(Ottawa) The number of seats in the House of Commons will increase from 338 to 342 as early as 2024 to accommodate the changing Canadian population. If Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia are to increase their seat count, Quebec will be the only province to lose a seat in this reallocation.
Updated October 15, 2021
This was announced by Canada’s Chief Electoral Officer, Stéphane Perrault, in a press release on Friday afternoon.
Under Elections Canada’s proposed new seat distribution, British Columbia would have 43 seats; Alberta, 37; Saskatchewan, 14; Manitoba, 14; Ontario, 122; Quebec, 77; New Brunswick, 10; Nova Scotia, 11; Prince Edward Island, 4; Newfoundland and Labrador, 7; Yukon, 1; the Northwest Territories, 1; and Nunavut, 1.
That’s one more seat each for Ontario, which will increase from 121 to 122 seats, and British Columbia, which will increase from 42 to 43 seats. Alberta is entitled to three more seats, or 34 to 37. Quebec, which currently has 78 seats, loses one. The number of seats remains unchanged in the Atlantic and the Territories.
Under the Canadian Constitution, trail rides must be reviewed after a census every 10 years to reflect changes in the population. Provinces with population growth get additional seats. Quebec’s population is growing at a slower rate than the average for other provinces.
“The Chief Electoral Officer is making the calculation based on population estimates from the Chief Statistician of Canada and a formula provided for in the Constitution,” reads the press release transmitted by Elections Canada.
This is the first time since 1966 that a province has lost a seat in the electoral map redraw.
A nationwide redrawing of the boundaries of the federal constituencies is also to be expected. This process, which is expected to begin in February 2022, will be led by independent, non-partisan commissions in each of the ten provinces. Your job is to redraw the election maps, taking into account, among other things, the average population in each horse farm.
In the past, the proposed changes have been strongly denounced by political parties who feared losing seats or seeing their communities divided by the new district elections. Others argued that some journeys were too long and MPs had to travel many hours to meet their constituents.
The new electoral map is expected to be completed in October 2023, but will not take effect immediately. According to Elections Canada, the changes will take effect no earlier than April 2024, possibly after the next election.
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