I write on breaking news of constitutional concern, Supreme Court decisions, and ongoing challenges and controversies relating to the Constitution, rights, or the politics of law.

I am a professor of political science at the University of Waterloo. My research focuses on Canadian governance, constitutional law, public policy, and rights. I am the author of Governing from the Bench: The Supreme Court of Canada and the Judicial Role (UBC Press, 2013) and Constitutional Pariah: Reference re Senate Reform and the Future of Parliament (UBC Press, 2021). My latest book, co-authored with Janet Hiebert and Anna Drake, is Legislating under the Charter: Parliament, Executive Power, and Rights (University of Toronto Press, 2023).

I am also the editor of Constitutional Amendment in Canada (University of Toronto Press, 2016), Policy Change, Courts, and the Canadian Constitution (University of Toronto Press, 2018), Dilemmas of Free Expression (University of Toronto Press, 2022), and co-editor (with Kate Puddister) of Constitutional Crossroads: Reflections on Charter Rights, Reconciliation, and Change (UBC Press, 2022).

For a full list of my other academic publications, check out my personal website.