1. Introduction

1.1 Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act

The Commission was given very clear guidelines and regulations to follow for the federal electoral boundaries readjustment process. The number and boundaries of federal electoral districts in each province – which determine representation in the House of Commons – are readjusted after each decennial (10-year) census to reflect changes and movements in the population. This process is governed by the Constitution Act, 1867, and the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. E-3.

The Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act (referred to hereinafter as "the Act") states that:

• The division of the province into electoral districts and the description of the boundaries must proceed on the basis that the population of each electoral district in the province will, "as close as reasonably possible", correspond to the electoral quota for the province.
  
  
• The Commission shall consider the following in determining reasonable electoral boundaries:
  • 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 electoral districts in sparsely populated, rural or northern regions of the province.
    
    

1.2 Evolutionary Democracy

A nation changes over time. People move from one location to another, populations rise and fall, and communities forge new bonds and relationships. It is for these reasons that we re-examine our federal electoral boundaries every 10 years. Ensuring that the weight given to one person's vote is not greater than or less than that given to another person's vote will ensure that the people of this province receive effective and equitable representation in the House of Commons.The goal in establishing electoral boundaries must be effective and equitable representation for the people and voter parity, with better government as the end result. So, as populations and relationships between communities change over time, the boundaries used to establish representation within government must change to reflect the distribution of the people within the province.

1.3 Process

Every 10 years, a new non-partisan and independent commission is established to examine existing electoral boundaries and make appropriate changes. Each commission is chaired either by a judge appointed by the Chief Justice of that province, or by a person resident in that province who is appointed by the Chief Justice of Canada. In addition, two other members who are resident in that province are appointed by the Speaker of the House of Commons.

At the outset and after consultation, the Commission proposes boundaries for federal electoral districts that are contained in its proposed redistribution plan. The latter is published in newspaper advertisements containing maps of the proposed electoral boundaries and indicating the locations and times of public hearings.

The Commission then holds public hearings to allow the public to participate in the redistribution process. In addition, a parliamentary committee provides members of the House of Commons with an opportunity to raise any objections they may have regarding the proposed redistribution. In all cases, the final decision rests with the Commission.

Upon completion of the public hearings and readjustment of boundaries as outlined in the Commission's final report, the Chief Electoral Officer refers the Commission's report to the Speaker of the House of Commons and prepares a draft representation order. The draft representation order:

• specifies the number of members of the House of Commons to be elected for the province;
• divides the province into electoral districts;
• describes the boundaries of each electoral district;
• indicates the population of each electoral district; and
• determines the name of each electoral district.

Once the draft representation order is complete, it is proclaimed, and takes effect on the first dissolution of Parliament that occurs at least one year after its proclamation.

After the new electoral districts are established, the Chief Electoral Officer publishes maps showing the new electoral boundaries resulting from the readjustment process.

1.4 New Brunswick Context

The New Brunswick Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission was established in April 2002. The Honourable Mr. Justice Guy A. Richard, former Chief Justice of the New Brunswick Court of Queen's Bench, was named its Chairman. The additional two members named were John P. Barry, Q.C., of Saint John and George H. LeBlanc, Esq., of Moncton. Biographical details of Commission members are available in Appendix G.

The Commission's tasks were to:

• examine the existing electoral boundaries;
• examine population changes since the last boundary readjustment;
• consider the division of the province on the basis of population, adhering as close as reasonably possible to the established electoral quota;
• consider community of interest, geography, cultural factors, community of identity, and historical pattern issues;
• draft a report with proposed changes to the boundaries;
• hold public hearings and receive public input on the proposed changes;
• incorporate the response of the public into the proposed boundary readjustments where feasible;
• prepare a report establishing the new electoral boundaries;
• refer the report to the House of Commons to be examined by a parliamentary committee;
• having received minutes of the parliamentary committee, decide whether to make any modifications to the report; and
• provide a final certified copy to the Chief Electoral Officer who, once having received all final reports, prepares a draft order referred to as a "representation order" describing and naming the electoral districts established by all the commissions.

The Governor in Council must publicly announce the new boundaries in a proclamation within five days of receiving the draft representation order. The proclamation is published in the Canada Gazette.

1.5 New Brunswick Commission Approach

While undertaking each of these tasks, the Commission set a goal of high public participation. Given the timing of the hearings and the traditional summer hiatus immediately prior to them, the Commission opted to engage the public prior to the hearings and, with the assistance of the media, did so effectively. Feedback received from the public was unprecedented, both in the level of participation and in terms of the quality of the suggestions. Participation per capita was one of the highest in Canada.

The regular readjustment of electoral boundaries tends to provoke conflict in multiple arenas for a variety of reasons, some related simply to comfort with what is familiar and tested. Other reasons include the desire to maintain relationships, alliances, shared communities of identity or historical patterns. Readjustment must also take into consideration electoral district geography, ensuring that the end result of readjustment results in a manageable size. All of these criteria are recognized in sub-rules in the Act as meriting consideration when determining boundaries.

Public hearings held across the province allowed the Commission to hear the voices representing those communities and concerns, allowing human, social, economic, cultural and accessibility factors to play an integral role in the Commission's deliberation and adjudication where feasible. Presenters provided the Commission with the information and understanding it required to ensure its deliberations and decisions respected, where reasonable, the diversity of communities and interests, historical alliances and traditions, geographic challenges to accessibility, as well as established living and working patterns.

However, while adjustments were made using sub-rules in the Act when arguments were compelling and thus merited further deliberation, the overall guiding principle used by the Commission remained one person, one vote. Fair and equitable representation across the province was its first and foremost concern.

As an independent, non-partisan body, it is not within the Commission's mandate nor is it appropriate for the Commission to take into account perceived threats or advantages to political power bases. Members of the House of Commons have the opportunity to comment on the final report following its submission to a parliamentary committee.

Public hearing feedback across the province played a critical and substantial role in the Commission's deliberations. As a result, Commission members are of the view that increased consultation at an earlier stage would have proven advantageous. New technologies are changing processes across all sectors and disciplines. Today, commissions have access to new tools that allow virtually real-time computerized boundary adjustments with immediate access to demographic information. Given the obvious efficiencies gained, the Commission believes the time is appropriate for reassessing the current process in order to allow increased public consultation.

1.6 Population

The population of the province and its distribution drive the adjustment of boundary lines for electoral districts.

The formula for determining the optimal number of people in each electoral district is set by the Act, i.e. the current population as reported in the most recent decennial census divided by the number of seats allotted by Parliament. Based on a population of 729,498, each electoral district in New Brunswick should have, with a reasonable variance, 72,950 people. The Act permits a variance of up to 25 percent for the population of a given electoral district where carefully scrutinized circumstances justify it. This variance can come about as a result of a number of different influencing factors:

• community of interest and community of identity – communities or people who share common interests (economic or other), identity (language, race or religion), neighbourhood, the same or similar local government;
• historical patterns – a historical or traditional bond between communities or groups of communities; and
• geographic concerns – an electoral district should not be so large, spread out or divided so that it is not feasible for a single elected official to provide adequate representation to his or her constituents.

The Act permits the Commission to exceed the 25 percent variance only in extraordinary circumstances. The Commission determined that there was no justifiable reason to exceed the 25 percent population variance. To do so could result in inequitable variances of up to 50 percent or more between electoral districts, a result that would be grossly inequitable. The Commission did not find that circumstances existed to justify exceeding the 25 percent limit. Throughout its deliberations, the Commission would be guided by the words of the Act, attempting to arrive "as close as reasonably possible" to the province's electoral quota as determined by the formula.

[Previous]   [Next]

 Privacy Statement, Important Notices and Disclaimers