A federal judge has rejected the last legal attempt to overturn new electoral boundaries ahead of the upcoming national election.
Blacklock's Reporter says the ruling ensures that voters will elect a record 343 Members of Parliament, with several new ridings reflecting population shifts across the country.
Justice Sébastien Grammond of the Federal Court dismissed an appeal against the elimination of the eastern Québec riding Avignon-La Matis-Matane-Matapédia.
"The Boundaries Commission was aware of the issues," Grammond wrote, ruling that the district's population, nearly 36% below the Québec average, no longer justified its existence.
Local residents challenged the decision, arguing the vast geographic size of the district would make it difficult for a single MP to effectively represent constituents.
"More generally, the applicants submit the elimination of the district is contrary to the right to effective representation, which is a component of the constitutionally protected right to vote," Grammond noted in his decision.
Figures showed the riding's electorate had dropped from 74,547 to 70,253, a 6% reduction, making it the least populated district in Québec. The judge also ordered the plaintiffs to pay $8,000 in legal costs.
The riding was previously held by Bloc Québécois MP Kristina Michaud, who won re-election with 60% of the vote. She will now seek a third term in the nearby riding of Gaspésie-Les Iles-de-la-Madeleine, currently represented by Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier.
Under the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act, an independent commission redraws riding boundaries every decade to reflect population shifts. The most recent Québec commission included a retired judge and two professors from the Universities of Montréal and Laval.
While rare, legal challenges to boundary changes are not unprecedented. In 2004, a federal judge sided with New Brunswick petitioners in Raiche v. Attorney General, ruling that language rights justified overturning new boundary lines that had removed three parishes from the riding of Acadie-Bathurst.
The new electoral map includes a reduction of seats in some areas, such as Toronto’s Scarborough-Agincourt, held by Liberal MP Jean Yip, and northern Ontario’s Timmins-James Bay, represented by NDP MP Charlie Angus. However, other regions gained seats, including Vernon-Lake Country in British Columbia and three new Alberta ridings: Airdrie-Chestermere, Calgary-McKnight, and Spruce Grove-Leduc. Suburban Ontario will see new districts in Brampton-Mayfield West, Lake Simcoe-Uxbridge, and Wellington-Halton.
Elections Canada aims to maintain ridings with 80,000 to 115,000 electors where possible. However, past maps have produced significant disparities, with Labrador having just 20,106 electors while Edmonton-Wetaskiwin had 130,608.
