New federal election map

Canada’s federal electoral map is changing
Every 10 years, after the census is conducted, the number of electoral districts and their boundaries are revised to reflect population shifts and growth. Your electoral district – which is where you live and vote for your member of Parliament – may change as a result of the redistribution process.
Ten electoral boundaries commissions have been established. They operate independently in each province to propose new boundaries, consult with Canadians and create the new electoral map for their province.
All politics is/are local
Quebec Electoral Boundaries Commission
Meet Your Commission
[It is proposed to rename Westmount-Ville-Marie] Wilder-Penfield – Proposed Boundaries

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21 August
New federal electoral maps finalized for Quebec, B.C., Saskatchewan
Quebec’s commission complained that onerous demands from MPs for riding name changes undermined the commission’s authority, while the redrawn map in Saskatchewan could lead to more competitive races in the province’s cities, despite complaints by Stephen Harper’s Conservatives.
The riding changes in the three provinces were announced Wednesday and are part of a routine updating of Canada’s electoral boundaries, to ensure ridings include a comparable number of voters. Independent commissions make the changes, but hear submissions from MPs and hold public hearings. Changes, however, can often make a difference on election day – a change in the demographic composition of an electoral riding can quickly change the fortunes of political parties running in it.
In finalizing its work, Quebec’s commission said it “acquiesced” to a series of name changes demanded by MPs but warned its autonomy was threatened.
“We consider it appropriate and important to voice the hesitation and unease we felt in acquiescing to some of the Committee’s wishes, particularly in regard to names,” the three-person commission wrote, referring to the Conservative-led Committee on Procedure and House Affairs. Quebec’s committee later added that it “could be inferred that the commission’s authority holds only insofar as it coincides with the views of the parliamentarians.”
27 February
“Westmount” retained in federal riding name
(Westmount Examiner) Responding to presentations by Westmount City Council, the Westmount Municipal Association, and the Westmount Historical Association, the Federal Electoral Commission has announced that the name of the redistributed riding, which contains all of Westmount, will be named Notre Dame de Grace – Westmount.
15 November
Message from Stéphane Dion
In October, the Liberal Party of Canada (Quebec) presented to the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Quebec a proposal regarding the reorganization of the federal electoral districts of Montreal Island: “A fair, clear and practical map: Proposal regarding the boundaries of the federal electoral districts of Montreal Island”.
That proposal was based on the assumption that the number of districts on Montréal Island would change from 18 to 19 as the Commission had suggested. However, the LPCQ expressed its preference for the map of Montréal to remain at 18 districts so as not to lose a district in Eastern Quebec
The Commissioners asked the LPC(Q) to bring forward another proposal, this time based on an assumption that the number of districts would remain at 18. Please use this link to access the proposal we have submitted.
For the reasons we give in this brief, we believe our proposal marks a significant improvement over the current situation with respect to the numerical equality of electoral districts and the protection of communities of interest.
19 October
Garneau fighting to keep ‘Westmount’ in name of riding
(Westmount Examiner) Westmount-Ville-Marie MP Marc Garneau will fight to keep the name “Westmount” in the name of the riding, he told citizens last Friday in a town hall meeting at the Atwater Library.
“The name of Westmount has been part of a riding name since 1914, and it’s important for the people of Westmount that it continues to be so” Garneau said.
At the meeting, Garneau explained the changes to take place when the federal electoral map is officially redrawn for 2015. The adjustment happens every 10 years in order to reflect changes in population patterns.
Chers collègues,
Lors des audiences de la Commission de délimitation des circonscriptions électorales fédérales pour le Québec tenues ce matin au Palais de justice de Montréal, le PLC(Q) a présenté une proposition globale pour l’ile de Montréal.
Cette présentation a été faite par Alexandra Mendès, Stéphane Lacoste, Stéphane Dion et Justin Trudeau. 4 autres députés de l’ile de Montréal (Francis Scarpalegia, Irwin Cottler, Denis Coderre, Massimo Pacetti) ont aussi fait des représentations. Le mémoire du PLC(Q) sera bientôt disponible en ligne sur le site internet du PLC(Q).
Les commissaires ont reçu avec beaucoup d’ouverture nos représentations.
Comme tant le PLC(Q) que le Bloc Québécois et le NPD recommandent de ne pas ajouter une 19^e circonscription sur l’ile de Montréal et de conserver 4 circonscriptions dans la région du bas du fleuve et de la Gaspésie, les commissaires nous ont demandé de lui soumettre une nouvelle proposition présentant des améliorations aux 18 circonscriptions actuelles situées sur l’ile de Montréal. Cette présentation doit être transmise à la Commission au plus tard le 15 novembre.
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Nous entreprenons dès maintenant le processus de préparation d’une nouvelle proposition et tiendrons compte, comme toujours, de vos commentaires avant de compléter notre proposition.
Je vous remercie de votre collaboration.
Denis Joannette
Directeur général – Executive director
Parti Libéral du Canada (Québec)
Stéphane Dion: New Electoral Boundaries of the Island of Montreal (19 October 2012)
On October 19, 2012, at Montreal’s Palais de justice, the Liberal Party of Canada (Quebec) appeared before the Federal Electoral Boundary Commission for Quebec. In the company of Mr. Justin Trudeau, Member of Parliament for Papineau, Mrs. Alexandra Mendès, President of the Liberal Party of Canada (Quebec) and Mr. Stéphane Lacoste, Chair of the Liberal Working Group on Electoral Redistribution 2012, I presented the Liberal proposal for the whole of Montreal Island.
As Member of Parliament for Saint-Laurent – Cartierville, I also presented the Liberal boundary-redefinition proposal for the riding I have had the privilege of representing since 1996. (The integrity of Saint-Laurent and Cartierville must be preserved)
1 September
Elections Canada’s extreme makeover: Thirty new seats will likely help Tories, bring more diversity to Parliament
(National Post) Canada’s electoral map is slated for a makeover so dramatic that when the new boundaries are confirmed, it is likely that nearly every district in the country will be affected — redrawn in small ways or big, or renamed such that the new title bears no resemblance to the old — creating a markedly different political landscape with ramifications not just for the parties, but also for the voters who elect them.
To accommodate population growth, the country is getting 30 new seats — the largest addition in Canadian history — and with a demographic shift comes a change to where we vote and, perhaps, which party represents your riding in the House of Commons. As of this week, redistribution proposals for all 10 provinces are publicly available, giving parties, analysts, political scientists and voters the first glimpse at what could be the Election 2015 battleground.
The proposed changes are, indeed, sweeping. Only a few dozen ridings across the country remain untouched [the four Prince Edward Island ridings, Labrador, two of British Columbia’s northern ridings, 22 districts in Ontario, for example], and many — more than two-thirds of Quebec’s 78 districts alone — are slated for a new name. … the presumed consequences are wide-ranging: Political scientists and pollsters agree the new seats are a win, on balance, for the Conservatives; newcomers will see their votes carry more weight; MPs could find themselves in nasty nomination battles vying to run in the same riding or, more awkwardly, living in a district they no longer represent; communities that used to vote together will find themselves politically severed, or vice versa; and some provinces will see urban and rural interests face off in ways not seen before.
8 August
Westmount-Ville-Marie riding rename controversy
A proposed name change for a Montreal federal riding isn’t sitting too well with the City of Westmount.
The riding currently identified as Westmount-Ville Marie could soon be re-named Wilder Penfield – after the famous Canadian neurosurgeon.
The change is being proposed by a relatively obscure federal agency – and Westmount officials hope to stop the proposal in its tracks. Read it on Global News: Global Montreal | Westmount-Ville-Marie riding rename controversy
7 August
Mayor Trent vows to fight electoral district redistribution
(Westmount Examiner) Westmount mayor Peter Trent is promising to fight a proposed redrawing of the federal electoral map which would place the city in a new, radically altered riding which would not bear Westmount’s name.
Trent called the idea of dropping Westmount’s name from the riding “an attempt to eradicate history.”
The name Wilder Penfield (after the famous Canadian neurosurgeon) “doesn’t tell anybody where the riding is,” the mayor said.
A resolution passed at Monday’s city council stated that “the proposed changes to the riding name of Wilder Penfield ignores Westmount as a community of interest and a community that is integral to the riding’s identity.”
The resolution also pointed out that since 1914, the name of Westmount had been included in the various electoral districts’ names (with a brief exception from 1924-1933). It went on to describe Westmount as an ‘iconic neighbourhood’ with historic and architectural value, and also pointed out that Doctor Penfield Avenue, which runs through downtown, is not even part of the new district.
20 July
New proposed Montreal ridings bad news for MP Marc Garneau, set off ‘domino effect’
(OpenFile) One of the biggest changes is to Garneau’s Westmount—Ville-Marie riding. Under the proposal, the Westmount section of the riding would be hacked off and lumped into the new Wilder-Penfield riding, while the downtown portion would be added to a new urban riding called Ville-Marie, which stretches from the Gay Village to St-Henri, below de Maisonneuve Boulevard.
Whichever of the two ridings that Garneau decides to contest – assuming he does – he’ll be squaring off against some tough challengers. The NDP gave the former astronaut and possible Liberal leadership contender a run for his money in 2011, coming less than 2% away from winning the seat. And now, Garneau faces the prospect of running downtown – which will include parts of Laurier-Ste-Marie, where the NDP destroyed Gilles Duceppe – or staying in the Westmount-NDG fusion riding – where young Dipper Isabelle Morin blew away Garneau’s popular Liberal colleague Marlene Jennings.
Garneau should be crossing his fingers for a Liberal resurgence on the island if he wants to keep his seat. He’s still examining the changes, Garneau told OpenFile, but would say it “presents a major change* for my riding.”
17 July
Quebec’s federal election map could undergo huge changes
Proposal calls for new names, boundaries, ridings
By René Bruemmer, The Gazette July 17, 2012
MONTREAL – While some Montrealers might be chuffed at the thought of living in an electoral riding named after Maurice (the Rocket) Richard, others are significantly less impressed with proposed changes to Quebec’s federal electoral map announced this week that would see most of the province’s 75 ridings renamed or physically altered, and three new ridings created.
Among the electoral districts slated for significant changes were Mount Royal, Westmount-Ville Marie and Notre-Dame-de-Grace-Lachine.
Irwin Cotler, Liberal MP for the riding of Mount Royal, vowed Tuesday to fight changes that would see his riding, once also the purview of former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, lose its name and a significant portion of the Cote des Neiges neighbourhood at the heart of the current Mount Royal federal riding. In its new configuration, it would extend west to incorporate parts of Dorval and Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport, and be named John-Peters-Humphrey, after the Montreal-born principal writer of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
“The proposed changes seem to reflect a lack of awareness, if not disregard, for the riding’s history, its physical integrity and community identity,” Cotler said. As an example, Cotler noted under the new proposal, his riding office of the past 13 years, and which his predecessor Sheila Finestone used for 15 years before that, would no longer be in the riding. Nor would the Jewish General Hospital or the Côte des Neiges neighbourhood east of his office where he grew up, “which represents the riding’s heart.”
Instead, Cotler said, the proposed reconfiguration resembles a “patchwork arrangement” that would include portions of Westmount, Notre Dame de Grâce and Dorval he said have never been part of the riding’s history or community identity. He noted that similar changes were proposed by the commission in 2002. Cotler and his constituents fought the proposals – and won.
The Conservatives launched an aggressive campaign to win the Liberal bastion of Mount Royal in the 2011 federal elections, losing by a slim margin.
Under proposed changes made by the independent Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission, made public on Monday, most regions of Quebec’s federal electoral map will be altered.
Quebec will gain three new federal ridings in addition to the 75 that exist, and see 56 of them change names. The Montreal riding of Ahuntsic, home to hockey legend Richard, would be named after him. Berthier-Maskinongé would be named after Formula One racing legend Gilles Villeneuve.
Two new districts will be created along Montreal’s burgeoning northern rim, while another is being added to the island’s South Shore. Another district will be shuffled from eastern Quebec and into Montreal.
The changes are meant to reflect an increase in the province’s population to 7.9 million in 2011 from
7.2 million in 2001, as well as the higher concentration of voters in urban centres.
“In our opinion, the proposed changes reflect the new reality of Quebec, with the current trend toward higher-density urban centres,” said Jules Allard, chair of the three-member independent commission, in a statement. “These changes led us to seek new names for a large number of electoral districts. Under the circumstances, we felt it appropriate to take account of the new reality, while drawing on the geography and history of the districts concerned.”
Allard couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday.
Under the proposals, Westmount-Ville-Marie would separate into two entities, with downtown Ville-Marie becoming a riding of its own, and Westmount joining with Notre Dame de Grâce and Montreal West in a riding to be named for famed neurologist Wilder Penfield. The riding of Notre Dame de Grâce-Lachine would be split as well, with Lachine latching onto LaSalle.
A province’s federal electoral districts are changed every 10 years to adapt to population shifts across Canada. Voters will be able to address the proposed changes at the public hearings. The hearings regarding Montreal’s proposed changes will be held at Montreal’s municipal courthouse on Oct. 19.
Mount Royal constituents will be there, Cotler said.
To see the proposals, and maps of existing and proposed ridings, visit www.redecoupage-federal-redistribution.ca
New Quebec federal elections boundaries
(CBC) As it stands, Quebec has 75 federal ridings. The province will send 78 members to parliament in the future.
The province could soon have three new federal electoral ridings and lose another.
The commission is recommending that three new ridings be added to Montreal’s north shore because of its growing population.
However, recommendations indicate that an eastern Quebec may have to downsize on the number of ridings. The riding of Haute-Gaspésie-La-Mitis-Matane-Matapédia was included in surrounding ridings.