FEDERAL ELECTORAL BOUNDARIES COMMISSION
FOR NEW BRUNSWICK
ELECTORAL BOUNDARIES READJUSTMENT ACT
PART I
Preamble
A Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for the Province of New Brunswick was constituted by
proclamation dated April 16, 2002, in accordance with the provisions of the Electoral
Boundaries Readjustment Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. E-3 (the Act). The Commission was established
to readjust the boundaries of the ten (10) electoral districts in New Brunswick, using
the 2001 decennial census. The Commission is composed of Mr. Justice Guy A. Richard,
Commission Chairman, John P. Barry, Q.C., Member, and George LeBlanc, Member.
The 2001 decennial census established the population of the Province of New Brunswick at
729,498 people. Under the rules prescribed by the Act, the representation of New Brunswick
in the House of Commons is 10 members and the province is accordingly divided into ten (10)
electoral districts resulting in an electoral quota of 72,950 for each electoral district.
The Act states that each of the ten (10) electoral districts shall have a population as close as
possible to the electoral quota. The Act further provides that the Commission may only depart
from the strict application of the rule in the following manner:
15. (1) In preparing its report, each commission for a province shall, subject to subsection
(2), be governed by the following rules:
(a) the division of the province into electoral districts and the description of the boundaries
thereof shall proceed on the basis that the population of each electoral district in the
province as a result thereof shall, as close as reasonably possible, correspond to the
electoral quota for the province, that is to say, the quotient obtained by dividing the
population of the province as ascertained by the census by the number of members of the
House of Commons to be assigned to the province as calculated by the Chief Electoral
Officer under subsection 14(1); and
(b) the commission shall consider the following in determining reasonable electoral
district boundaries:
(i) the community of interest or community of identity in or the historical pattern of an
electoral district in the province, and
(ii) a manageable geographic size for districts in sparsely populated, rural or northern regions
of the province.
(2) The commission may depart from the application of the rule set out in paragraph
(1)(a) in any case where the commission considers it necessary or desirable to depart therefrom
(a) in order to respect the community of interest or community of identity in or the historical
pattern of an electoral district in the province, or
(b) in order to maintain a manageable geographic size for districts in sparsely populated,
rural or northern regions of the province, but, in departing from the application of the rule
set out in paragraph (1)(a), the commission shall make every effort to ensure that, except in
circumstances viewed by the commission as being extraordinary, the population of each electoral
district in the province remains within twenty-five per cent more or twenty-five per cent less of
the electoral quota for the province.
The Commission does not find, in our province, any extraordinary circumstances that would warrant
the evocation and application of paragraph 15(2)(b) of the Act. In other words, no reasons are to
be found, in the Commission's view, to allow an electoral district to either exceed or fall short
of the electoral quota by as much or more than 25 percent.
The Commission is of the view that the important and democratically sound principle of one person,
one vote, can generally be followed, with moderate adjustments, on the basis of "community of interest,"
"community of identity" and "historical patterns" as contemplated for in paragraph 15(1)(b) of the Act.
Part II of this proposal gives an overview of the recommendations of the Commission in regard to each
of the ten (10) electoral districts. Detailed legal descriptions and populations for each electoral
district are provided in Schedule A to this proposal.
The Act calls for public hearings so that the Commission can receive representations from interested
persons. The public hearings will be held for all of the electoral districts of the province between
September 3 and October 17, 2002. The schedule and locations for these hearings are set out in Part
III of this proposal under the heading "Notice of Public Hearings".
Advertisements as to these proposals and the hearings will appear in the four provincial daily
newspapers in June 2002.
The Commission has adopted rules for the conduct of, and representation to, these public hearings.
These rules are set out in Part IV hereof.
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