2021 British Columbia electoral redistribution

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An electoral redistribution in British Columbia is underway by the BC Electoral Boundaries Commission. On October 21, 2021, the Government of British Columbia appointed Justice Nitya Iyer, Linda Tynan and Chief Electoral Officer Anton Boegman to serve as the 2021 commissioners. Justice Iyer was appointed the chair. [1]

Contents

The commission is required to complete redistricting every two election cycles. [2] The final number of provincial electoral districts, and thus seats in the next legislature, will not be known until redistricting has occurred. [2] The commission is required to complete its preliminary report by October 21, 2022, and its final report six months later. [1]

In May 2021, the government introduced legislation that removed a requirement that no reduction of seats could be considered for certain rural regions. [3] Attorney General David Eby said the changes were necessary to ensure the commission was independent and had the flexibility to recommend boundaries that provide effective representation. [3] [4] The legislation also permits the legislature to grow to up to 93 seats. [5]

In February 2022, the commission opened public consultations for the redistribution. [6] [7] Public hearings were scheduled and public submissions were open until May 31, 2022. [7] Following the release of its initial report in October 2022, further consultations occurred. [6] Its final report was released in April 2023. [8]

Initial report

The initial report, published on October 3, 2022, proposed a total of 93 electoral districts, up from 87 districts. [9] Six new ridings were proposed for areas with rapid population growth, with an additional 71 ridings having their boundaries adjusted to accommodate for geographic, demographic, and other concerns. [10]

Burnaby–New Westminster–Tri-Cities

An additional district, Burnaby Centre, was proposed for the Burnaby–New Westminster–Tri-Cities area.

New Westminster was found to have a population too large for a single riding but too small for two ridings. [9] The initial report split the city into 5 ridings, sharing 2 electoral districts with Burnaby and 1 electoral district with Richmond. [11]

Fraser Valley–Langley–Maple Ridge

The Fraser Valley–Langley–Maple Ridge area gained an additional electoral district, Langley-Willoughby. [9]

Interior BC

Interior BC gained an additional electoral district, Kelowna-Centre. [9]

Kootenays

The commission initially considered reducing the number of ridings in the region from 4 to 3, but ultimately decided against it, citing effective representation. [9]

Northern BC

The commission initially considered merging the two Peace River ridings, as well as North Coast with Skeena, but ultimately decided not to in consideration of the great size of the ridings. Minor changes were made to the water boundaries of the ridings. [9]

North Shore–Sea to Sky–Sunshine Coast

No new districts were added to the region. Four of five districts had their boundaries adjusted. [9]

Prince George and the Cariboo

The two Cariboo ridings were considered for merging, but adjustments to the ridings were ultimately chosen as the solution to bring each riding into the deviation. All four ridings were ultimately redrawn as a result. There was consideration of bringing the Bella Coola valley into Cariboo-North Thompson, but this was ultimately scrapped as the North Coast riding's population was already below deviation. [9]

Richmond–Delta

Discussions on whether Queensborough should be transferred to a New Westminster riding gave no concerns regarding representation; only minor changes were proposed to the Richmond–Delta area. [9]

Surrey

Surrey gained an additional electoral district. [9]

Vancouver

Vancouver gained an additional electoral district, Vancouver-South Granville.

Name changes were proposed due to concerns raised about the distinct identities of Vancouver's neighbourhoods, and the commission's boundaries reflect these suggestions. 5 ridings had their names changed as a result. [9]

Vancouver Island

Vancouver Island gained an additional electoral district, Langford-Highlands. [9]

Final report

No changes (13)

Adjusted (39)

Name change (2)

Replacement (32)

New ridings (6)

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "Electoral Boundaries Commission members appointed". news.gov.bc.ca. Ministry of Attorney General. October 21, 2021. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Electoral Boundaries Commission". elections.bc.ca. Elections BC. 2021. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  3. 1 2 McElroy, Justin (May 11, 2021). "B.C. to add up to 6 new MLAs next election — but seats could be reduced in the Interior". CBC News . Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  4. ↑ Pilon, Dennis (May 28, 2021). "Making B.C. electoral boundaries commissions more independent". The Georgia Straight . Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  5. ↑ Follett Hosgood, Amanda (May 27, 2021). "BC Is Changing Electoral Boundaries Again. Who Will Benefit?". The Tyee . Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  6. 1 2 Preprost, Matt (February 22, 2022). "Electoral boundaries survey now open". Alaska Highway News. Retrieved March 6, 2022.
  7. 1 2 BC Electoral Boundaries Commission (2022). "Your Voice". British Columbia Electoral Boundaries Commission . Retrieved December 13, 2021.
  8. ↑ https://bcebc.ca/final-report/
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Iyer, Nitya; Tynan, Linda; Boegman, Anton (3 October 2022). Preliminary Report (PDF). British Columbia Electoral Boundaries Commission. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  10. ↑ "6 new ridings proposed by B.C. Electoral Boundaries Commission". CTV News British Columbia. The Canadian Press. 4 October 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  11. ↑ McManus, Theresa. "New West to be split into five provincial ridings under new proposal". New West Record. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
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