(OTTAWA, May 23, 2001) — The Chief Electoral Officer of Canada, Jean-Pierre Kingsley, has today provided all members of Parliament and senators with the projected schedule for the next redistribution of federal electoral district boundaries.

The projected schedule indicates that a representation order could be proclaimed by June 30, 2003, and come into force with the first dissolution of Parliament to occur at least one year after the proclamation. Therefore, any federal general election called after June 30, 2004, would be conducted using the boundaries and names specified under the new representation order. For this timeframe to be realized, the appropriate committee of the House of Commons would need to complete its review of the proposed boundaries by May 31, 2003.

A copy of the proposed schedule is attached. It contains milestones of the process itself as well as key assumptions on which the projected dates are based.

The representation order will specify the number of members of the House of Commons for each province and divide each province into electoral districts. It will also describe the boundaries of each district and specify its population and name.

Representation in the House of Commons is readjusted after each decennial (10-year) census to reflect changes and movements in Canada’s population in accordance with the Constitution Act, 1867, and the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act (1985, as amended). The readjustment begins when the Chief Statistician prepares and sends the certified census return to the Minister designated for the purposes of the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act, as well as to the Chief Electoral Officer. The Chief Statistician has confirmed that the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada will receive the census return on March 12, 2002.

Readjustment of federal electoral boundaries is carried out by independent commissions. Ten federal electoral boundaries commissions are established, one for each province, to consider and report on any changes required to the boundaries of the electoral districts. As the Northwest Territories, the Yukon Territory and Nunavut constitute one electoral district each, electoral boundaries commissions are not required for them. Each commission is chaired either by a judge appointed by the Chief Justice of that province, or by a person resident in that province appointed by the Chief Justice of Canada. As well, two other members who are resident in that province are appointed by the Speaker of the House of Commons.

These independent commissions hold public hearings to ensure public participation in the redistribution process. Members of Parliament have an opportunity to comment on the proposed ridings through a process co-ordinated by a parliamentary committee mandated for this purpose. In all cases, the final decision rests with the boundaries commissions.

Under the provisions of the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act, Elections Canada provides a variety of professional, administrative and financial services to the commissions.

More information on representation in the House of Commons and the readjustment of federal electoral boundaries can be found on the Elections Canada Web site (www.elections.ca). A separate Web site module ("Representation 2004") will also be established in March 2002 to provide information about the redistribution process, including notices of the commissions’ public sittings and their various reports.

Elections Canada is the non-partisan agency responsible for the conduct of federal elections and referendums.