(Ottawa) The commission responsible for redrawing Ontario’s federal electoral map is proposing a redesign to take into account changes in places of residence.
Posted at 10:52 p.m.
Under the proposal, Toronto and northern Ontario would each lose one riding, with new ridings created in the eastern and northern Greater Toronto Area, central Ontario, and the areas of Guelph and from Brampton.
The Constitution provides for a review of constituency boundaries after each decennial census, and a new federal law requires each province to retain at least the number of MPs it had in 2019.
This change will mean that Quebec will return to 78 MPs, rather than the current 77, when the borders are redrawn.
The new maps could be in place for a general election no earlier than 2024.
The Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Ontario is taking 2021 Census data into account to try to address overrepresentation in some areas — like Toronto — and underrepresentation in others, including Durham, Dufferin and Caledon.
Population growth in the City of Toronto has been lower from 2011 to 2021 than in the rest of Ontario. In addition, there are now disparities in population density and constituency size, according to the commission.
She also took into account the number of Aboriginal, Francophone, rural and urban communities to ensure that representation in the House of Commons is not diminished.
In the north of the province, where growth has been modest over the past decade, the new map would create a constituency due to “extraordinary circumstances” to preserve a constituency in a remote area with a number of indigenous communities.
The constituency would span more than 520,000 square kilometres, although the commission noted that there are larger constituencies elsewhere in the country.
The commission will now hold public hearings and seek comments on the proposed map of 122 ridings.
Proposed maps have already been produced in all other provinces, where public feedback has begun. Territories, which have one seat each, will see no change.