Much like the nation itself, the size of Canada’s federal ridings look much more like a mosaic than a melting pot, says Blacklock’s Reporter..To no Western Canadian’s surprise, new data from Elections Canada says voters in certain ridings within high-growth provinces are “heavily underrepresented in Parliament.”.Due to new Census figures, at the beginning of 2022 constituency boundaries will be up for revision..Elections Canada says the goal of redrawing some of these boundaries is to attempt to maintain a relatively equal amount of people in each federal riding..“Boundaries commissions also take into account communities of interest or identity and an electoral district’s history,” said Elections Canada in a guide to redistribution..The average federal riding in Canada contains 60,000 to 80,000 voters. Large discrepancies were found between small and large constituencies in terms of the new numbers of electors throughout districts across the nation..The smallest districts from the last federal election, ironically all voting Liberal, are Labrador with 20,106 electors, Charlottetown with 26,744, Egmont, P.E.I. with 28,441, and Cardigan, P.E.I. with 30,280..By comparison, the largest federal riding, who all voted Conservative during the last federal election, are Brantford-Brant, Ontario with 110,180 electors, Banff-Airdrie, Alberta with 110,509, Durham, Ontario with 110,760, North Okanagan-Shuswap, B.C. with 110,729, Niagara Falls, Ontario with 114,516, Calgary Shepard with 114,516, Simcoe-Grey, Ontario with 120,703, and Edmonton Wetaskiwin with 130,608..Prince Edward Island is guaranteed a minimum four seats in the Commons regardless of population through the Constitution Act..A Royal Commission on Electoral Reform in 1989 said “Since Confederation there has been a trend to overrepresent rural and sparsely populated areas of provinces based on the argument these areas present a member of Parliament with more challenges in delivering services to constituents.”.Prior to the 2015 election, the last redistribution yielded 30 new seats added to the Commons, costing $24.5 million per year..Gerrymandering has often been a concern when redrawing electoral boundaries. A Commission report said “many identifiable groups have argued the electoral system should be redesigned to represent their own interests.”.The report specified some of these identifiable groups saying “aboriginal groups want their own electoral districts. Environmentalists believe constituencies should be drawn on ecological lines.”.In 2006, the Commissioner of Official Languages criticized the decision to redraw boundaries in Alberta to split up three different French-speaking communities within the province — Morinville, Legal, and St. Alberta — into two different ridings. The Commissioner said doing this would disrupt “a common francophone heritage.”.A few blocks of Toronto’s Bathurst Street being redistributed in 2015 saw protest petitions from a number of entities complaining the new redrawing would split a Russian-speaking neighbourhood. These entities include the Toronto Russian Film Festival, Pride of Israel Synagogue, and Canadian Association of World War Two Veterans from the Soviet Union..Jackie Conroy is a reporter for the Western Standard.jconroy@westernstandardonline.com
Much like the nation itself, the size of Canada’s federal ridings look much more like a mosaic than a melting pot, says Blacklock’s Reporter..To no Western Canadian’s surprise, new data from Elections Canada says voters in certain ridings within high-growth provinces are “heavily underrepresented in Parliament.”.Due to new Census figures, at the beginning of 2022 constituency boundaries will be up for revision..Elections Canada says the goal of redrawing some of these boundaries is to attempt to maintain a relatively equal amount of people in each federal riding..“Boundaries commissions also take into account communities of interest or identity and an electoral district’s history,” said Elections Canada in a guide to redistribution..The average federal riding in Canada contains 60,000 to 80,000 voters. Large discrepancies were found between small and large constituencies in terms of the new numbers of electors throughout districts across the nation..The smallest districts from the last federal election, ironically all voting Liberal, are Labrador with 20,106 electors, Charlottetown with 26,744, Egmont, P.E.I. with 28,441, and Cardigan, P.E.I. with 30,280..By comparison, the largest federal riding, who all voted Conservative during the last federal election, are Brantford-Brant, Ontario with 110,180 electors, Banff-Airdrie, Alberta with 110,509, Durham, Ontario with 110,760, North Okanagan-Shuswap, B.C. with 110,729, Niagara Falls, Ontario with 114,516, Calgary Shepard with 114,516, Simcoe-Grey, Ontario with 120,703, and Edmonton Wetaskiwin with 130,608..Prince Edward Island is guaranteed a minimum four seats in the Commons regardless of population through the Constitution Act..A Royal Commission on Electoral Reform in 1989 said “Since Confederation there has been a trend to overrepresent rural and sparsely populated areas of provinces based on the argument these areas present a member of Parliament with more challenges in delivering services to constituents.”.Prior to the 2015 election, the last redistribution yielded 30 new seats added to the Commons, costing $24.5 million per year..Gerrymandering has often been a concern when redrawing electoral boundaries. A Commission report said “many identifiable groups have argued the electoral system should be redesigned to represent their own interests.”.The report specified some of these identifiable groups saying “aboriginal groups want their own electoral districts. Environmentalists believe constituencies should be drawn on ecological lines.”.In 2006, the Commissioner of Official Languages criticized the decision to redraw boundaries in Alberta to split up three different French-speaking communities within the province — Morinville, Legal, and St. Alberta — into two different ridings. The Commissioner said doing this would disrupt “a common francophone heritage.”.A few blocks of Toronto’s Bathurst Street being redistributed in 2015 saw protest petitions from a number of entities complaining the new redrawing would split a Russian-speaking neighbourhood. These entities include the Toronto Russian Film Festival, Pride of Israel Synagogue, and Canadian Association of World War Two Veterans from the Soviet Union..Jackie Conroy is a reporter for the Western Standard.jconroy@westernstandardonline.com