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| You are here: Home > Features > Canada's New Electoral Boundaries |
Canada's New Electoral Boundaries
Political pundits predict Paul Martin will
call an election soon. But this year's election will look slightly different.
The political
map of Canada has literally been redrawn.
It has been estimated that one-in-five Canadians move each year. Therefore,
every ten years (after each Statistics
Canada census), representation in the House
of Commons is readjusted to reflect the constantly changing and moving
Canadian population. This process is set out in the 1867 Constitution
Act and is supplemented by the Electoral
Boundaries Readjustment Act.
Increasingly, however, Canada's electoral system is up for debate. Critics
have objected to the current ‘first past the post' electoral system for
decades . While this system rewards the candidate receiving the most electoral
district votes (and therefore, that candidate's political party), the resulting
distribution of parliamentary seats does not always reflect the popular
opinion of Canadians. To find out more about electoral reform and the first
past the post system, read the Law
Commission of Canada report on electoral reform. Commissions have also
been set up in British
Columbia and Prince
Edward Island to review their respective voting systems.
In the meantime, the 2004 federal election will go ahead under the current
rules, but with a new set of electoral districts. This feature will outline
the new ridings, how they were set up, and any possible ramifications for
the 2004 election.
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- How the riding districts are set up across Canada
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- Criteria for forming new boundaries
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- Geography and political divisions
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- How will the new boundaries affect the 2004 federal election?
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- Territorial vastness and population density
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- Links to more more indepth information.
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