Electoral map: Direction of the addition of two electoral districts in Laurentides-Lanaudière

Posted On: January 24, 2024

A proposal for a new electoral map for Quebec was presented in the National Assembly on Tuesday by the Commission on Electoral Representation (CRE), with the law requiring such a vote after two general elections.

The main changes proposed concern the Laurentides-Lanaudière region, which will receive two new areas: Les Plaines and Prévost. The first will be made up of sectors in the Masson and Mirabel constituencies, while the second will come from Bertrand and Rousseau.

This addition is due to “the significant increase in the number of voters in this area,” explains the CRE.

Montreal and Mauricie each lose a ride

In two other regions there are changes that lead to the loss of one constituency each. On the island of Montreal, Outremont – which includes the entire area of the Outremont district as well as part of the Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce district – will join Mont-Royal to create a new riding area that will do so will be called Mont-Royal-Outremont.

Boundary changes are planned in other constituencies.

If the CRE's proposals are adopted, Mauricie will have four constituencies instead of the current five and Saint-Maurice will lose. The parish of Notre-Dame-du-Mont-Carmel, which depends on it, is transferred to the Champlain constituency.

Under the electoral law, a constituency's boundaries are changed if its electorate is 25% above or below the Quebec average. This amounts to 48,387 voters out of a total of 6,048,383 voters, distributed across 125 constituencies, as of November 30, 2014.

In addition, 14 constituencies in five other regions are at risk of having their demarcations changed to “establish a better balance of their electorate.” These are Montérégie, Outaouais, Laval, Capitale-Nationale and Estrie-Centre-du-Québec. In seven regions, however, the status quo is maintained.

Note that the CRE will hold public hearings from April 21 to May 21 in the regions affected by the proposed changes.

Since the last map was adopted, demographic change has continued, and in some regions it has become even more pronounced. The CRE's mission is to analyze the latest demographic data to create a map that reflects Quebec, thereby providing a better balance of electoral representation.