(Quebec) Montreal and Gaspésie could lose their political weight at the Salon bleu. The Electoral Representation Commission is proposing to remove, from the 2026 election, one constituency in the mainland and another in the Gaspé peninsula, so that the electoral map takes into account the movements of the population on Quebec territory. The Laurentides and Centre-du-Québec regions would each welcome a new riding.
This proposal for a new electoral map, provided for by the Electoral law, was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday. Public hearings and a parliamentary commission, where MPs will be able to provide their comments, will also be held in the fall.
In Montreal, the Commission proposes to eliminate the electoral division of Anjou–Louis-Riel and that its territory be divided between the current electoral divisions of Camille-Laurin, Hochelaga-Maisonneuve and Rosemont, which would become Rosemont–Louis-Riel. In Gaspésie, the constituencies of Gaspé and Bonaventure would be merged. Matane-Matapédia would also have one foot in Bas-Saint-Laurent and the other in the peninsula, since its territory would now include Mont-Albert and stretch to the gates of Grande-Vallée.
North of Montreal, in the Basses-Laurentides, the Commission proposes to create a new electoral district, Bellefeuille, very close to Mirabel and Saint-Jérôme. In Centre-du-Québec, the new riding of Marie-Lacoste–Gérin-Lajoie would be created near the current ridings of Saint-Hyacinthe and Drummond–Bois-Francs.
Several modified territories
The Commission on Electoral Representation adds that its new electoral map proposes territorial modifications to 55 of Quebec’s 125 constituencies. Its president, Jean-François Blanchet, affirms that “the delimitation proposal aims to correct inequalities of representation”.
“We act to respect the principle of effective representation, which is enshrined in the Electoral law and recognized by the Supreme Court of Canada. This principle requires that all voters be represented fairly and equitably in the National Assembly,” he said in a press release on Tuesday.
“The primary purpose of an electoral map is to ensure the relative equality of the vote of voters in each constituency, so that the weight of a voter’s vote is substantially the same from one constituency to another. That said, the logic is far from just mathematical: we must also bring together as best as possible communities that have common interests within the same constituency,” we added.