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FEDERAL ELECTORAL BOUNDARIES
COMMISSION FOR MANITOBA
ELECTORAL BOUNDARIES READJUSTMENT ACT
Preamble
PART I
Introduction
The 2001 decennial census established the population of
Manitoba at 1,119,583 individuals. The effect of the Constitution Act,
1867 (U.K.), 30 & 31 Vict., c. 3, reprinted in R.S.C. 1985, App. II,
No. 5, is that the province will continue to be represented by 14 members
in the House of Commons. The members of the Federal Electoral Boundaries
Commission for Manitoba were appointed as required by the provisions of
the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. E-3,
hereinafter called "the Act." The Act mandates that the Commission
is to divide the province into 14 electoral districts each having, as
nearly as possible, an equal population based on the 2001 decennial census
figures. The electoral quota arrived at by dividing the total provincial
population by 14 is 79,970.
In delineating electoral district boundaries, the Commission is required
to consider:
- the community of interest or community of identity in or the historical
pattern of an electoral district in the province, and
- a manageable geographic size for districts in sparsely populated,
rural or northern regions of the province.
In short, the Commission is expected to balance various sociological,
geographic and communication realities within the overriding objective
of population equality among provincial electoral districts. Under the
Act, any departure from the principle of population equality must not
exceed 25 percent above or below the electoral quota, which in Manitoba
is 79,970 persons. While generally restricted to a range of 25 percent
above or below the electoral quota, the Commission may exceed this limit
"in circumstances viewed by the commission as being extraordinary".
In our view, we are not faced with any such necessity.
In addition to these statutory requirements, the Commission wishes to
explain how it has interpreted its mandate.
The Commission is in full agreement with its 1994 predecessor, which
accepted as a fundamental principle the desirability of population equality
among provincial electoral districts. To the extent reasonably possible,
each vote cast in the province shall have the same weight.
We believe that there is a growing consensus among interested citizens
that the 25 percent guideline is excessive, and like the 1994 Commission,
we have adopted a guideline of 5 percent variation. It is interesting
to note that the objective set previously was substantially achieved and
that little adjustment is required now.
In some situations where the population trends indicate the strong probability
of future growth within an electoral district, the boundaries have been
drawn in anticipation of this development. While striving to implement
the principle of voting equality, the Commission nevertheless recognized
the need to accommodate certain geographical and social facts of political
life in Manitoba.
To facilitate public understanding and discussion of our proposed boundaries,
we wish to indicate the considerations which guided our application of
the concepts of "community of interest" and "a manageable
geographic size". In seeking to apply the concept of community of
interest, the Commission has considered the following factors to be relevant:
- the desirability of respecting existing municipal boundaries;
- recognition of major topographical features like lakes and rivers;
- socio-economic status;
- the ethnic and linguistic features of communities;
- whether the orientation of an area is predominantly urban or rural;
and
- the avoidance of unnecessary change in established federal boundaries.
The 1994 Commission recognized that, due to continued urban growth, the
City of Winnipeg warranted having eight of the 14 electoral districts
and the rest of the province the remaining six. This required a major
redrawing of the electoral map which is not required for 2004. Along with
the previous Commission, we have applied community of interest considerations
within Winnipeg, but, of necessity, electoral districts are often more
heterogeneous in terms of social composition, and geographical features
(like rivers) represent less of a barrier than in rural electoral districts.
With the assistance of advanced digital technology, we were able to align
the boundaries of the revised electoral districts to reflect socio-economic
status more closely.
In the rural and northern electoral districts, the most significant change
again affects the Churchill electoral district. Because of its immense
size and sparsity of settlement, it has always posed a difficult challenge.
In balancing the population equality and community of interest principles,
it was felt that the northwestern portion of the existing Selkirk–Interlake
electoral district should be integrated into the Churchill electoral district,
while the southeastern portion of the existing Churchill electoral district,
excluding the Fort Alexander Reserve, should be returned to the Provencher
and Selkirk-Interlake electoral districts, where it was prior to 1994.
In proposing names for electoral districts, the Commission has sought
to combine considerations of historical significance, geographic accuracy
and brevity in our descriptors.
Community of interest and community of identity can be interpreted in
different ways. In setting forth our approach in general terms, we recognize
that other observers may, in relation to a proposed map, assign greater
weight to certain factors than we have done. We welcome your submissions
on such points.
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