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2012 Canadian federal electoral redistribution

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The federal electoral redistribution of 2012 was a redistribution of electoral districts ("ridings") in Canada following the results of the 2011 Canadian census. As a result of amendments to the Constitution Act, 1867, the number of seats in the House of Commons of Canada increased from 308 to 338. The previous electoral redistribution was in 2003.[1]

Background and previous attempts at reform

Prior to 2012, the redistribution rules for increasing the number of seats in the House of Commons of Canada was governed by section 51 of the Constitution Act, 1867, as last amended in 1985. As early as 2007, attempts were made to reform the calculation of how that number was determined, as the 1985 formula did not fully take into account the rapid population growth being experienced in the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario.[2]

The revised formula, as originally presented, was estimated to have the following impact:

Allocation of seats in the House of Commons (2010 proposal)[3]
Province/ Territory Current seats Projected seats after the 2011 census
Under the 1985 formula Under the new formula
British Columbia 36 38 43
Alberta 28 29 33
Saskatchewan 14 14 14
Manitoba 14 14 14
Ontario 106 110 124
Quebec 75 75 75
New Brunswick 10 10 10
Nova Scotia 11 11 11
Prince Edward Island 4 4 4
Newfoundland and Labrador 7 7 7
Yukon 1 1 1
Northwest Territories 1 1 1
Nunavut 1 1 1
Total 308 315 338

Three successive bills were presented by the Government of Canada before its final form was passed by the House of Commons and Senate in 2011.[4]

Passage of the Fair Representation Act (2011)

The expansion of the House from 308 seats to 338 seats is pursuant to the Fair Representation Act, which came into force on December 16, 2011.[5] In introducing the bill, the government's stated aims were:[6]

  1. allocating more seats to better reflect population grown in Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta;
  2. maintaining the number of seats for slower-growing provinces; and
  3. maintaining the proportional representation of Quebec according to population.

The Act replaced s. 51(1) of the Constitution Act, 1867 with the following formula:[7]

  1. Divide the estimated population of a province by a determined electoral quotient (initially set at 111,166).
  2. If the number of members determined is less than what a province had in 1985, increase its seat count to that number (the "grandfather clause").
  3. If a province's population was overrepresented in the House of Commons at the completion of the last redistribution process, and would now be under-represented based on the calculations above, it will be given extra seats so that its share of House of Commons seats is proportional to its share of the population (the "representation rule").
  4. Add one seat for each of the territories.

The 1985 minimum has two components:

  1. No province can have fewer MPs than it has senators (the "senatorial clause").[8]
  2. Otherwise, the calculation determined in 1985 under the Constitution Act, 1985 (Representation) will govern the amount.
Allocation of seats in the House of Commons (electoral quotient of 111,166)[9]
Province/ Territory July 1, 2011
Population estimate
Initial seat allocation Senatorial clause Grandfather clause Representation rule Total seats
British Columbia 4,573,321 42 42
Alberta 3,779,353 34 34
Saskatchewan 1,057,884 10 4 14
Manitoba 1,250,574 12 2 14
Ontario 13,372,996 121 121
Quebec 7,979,663 72 3 3 78
New Brunswick 755,455 7 3 10
Nova Scotia 945,437 9 1 1 11
Prince Edward Island 145,855 2 2 4
Newfoundland and Labrador 510,578 5 1 1 7
Yukon 34,666 n/a 1
Northwest Territories 43,675 n/a 1
Nunavut 33,322 n/a 1
Total 34,482,779 338

The addition of three seats in Quebec marked the first time since the adoption of the 1985 electoral redistribution formula that any province besides Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia gained new seats.

Process of redistribution

The allocation of seats to the provinces and territories was based on rules in the Constitution of Canada as well as population estimates made by Statistics Canada based on the 2006 census (in particular, the allocation is based on an estimate for the population as of July 1, 2011, "based on 2006 Census population counts adjusted for census net undercoverage and incompletely enumerated Indian reserves").[9][10]

A final report was tabled October 2013, with the changes proclaimed to take effect as of the first dissolution of Parliament occurring after May 1, 2014.[11] The names of some ridings were changed when the Riding Name Change Act, 2014 came into force on June 19, 2014.[12]

In a report issued in 2014 Elections Canada noted: "While some administrative tasks remained to be done after that point, Elections Canada's role of supporting the federal electoral boundaries commissions, which had worked for up to 18 months in their respective provinces, was complete." The report concluded that "the process for the 2012 redistribution of federal electoral boundaries was a success."[13]

Effect of 2013 Representation Orders

Effect of 2012 redistribution (by province/territory)
Status BC AB SK MB ON QC NB NS PE NL YT NT NU Total
New seats[14] 6 7 15 3 31
Merged seat 1 1
No change in riding boundary[15] 2 2 20 9 3 4 1 1 1 1 44
Redistributed - change in party ranking 3 2 1 2 2 1 11
Redistributed - no change of party 31 26 12 11 84 64 10 8 5 251
Total[14] 42 34 14 14 121 78 10 11 4 7 1 1 1 338
Effect of 2012 redistribution on notional number of seats held
Party 2011 (election) New seats Merged seat Adjt + Adjt - 2011 (redistributed)
Liberal 34 2 2 (2) 36
Conservative 166 23 (1) 4 (4) 188
New Democratic 103 6 4 (4) 109
Bloc Québécois 4 1 (1) 4
Green 1 1
Total 308 31 (1) 11 (11) 338
Notional seats by party by province[16]
Party BC AB SK MB ON QC NB PE NS NL Territories Total
Conservative 28 33 11 11 83 5 8 1 4 2 2 188
New Democratic 11 1 2 3 24 61 1 3 2 1 109
Liberal 2 1 14 8 1 3 4 3 36
Bloc Québécois 4 4
Green 1 1
Total 42 34 14 14 121 78 10 4 11 7 3 338

Compared to the House of Commons seat allocation in effect for the 41st Canadian Parliament (which convened in 2011), the changes were as follows:[9]

Redistribution by province and territory
Province Seats ± Initial report Final report
 Alberta[17] 34 6
  • BanffAirdrie: Created mostly out of the southern portion of Wild Rose and a small part of Macleod south of Cochrane. Contains the Highway corridor west of Calgary to the B.C. border as well as Calgary's northern exurbs.
  • Battle River: Created out of the southern half of Vegreville—Wainwright and the northern half of Crowfoot and a small part of the eastern part of Red Deer. Contains much of rural Central Eastern Alberta. Named for the Battle River which flows through it.
  • Bow River: Created out of the eastern half of Macleod, the northwestern corner of Medicine Hat and the southwestern quadrannt of Crowfoot. Contains the Highway 1 corridor east of Calgary past Brooks. The riding also includes Vulcan and the Highway 2 corridor roughly between Nanton and Fort Macleod. Named for the Bow River which flows through it.
  • Calgary Centre: This riding shifts eastward, moving the western boundary to 37 St SW and moving the eastern boundary to the Bow River.
  • Calgary Confederation: Created mostly from Calgary Centre-North, except losing the area north of McKnight Blvd and John Laurie Blvd. It also takes in the part of Calgary West north of the Bow River and east of Nose Hill Drive and Stony Trail. Named for Confederation Park.
  • Calgary Forest Lawn: Created mostly from parts of Calgary Northeast and Calgary Southeast and newly annexed territory of the City of Calgary that is now in the riding of Crowfoot. The riding takes in the part of Calgary Northeast south of a line following McKnight Blvd to Falconbridge Blvd to 32nd Ave and takes in the part of Calgary Southeast north of a line following the Bow River to 32 Ave SE to the CNR to 17 Ave SE. Riding named for the neighbourhood of Forest Lawn.
  • Calgary Heritage: Created mostly out of Calgary Southwest, except a few small parts of Calgary Southeast caused by adjusting the eastern boundary of the riding to follow Macleod Trail. The southern boundary of the riding is also adjusted compared to Calgary Southwest, as it would follow 24 St SW to Spruce Meadows Trail to James McKevitt Rd. The riding is likely named for Heritage Park.
  • Calgary McCall: Created almost entirely out of Calgary Northeast except for newly annexed territory of the City of Calgary now in the riding of Wild Rose. The riding would contain all of Calgary Northeast not in the proposed riding of Calgary Forest Lawn. The riding is likely named after the McCall Industrial Park or the provincial riding of the same name.
  • Calgary Midnapore: Created mostly out of Calgary Southeast but also contains parts of Calgary Southwest, Calgary East and newly annexed territory by the city of Calgary in the current riding of Macleod. The riding follows the Bow River to Glenmore Trail to Macleod Trail to James McKevitt Rd. The riding is named after the Midnapore neighbourhood.
  • Calgary Nose Hill: Apart from losing the emdash in the riding name, this riding loses all of its territory north of Stoney Trail and west of Sacree Trail and John Laurie Blvd. However, the riding also gains some territory from Calgary Centre-North. This is the area north of a line following John Laurie Blvd to McKnight Blvd. The riding name most likely comes from Nose Hill Park.
  • Calgary Shepard: This riding is created out of parts of Calgary East and Calgary Southeast as well as newly annexed parts of the city of Calgary now in Crowfoot. The riding would be bounded on the west by the Bow River and on the north by a line following 26 Ave SE to the CNR to 17 Ave SE. The riding is named after the former hamlet of Shepard, which was annexed by Calgary in 2007.
  • Calgary Signal Hill: This riding is mostly created out of Calgary West, except for newly annexed parts of the City of Calgary now in Macleod and that part of Calgary Centre west of 37 Ave SW. The riding would contain all of Calgary Southwest south the Bow River. The riding is named after the neighbourhood of the same name.
  • Calgary Rocky Ridge: This riding is created mostly out of Calgary—Nose Hill except for some new areas contained in newly annexed territories of the City of Calgary now in Wild Rose and the part of Calgary West not contained in Calgary Signal Hill or Calgary Confederation. The riding would consist of all of Calgary—Nose Hill not in the new riding of Calgary Nose Hill. The riding name comes from the neighbourhood of Rocky Ridge.
  • Edmonton Callingwood
  • Edmonton Griesbach
  • Edmonton Manning
  • Edmonton McDougall
  • Edmonton Mill Woods
  • Edmonton Riverbend
  • Edmonton Strathcona
  • Edmonton—Wetaskiwin
  • Foothills
  • Fort McMurray—Athabasca
  • Grande Prairie
  • Lakeland
  • Lethbridge
  • Medicine Hat
  • Peace River—Westlock
  • Red Deer—Mountain View
  • Red Deer—Wolf Creek
  • Sherwood Park—Fort Saskatchewan
  • St. Albert—Edmonton
  • Sturgeon River
  • Yellowhead
 British Columbia[18] 42 6
  • Abbotsford—Sumas
  • Burnaby North—Seymour
  • Burnaby South—Deer Lake
  • Cariboo—Prince George
  • Central Okanagan—Coquihalla
  • Chilliwack—Fraser Canyon
  • Coquitlam—Port Coquitlam
  • Delta
  • Esquimalt—Colwood
  • Fort Langley—Aldergrove
  • Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo
  • Kelowna—Lake Country
  • Kootenay—Columbia
  • Langley—Cloverdale
  • Mission—Matsqui
  • Nanaimo—Alberni
  • Nanaimo—Cowichan
  • New Westminster—Burnaby East
  • North Okanagan—Shuswap
  • North Surrey—Guildford
  • North Vancouver
  • Pitt Meadows—Maple Ridge
  • Port Moody—Coquitlam
  • Prince George—Peace River
  • Richmond East
  • Richmond West
  • Saanich—Gulf Islands
  • Skeena—Bulkley Valley
  • South Cowichan—Juan de Fuca
  • South Okanagan—West Kootenay
  • South Surrey—White Rock
  • Surrey Centre
  • Vancouver Centre
  • Vancouver East
  • Vancouver Granville
  • Vancouver Island North
  • Vancouver Kingsway
  • Vancouver Quadra
  • Vancouver South
  • Victoria
  • West Surrey—Whalley
  • West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea to Sky Country
 Manitoba[19] 14
  • Brandon—Souris
  • Charleswood—St. James—Assiniboia
  • Churchill—Keewatinook Aski
  • Dauphin—Swan River—Neepawa
  • Elmwood—Transcona
  • Kildonan—St. Paul
  • Portage—Lisgar
  • Provencher
  • Saint Boniface
  • Selkirk—Interlake
  • Winnipeg Centre
  • Winnipeg North
  • Winnipeg South
  • Winnipeg South Centre
 New Brunswick[20] 10
  • Acadie—Bathurst
  • Beauséjour—Dieppe
  • Fredericton
  • Fundy—Quispamsis
  • Madawaska—Restigouche
  • Miramichi
  • Moncton—Riverview
  • New Brunswick Southwest
  • Saint John
  • Tobique—Saint John River Valley
 Newfoundland and Labrador[21]
 Northwest Territories 1 A commission was not required for the Northwest Territories since the territory is a single electoral district[22] and under an amendment to the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act it is using the name Northwest Territories again, instead of Western Arctic.
 Nova Scotia[23] 11
  • Cape Breton—Canso
  • Central Nova
  • Cumberland—Colchester
  • Dartmouth—Cole Harbour
  • Halifax
  • Halifax West
  • Kings—Hants
  • Sackville—Porters Lake
  • South Shore—St. Margarets
  • Sydney—Victoria
  • West Nova
 Nunavut 1 A commission was not required for Nunavut since the territory is a single electoral district.[24]
 Ontario[25] 121 15
  • Ajax
  • Algoma—Manitoulin—Killarney
  • Ancaster
  • Aurora—Richmond Hill
  • Barrie North
  • Barrie South
  • Beaches—East York
  • Belleville—Napanee—Frontenac
  • Brampton Centre
  • Brampton—Gore
  • Brampton North
  • Brampton South
  • Brampton West
  • Brant
  • Bruce—Grey—Owen Sound
  • Burlington
  • Cambridge
  • Carleton—Kanata
  • Chatham-Kent
  • Davenport
  • Don Valley East
  • Don Valley North
  • Dufferin—Caledon
  • Eglinton—Lawrence
  • Elgin—Middlesex—London
  • Essex
  • Etobicoke Centre
  • Etobicoke—Lakeshore
  • Etobicoke North
  • Glengarry—Prescott—Russell
  • Guelph
  • Haldiman—Norfolk
  • Haliburton—Uxbridge
  • Halton
  • Hamilton Centre
  • Hamilton East—Stoney Creek
  • Hamilton Mountain
  • Huron—Bruce
  • Kawartha Lakes—Port Hope—Cobourg
  • Kenora
  • Kingston and the Islands
  • Kitchener Centre
  • Kitchener—Conestoga
  • Kitchener South—North Dumfries—Brant
  • Lambton—Kent—Middlesex
  • Lanark—Frontenac—Hastings
  • Leeds—Grenville
  • London—Fanshawe
  • London North Centre
  • London West
  • Markham
  • Markham—Stouffville
  • Markham—Unionville
  • Milton
  • Mississauga Centre
  • Mississauga East—Cooksville
  • Mississauga—Erin Mills
  • Mississauga North
  • Mississauga South
  • Mississauga West—Streetsville
  • Mount Pleasant
  • Nepean
  • Nepean—Carleton
  • Newmarket—Aurora
  • Niagara Falls
  • Niagara West
  • Nickel Belt—Timiskaming
  • Nipissing
  • Oak Ridges
  • Oakville
  • Oshawa—Bowmanville
  • Oshawa—Durham
  • Ottawa Centre
  • Ottawa—Orléans
  • Ottawa South
  • Ottawa—Vanier
  • Ottawa West—Nepean
  • Oxford
  • Parkdale—High Park
  • Parry Sound—Muskoka
  • Perth—Wellington
  • Peterborough
  • Pickering—Brooklin
  • Prince Edward—Quinte West
  • Renfrew—Pembroke
  • Richmond Hill
  • St. Catharines
  • St. Paul's
  • Sarnia—Lambton
  • Sault Ste. Marie
  • Scarborough—Agincourt
  • Scarborough Centre
  • Scarborough East
  • Scarborough—Guildwood
  • Scarborough North
  • Scarborough Southwest
  • Simcoe—Grey
  • Simcoe North
  • Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry
  • Sudbury
  • Thunder Bay—Rainy River
  • Thunder Bay—Superior North
  • Timmins—Cochrane—James Bay
  • Toronto Centre
  • Toronto—Danforth
  • Toronto North
  • Trinity—Spadina
  • Vaughan—Thornhill
  • Vaughan—Woodbridge
  • Waterdown—Glanbrook
  • Waterloo
  • Welland—Fort Erie
  • Wellington—Halton Hills
  • Whitby
  • Willowdale
  • Windsor—Tecumseh
  • Windsor West
  • York Centre
  • York—Simcoe
  • York South—Weston
  • York West
 Prince Edward Island[26] 4
  • Cardigan
  • Charlottetown
  • Egmont
  • Malpeque
 Quebec

[27]

78 3
  • Abitibi—Nunavik
  • Abitibi—Témiscamingue
  • Alfred-Dubuc
  • Alfred-Pellan
  • Anne-Hébert
  • Aylmer
  • Beauce
  • Bourassa
  • Brome—Missisquoi
  • Cap-Rouge
  • Charlevoix—Saguenay
  • Châteauguay
  • Compton—Stanstead
  • Côte-de-Beaupré
  • Curé-Labelle
  • Denis-Benjamin-Viger
  • Drummond
  • Elzéar-Bernier
  • Étienne-Parent
  • Gaspésie—Les Îles
  • George-Étienne-Cartier
  • Gilles-Villeneuve
  • Hautes-Laurentides—Pontiac
  • Hochelaga
  • Idola-Saint-Jean
  • John-Peters-Humphrey
  • Joliette
  • La Chute
  • Lachine—LaSalle
  • Lac-Saint-Jean
  • Lac-Saint-Louis
  • Laurentides
  • Lévis
  • Lignery
  • Longueuil
  • Lotbinière—Mégantic
  • Louis-Fréchette
  • MacDonald-Langstaff
  • Manicouagan
  • Maurice-Richard
  • Mille-Îles
  • Montarville
  • Montcalm
  • Montréal-Est
  • Nicolas-Vincent
  • Outaouais
  • Outremont
  • Ozias-Leduc
  • Papineau
  • Paul-Comtois
  • Paul-Ragueneau
  • Paul-Sauvé
  • Petite-Nation
  • Pierre-Legardeur
  • Plateau—Mile End
  • Québec
  • Richmond—Arthabaska
  • Rimouski
  • Rivière-des-Prairies
  • Roger-Lemelin
  • Sainte-Rose
  • Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot
  • Saint-Jean
  • Saint-Lambert
  • Saint-Léonard
  • Sault-au-Récollet
  • Shawinigane
  • Shefford
  • Sherbrooke
  • Soulanges
  • Terrebonne
  • Trois-Rivières
  • Urbain-Brossard
  • Vaudreuil
  • Verchères—Les Patriotes
  • Verdun
  • Ville-Marie
  • Wilder-Penfield
 Saskatchewan[28] 14
  • Cypress Hills—Grasslands
  • Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River
  • Kindersley—Rosetown—Humboldt
  • Lloydminster—Battlefords—Rosthern
  • Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan
  • Prince Albert
  • Regina—Lewvan
  • Regina—Qu'Appelle
  • Saskatoon Centre—University
  • Saskatoon—Grasswood
  • Saskatoon West
  • Souris—Moose Mountain
  • Wascana
  • Yorkton—Melville
 Yukon 1 A commission was not required for Yukon since the territory is a single electoral district.[29]
Total 338 30

References

  1. ^ "Redistribution of Federal Electoral Districts". Elections Canada.
  2. ^ Barnes, André (16 August 2007). "Bill C-56: An Act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867 (Democratic representation) (LS-561E)". Library of Parliament, Law and Government Division.
  3. ^ "Canada's Government Restores Fair Representation in the House of Commons". democraticreform.gc.ca. April 1, 2010.
  4. ^ Barnes, Andre; Bédard, Michel (7 November 2011). "Legislative Summary of Bill C-20: An Act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867, the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act and the Canada Elections Act (Publication No. 41-1-C20E)". Library of Parliament, Legal and Legislative Affairs Division.
  5. ^ Fair Representation Act, S.C. 2011, c. 26
  6. ^ "Fair Representation Act Moves Every Province Towards Rep-By-Pop" (Press release). 2011-10-27. Archived from the original on 2013-12-10.
  7. ^ Fair Representation Act, s. 2
  8. ^ Constitution Act, 1867, , c. , s. 51A
  9. ^ a b c "House of Commons Seat Allocation by Province". Elections Canada.
  10. ^ "Table 2: Annual population estimates". The Daily. Statistics Canada. 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2015-01-19.
  11. ^ Proclamation declaring the Representation Order to be in Force effective on the First dissolution of Parliament that Occurs after May 1, 2014, SI/2013-102 , reported in the Canada Gazette, Part II, Vol. 147, Extra, October 5, 2013
  12. ^ Riding Name Change Act, 2014, S.C. 2014, c. 19
  13. ^ Elections Canada (2014). 2012 Redistribution of Federal Electoral Districts: Process Assessment Report (Report). Ottawa: Elections Canada. pp. 7, 25.
  14. ^ a b "House of Commons Seat Allocation by Province 2012 to 2022". elections.ca. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
  15. ^ "List of unchanged federal electoral districts". elections.ca. Retrieved April 23, 2022.
  16. ^ "Transposition of Votes – 2013 Representation Order". Elections Canada.
  17. ^ Proposed Boundaries – Alberta
  18. ^ Proposed Boundaries – British Columbia
  19. ^ Proposed Boundaries – Manitoba
  20. ^ Proposed Boundaries – New Brunswick
  21. ^ Proposed Boundaries – Newfoundland and Labrador
  22. ^ Proposed Boundaries – Northwest Territories
  23. ^ Proposed Boundaries – Nova Scotia
  24. ^ Proposed Boundaries – Nunavut
  25. ^ Proposed Boundaries – Ontario
  26. ^ Proposed Boundaries – Prince Edward Island
  27. ^ Proposed Boundaries – Quebec
  28. ^ Proposed Boundaries – Saskatchewan
  29. ^ Proposed Boundaries – Yukon

Further reading

  • Official site of the 2012 Federal Electoral Districts Redistribution commissions