The CAQ and the Parti Québécois are unhappy with the electoral redistribution

Posted On: December 6, 2023

The CAQ government and the Parti Québécois (PQ) are against the current project to redistribute the electoral map.

There CAQ However, for now it closes the door on increasing the number of constituencies beyond the current 125.

The project presented on Tuesday by the Electoral Representation Commission notably eliminates a constituency in Gaspésie and another in Montreal due to a decline in the number of voters. On the other hand, two more constituencies would see the light of day: Marie-Lacoste-Gérin-Lajoie in Centre-du-Québec and Bellefeuille in the Laurentians.

At a press briefing in New York on Wednesday, Prime Minister François Legault said it was necessary to find a balance between the representativeness of citizens and regions.

If we currently look at the election of Éric Lefebvre (Arthabaska, in Centre-du-Québec), this is where there are the most voters. At a certain point in time, voters must also have the weight of their vote, which is comparable from one region to another.

He realized it was important protect as much as possible Particularly Gaspésie and East Montreal.

precision

According to checks, the Arthabaska constituency is not currently the one with the most voters in Quebec; it’s more like Brome-Missisquoi. However, Arthabaska constituency would become the constituency with the largest number of voters if the delimitation proposal in the preliminary report of the Electoral Representation Commission were applied unchanged.

Constituencies too large for a single elected official

THE PQ calls for changes to current law to add to the list criteria that the Electoral Representation Commission must consider when setting boundaries.

In a press scrum on Wednesday morning, Matane-Matapédia member Pascal Bérubé estimated that the size of constituencies in Gaspésie would become disproportionate with the adoption of the new map and that they would no longer be possible for an elected official to cover.

Thus, the Gaspé and Bonaventure constituencies would be merged to form Gaspé-Bonaventure.

I find it shocking that MPs do not have equal access to their fellow citizens given the size of the districtscommented the PQ MP, adding that more constituency offices and staff were therefore needed.

The MP therefore calls for a change in the law to add certain criteria such as natural belonging to a region and to take into account the boundaries of administrative regions.

In our country there are administrative districts, MRC, which are cut into two parts. This must be taken into account. It’s not a big disadvantage that we are sufficiently represented.

Mr Legault added that there was currently no question of increasing the number of MPs.

We have 125 counties in Quebec, the same number as Ontario, with a much smaller populationhe argued.