In the next federal election, you could vote in a different tab than in the 2021 election, without moving at all.

The Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for the province of Quebec made its electoral map redesign proposal public on July 29, and the boundaries of several ridings in the Quebec region are affected.

For example, the current constituency Beauport-Côte-de-Beaupré-Île d’Orléans-Charlevoix would see his name shortened and henceforth include the municipality of Ste-Brigitte-de-Laval and Lac-Beauport. These two communities are currently represented by the MP Portneuf Jacques Cartier. In exchange, the Courville sector of the Beauport Borough would pass into the electoral division of Beauport Limolou. Instead of being limited to the Southwest by Autoroute 40 and Raymond Boulevard, we would henceforth refer to the new cartography of driving as “Autoroute”. Côte-de-Beaupré-Île d’Orléans-Charlevoix would follow the Montmorency River from the river to the Center de plein air de Beauport before joining the current boundary at Boulevard Louis XIV. A small part of riding Charlesbourg-Haute Saint Charles would also be transferred there.

In addition, the area represented by the member, e.g Charlesbourg-Haute Saint Charles would also change significantly. In addition to the loss of the quadrilateral between Louis-XIV, the Boulevard du Loiret and the Chemin de Château-Bigôt in favor of the Côte-de-Beaupré-Île d’Orléans-Charlevoix, as well as some roads in favor of Beauport Limolouthe constituency would eat up part of the territory Louis Saint Laurent. Thus, its western borders would henceforth be located along the entire Boulevard Valcartier from the border of the territory of Quebec City, Boulevard Bastien and Boulevard Pierre-Bertrand to the Félix-Leclerc highway.

Eventually part of Sillery east of the Avenue Maguire and the Côte de Sillery included until now in Louis-Hebert would go to the constituency Quebec. The same would apply to the portion of the Lairet district between Boulevard Wilfrid-Hamel, 18th Street and 1st Avenue.

A redistribution imposed by the Constitution

The publication of this redistricting proposal is required by the Canadian Constitution. This stipulates that the boundaries of electoral districts “are reviewed after every ten-year census to reflect the changes and movements of Canada’s population,” explains Election Canada. on the website that describes the ongoing process. In June, Parliament changed the representation formula that determines the number of MPs allotted to each province, confirming that Quebec will retain its 78 MPs.

However, the Commission proposes in its proposal to abolish the seatAvignon – La Mitis – Matane – Matapedia in Gaspésie and create a new one in the Laurentians. The boundaries of around sixty other constituencies will in turn be modified “in order to bring the population of these constituencies closer to the electoral quotient of 108,998,” according to the press release on the proposed scenario. A dozen Ridings would change their names so that “the electoral map better reflects the presence of Aboriginal people in Quebec”.

But the exercise isn’t just mathematical, according to Commissioner Louis Massicotte, a retired full professor of political science at Laval University. Other criteria such as “the community of interest or the distinctiveness of a constituency” and “trying to ensure that constituencies do not become too large in sparsely populated, rural or northern areas of the state” also need to be considered, as provided in the account Election Boundary Adjustment Act.

A series of public consultations on the proposed new voting map will take place this fall. In Quebec, it will take place on September 21 at 9am at the Travelodge Hotel at 3125, Boulevard Hochelaga. The changes can be viewed on the interactive map below bit.ly/Redecoupage2022-Federal-QC.