Simcoe and York Regions

Simcoe County

The 2001 census states that Simcoe County, including the cities of Barrie and Orillia, has a population of 377,050. Some who appeared before the Commission argued that Simcoe County should have either three or four electoral districts contained entirely within its boundaries. The Commission could not accept this position; four electoral districts would mean that Simcoe County would be excessively overrepresented while three would mean that it would be under-represented.

Strong representations were heard from residents of the Town of Blue Mountains in Grey County (population 6,116) that they should continue to be in the same electoral district as Collingwood, which is immediately to the east in Simcoe County. Consequently, the Commission has decided to retain the existing electoral district of SIMCOE–GREY. The only difference from the current electoral district of the same name is that the new one contains none of the territory of the Town of Grey Highlands.

The Commission sees no reason to change the electoral district of SIMCOE NORTH, except to take account of the new municipal boundary between the townships of Springwater and Oro-Medonte.

The City of Barrie, with a population of 103,710, is large enough to constitute its own electoral district of BARRIE.

The Commission heard mixed reactions to its initial proposal to attach the towns of Innisfil and Bradford West Gwillimbury to the northern part of the Regional Municipality of York. Although the Commission carefully considered the arguments of those who objected, it was reassured by the arguments of those who supported the original proposal on the grounds that there is community of interest around Cook’s Bay. However, the Commission agreed with one of the presenters who pointed out that the name "York North" is easily confused with North York, a part of the City of Toronto. Consequently, the Commission has decided that the most appropriate name for this electoral district is YORK–SIMCOE.

York Region

The population of the Regional Municipality of York not included in YORK–SIMCOE is sufficient for six electoral districts.

The electoral districts in this region are too populous for most to remain unchanged. The existing electoral districts of Vaughan–King–Aurora (at 52.90 per cent above the provincial quotient), Oak Ridges (at 61.07 per cent above the quotient) and Markham (at 32.30 per cent above the quotient) require substantial changes to existing boundaries.

Most of the opposition to the Commission’s proposed electoral districts in this area focused on the Town of Aurora, which the Commission had proposed to split. The Commission has taken account of this opposition by combining all of Aurora and the Town of Newmarket to create the electoral district of NEWMARKET–AURORA.

That part of the Township of King, which is south of Highway No. 9, is joined with the northern part of the Town of Richmond Hill, the Town of Whitchurch-Stouffville and the northerly and easterly parts of the Town of Markham, to form the electoral district of OAK RIDGES–MARKHAM.

Some objections were heard regarding the way in which the Commission proposed to split the towns of Markham and Richmond Hill. One recommendation was that the Commission take account of planned future development on the Vaughan side of the boundary with Richmond Hill and keep both sides of the boundary together in the same electoral district. After careful consideration, the Commission decided that it could not accept this recommendation. As a result, the electoral districts of VAUGHAN, RICHMOND HILL, THORNHILL and MARKHAM–UNIONVILLE remain as the Commission originally proposed.

The electoral boundaries of THORNHILL are the same as the current electoral district.

The part of the City of Vaughan not included in THORNHILL comprises the electoral district of VAUGHAN.

The Town of Richmond Hill is too large to constitute a single electoral district. The electoral district of RICHMOND HILL is comprised of the portions of the current electoral district that are south of Gamble Road and west of Yonge Street, and south of Elgin Mills Road and east of Yonge Street.

The population of the existing electoral district of Markham, at 142,408, is too large to constitute one electoral district. The Commission is excluding from the electoral district of Markham the portion that is south of 16th Avenue, west of McCowan Road, and south of Highway No. 7, and is joining this area with the rest of the unassigned portions of York Region to form the electoral district of OAK RIDGES–MARKHAM. The remainder of the existing electoral district of Markham comprises an electoral district named MARKHAM–UNIONVILLE.

Southwestern Ontario

Windsor and Chatham-Kent

In its initial proposals, the Commission suggested only one change in this area. This perhaps explains why there were fewer presenters at the Commission’s public hearing in Windsor than at any other location. Although one presenter argued quite convincingly for dramatic changes to all of Windsor’s electoral districts, the Commission could not accept his position, due to the lack of any demonstrated community support for such changes.

There were some strong objections to the Commission’s proposal to include all of the Town of Tecumseh within the proposed electoral district of WINDSOR–TECUMSEH. Such objections were effectively asking the Commission to ignore the recent municipal amalgamation that created the current boundaries of Tecumseh. In the absence of any evidence from representative groups from Tecumseh that these municipal boundaries are not of significance, the Commission has decided to uphold its original proposal.

WINDSOR WEST requires no change.

Except for the loss of part of Tecumseh, the electoral district of ESSEX remains otherwise unchanged.

There is no change to the electoral district of CHATHAM-KENT–ESSEX.

Sarnia Area

In its initial proposals, the Commission pointed out why territory needed to be added to the existing electoral district of Sarnia–Lambton. At the public hearing in London, no one disagreed with this objective. The issue in dispute was how such additions were to be made.

The Commission initially proposed that the electoral district be extended eastward by adding the Lambton County’s municipalities of Plympton-Wyoming, Petrolia, Oil Springs and Enniskillen. Strong arguments were advanced that it was preferable to extend the electoral district southward along the St. Clair River and along the shores of Lake St. Clair. At a minimum, this would involve the Walpole Island Indian Reserve No. 46 and a portion of the City of Chatham-Kent. In deciding to reject this proposal, the Commission noted that there was no direct evidence that any resident of Walpole Island supported this change; nor was there any evidence that residents of Chatham-Kent would support any rearranging of electoral districts that resulted in their city (population 107,341) being divided among three different electoral districts.

The Commission also examined the possibility of allocating that part of the City of Chatham-Kent currently in the electoral district of Lambton–Kent–Middlesex (population 28,703) to Sarnia–Lambton. Although this would work for Sarnia–Lambton, it would leave the existing electoral district of Lambton–Kent–Middlesex with too few people and no acceptable alternative area in which to expand.

Consequently, the Commission has decided to maintain its original proposals for SARNIA–LAMBTON and MIDDLESEX–KENT–LAMBTON. For the latter electoral district, this involves adding all of the rest of Middlesex County except for the Township of Thames Centre, which is to be part of ELGIN–MIDDLESEX–LONDON.

London, Elgin and Thames Centre

At the hearings in London, the Commission was urged by the County of Middlesex to include the Township of Thames Centre within MIDDLESEX–KENT–LAMBTON, thereby including all of the municipalities of Middlesex County within the same electoral district. This submission, which in large measure supported the Commission’s original proposal as it affected Middlesex County, conflicted with the claims of others from Middlesex that it was best to leave things as they were, because changes in electoral boundaries cause people to lose interest in electoral politics. In any event, the county’s plan, and others referred to above, involved a further splitting of the City of Chatham-Kent. It also involved a significant reduction in the population of LONDON–FANSHAWE, a proposal the Commission could not accept.

Consequently, the Commission has decided to maintain the existing electoral districts of LONDON WEST, LONDON NORTH CENTRE and LONDON–FANSHAWE as they are.

Changes were made to ELGIN–MIDDLESEX–LONDON to take into account municipal amalgamations. It includes all of the Township of Thames Centre; all of the Township of Middlesex Centre goes to MIDDLESEX–KENT–LAMBTON.

Oxford, Brant, Haldimand and Norfolk

The Commission’s proposals for the electoral districts of Oxford, Brant and Haldimand–Norfolk drew no comments from people who lived within this territory. There were some suggestions from people in Niagara that the Dunnville area of Haldimand should remain attached to a Niagara electoral district, but the Commission has rejected this proposal.

The electoral district of OXFORD remains as is; BRANT includes the City of Brantford, the County of Brant, and the New Credit and Six Nations Indian reserves; HALDIMAND–NORFOLK includes the County of Haldimand and the County of Norfolk.

Huron, Bruce and Grey

In its initial proposals, the Commission pointed out that the existing electoral district of Huron–Bruce required more people. The Commission proposed to remedy this by including all of the recently amalgamated municipalities of Brockton and South Bruce within its territory. The only objection to this proposal came from the Member of the House of Commons for Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound who had no alternative proposals for additions to Huron–Bruce.

The Commission considered a comprehensive proposal to establish an electoral district in the area to be called "Saugeen Country." Although its population size was appropriate, the same could not be said of the resulting numbers for adjoining electoral districts. Furthermore, in the absence of demonstrated community support for this proposal and because of its drastic effects on both neighbouring and distant electoral districts, the Commission could not accept it.

The Commission has therefore decided that HURON–BRUCE will remain as proposed. It will include all of the amalgamated municipalities of Brockton and South Bruce.

GREY–BRUCE–OWEN SOUND will therefore lose territory from these new municipalities. In the south and east, however, it will now include all of Grey County except for the Town of Blue Mountains. As noted above, residents of Blue Mountains appeared at the public hearing in Barrie to argue strenuously that they should be part of the electoral district that included Collingwood. The Commission has acceded to their wishes.

Perth, Wellington, Waterloo and Halton Hills

As noted earlier, all of the municipalities within the County of Middlesex have been allocated to MIDDLESEX–KENT–LAMBTON, and ELGIN–MIDDLESEX–LONDON. This means that the existing electoral district of Perth–Middlesex has to be significantly restructured. In its original proposals the Commission combined the municipalities of Minto, Wellington North and Mapleton (all within northern Wellington County) with Perth County to create the new electoral district of PERTH–WELLINGTON. Despite the request from Wellington County at the hearing in London that it not be split at all, the Commission has decided that it must maintain its original proposal with respect to PERTH–WELLINGTON.

Nevertheless, the Commission was very sympathetic to claims by the Warden of Wellington County and others (especially in the Township of Puslinch), that the Commission’s original proposals as they affected Wellington County were not satisfactory. In the proposals, portions of the county were allocated to five different electoral districts. To minimize such splits, the Commission adopted a new approach for all of the area of Wellington County not already allocated to PERTH–WELLINGTON. First, it has decided to establish an electoral district of GUELPH comprising only the City of Guelph. The rest of Wellington County surrounding Guelph and extending northward is not sufficiently populous to form an electoral district on its own. The Town of Halton Hills is attached to form the electoral district of WELLINGTON–HALTON HILLS.

Although the Commission realizes that the residents of Halton Hills share many interests with the residents of the southern portion of Wellington County, it recognizes that this configuration is not what was requested by the mayor and council of Halton Hills or by other residents of Halton region who appeared before us. Nevertheless, it believes that this decision is preferable to our original proposal in which Halton Hills was split, with the northerly portion allocated to a proposed electoral district stretching all the way to the northern boundary of Dufferin County.

The current electoral districts of Waterloo–Wellington, Kitchener–Waterloo, Kitchener Centre, and Cambridge all have populations significantly above the provincial quotient. As noted above, in response to strong representations from and within Wellington County, the Commission has decided to place all of the municipalities in southern Wellington County in a single electoral district. In doing so, it is aware that it is rejecting a submission made at its hearings in Mississauga by the President of the Waterloo–Wellington Federal Liberal Association that the original proposal for a revised electoral district of Waterloo–Wellington was quite satisfactory. The Commission is also aware that disassociating all Wellington municipalities from electoral districts based in the Waterloo region requires the drawing of new boundaries in that region, boundaries that unfortunately cannot themselves be the subject of the kind of public hearings that have been recently conducted.

The population of the remaining territory, which corresponds precisely to that of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, is 438,515, a perfectly appropriate number to accommodate four electoral districts. In dividing the Waterloo region in four, the Commission has adopted a plan presented at the public hearings in Mississauga by Mr. Alan Hall. The electoral district of CAMBRIDGE comprises only the City of Cambridge. KITCHENER–CONESTOGA consists of that part of the City of Kitchener south and west of the Conestoga Parkway and the Grand River, as well as the townships of North Dumfries, Wellesley, Wilmot and Woolwich. KITCHENER CENTRE is that part of the City of Kitchener north of KITCHENER–CONESTOGA and south of Highland Road, Fischer Hallman Road and the Canadian National Railroad. KITCHENER–WATERLOO is the remaining northerly portion of the City of Kitchener together with the City of Waterloo.

Niagara Region and City of Hamilton

The main message from the hearing in St. Catharines was that there should be four electoral districts contained completely within the boundaries of the Regional Municipality of Niagara. Unfortunately, the population of the Niagara Region is only 410,574. The Commission was unable to accept the principle that the average population of the electoral districts in Niagara should be only 102,643. In any event, it had to be mindful of the facts that the population of the City of Hamilton is 490,268 and that there are no other adjoining areas whose residents appeared to want to be linked with either Hamilton or Niagara. This was made especially clear at the public hearing in Hamilton in the cases of the Township of Puslinch and the Aldershot portion of the City of Burlington.

If the Commission were to allocate four electoral districts to the Niagara Region, there would be no alternative but to allocate four electoral districts to the City of Hamilton. In such a case, the average population of the Hamilton electoral districts would be 122,567, a figure that is too high. Notwithstanding the obvious preferences of those from the Niagara Region who appeared before the Commission, there was no alternative but to establish one electoral district that straddles the Niagara-Hamilton border, thereby enabling the Commission to establish electoral districts in both municipal jurisdictions that are of roughly equal size.

The Commission learned at its hearing in St. Catharines that it was not advisable to link St. Catharines and Niagara-on-the-Lake, as suggested in its original proposals. The Commission also learned that the Niagara River is more of a focus of community of interest than is the easterly shoreline of Lake Ontario. In fact Mr. Bart Maves, Member of the Provincial Parliament, suggested that one possibility (not his first choice, however) was to link all of the municipalities along the river: Niagara-on-the-Lake, Niagara Falls and Fort Erie. Although this configuration is not ideal, in part because the total population is high at 120,797, the Commission decided, all things considered, that the establishment of this new electoral district of NIAGARA FALLS was the best alternative starting point for reconstructing electoral districts in Niagara and Hamilton.

Beginning in this way enabled the Commission to make only minor adjustments to ST. CATHARINES so as to increase its population: the electoral district is extended southward to include the area of the City of St. Catharines that is east of Twelve Mile Creek and north of Glendale Avenue.

Apart from having a different northerly boundary with the City of St. Catharines, the electoral district of WELLAND is as the Commission initially proposed: the southern portion of St. Catharines together with the cities of Port Colborne, Thorold and Welland, and the Township of Wainfleet.

The remaining portion of the western Niagara Region is largely rural. The Commission was urged at the hearing in St. Catharines to attempt to keep rural areas together as much as possible. It has therefore decided to link this area with the more rural areas of the City of Hamilton above the Niagara Escarpment, including the territory of the former Township of Glanbrook. Compared with the Commission’s original proposal for this area (which was called Hamilton–Lincoln), the electoral district of NIAGARA WEST–GLANBROOK contains fewer new suburban areas located within the City of Hamilton.

The area below the Escarpment within the former City of Stoney Creek is attached to the current electoral district of Hamilton East. Because the Commission was asked at the public hearing in Hamilton to maintain historic community names as much as possible, this new electoral district is called HAMILTON EAST–STONEY CREEK.

Because of the additional territory added to the east, the western boundary of HAMILTON EAST–STONEY CREEK becomes Ottawa Street. The existing electoral district of Hamilton West is shifted significantly eastward, causing some people to suggest to us that it should be called HAMILTON CENTRE. The Commission concurs.

The southern boundary of the current electoral district of Hamilton Mountain is the boundary between the old City of Hamilton and the former Township of Glanbrook. With very minor adjustments, the Commission has decided to maintain this boundary so as to reduce the suburban population from Hamilton within NIAGARA WEST–GLANBROOK, the electoral district to the south. On the northwest side of HAMILTON MOUNTAIN, the Commission has slightly modified the boundaries suggested in its original proposals. The northwestern boundaries are the Lincoln M. Alexander Parkway and West 5th Street.

There were conflicting views expressed at the Hamilton hearing as to what should happen to the Westdale area. The Commission originally proposed that it be removed from Hamilton West (now HAMILTON CENTRE). All things considered, the Commission saw no alternative but to maintain its original proposal with respect to Westdale. It is to be included in an electoral district comprising the rest of the City of Hamilton. The Commission agrees with presenters who suggested that it be called ANCASTER–DUNDAS–FLAMBOROUGH–WESTDALE.

Halton, Peel and Dufferin

Halton

At the public hearing in Mississauga, the Commission was asked by various individuals and groups from the Regional Municipality of Halton to establish four electoral districts entirely within its borders. Because the population of Halton is only 375,229, the Commission rejected this proposal. It also rejected a second-best alternative advanced by some presenters that Halton could have three electoral districts entirely within its boundaries. Having only three electoral districts would mean that residents of Halton would be significantly under-represented.

Numerous objections were made at the hearings about the Commission’s original proposal to split the Town of Halton Hills. The Commission has decided, as already noted in a previous section of this report, to keep Halton Hills together and to join it with the southern portion of Wellington County so as to create the electoral district of WELLINGTON–HALTON HILLS.

The Commission has decided to retain its original proposal to attach Aldershot to the electoral district of BURLINGTON despite suggestions from some presenters that solutions to problems elsewhere could be facilitated by maintaining the Aldershot portion of the City of Burlington within a Hamilton-based electoral district. The only other change to this electoral district is to follow a suggestion made at the hearing that Guelph Line be the north–south boundary between Dundas Street and Upper Middle Road rather than Highway No. 407.

The only change to the OAKVILLE electoral district is to add population by extending its boundary northward to Dundas Street for that part of its territory that is east of Eight Line. The Commission is using Eight Line rather than Trafalgar Road (its original proposal) to assist in equalizing the populations of the electoral districts in the area.

The remaining northerly portions of Burlington and Oakville are combined with the Town of Milton to create the electoral district of HALTON.

Peel and Dufferin

Initially the Commission proposed that there would be nine electoral districts for the entire Regional Municipality of Peel and that the Town of Caledon would be attached to a Brampton-based electoral district. This latter proposal sparked considerable opposition from both communities, causing the Commission to decide instead to join Caledon with Dufferin County creating the electoral district of DUFFERIN–CALEDON.

The populations of the cities of Mississauga and Brampton are 612,925 and 325,428 respectively. The City of Mississauga urged the Commission to establish six electoral districts entirely within its borders. The Commission could not accept this proposal because the average population of such electoral districts would be too low at 102,154. It could not accept the city’s second choice, that there be only five electoral districts entirely within its borders. The Commission was not prepared to accept the notion that the residents of Mississauga should be systematically under-represented by having electoral districts whose average population would be 122,585.

The Commission, therefore, had to work from the assumption that there would be at least one electoral district straddling the borders of Mississauga and the City of Brampton. This assumption meant that the Commission was unable to accept the otherwise acceptable proposal from the City of Brampton that it have three electoral districts entirely within its borders.

Fortunately for the Commission, a number of representations were made that there should be such an electoral district. Most such presentations urged that there be a new electoral district with borders similar to that of the current electoral district of Bramalea–Gore–Malton–Springdale. These presentations generally suggested that Malton and Springdale be kept together at the expense of splitting the Bramalea area. The Commission decided that it could best keep communities of interest together by joining the Malton area of Mississauga to the eastern part of Brampton, including all of Bramalea, to create the electoral district of BRAMALEA–GORE–MALTON.

The Commission also heard at the hearing in Mississauga that it should not split the traditional downtown area of Brampton centred around the intersection of Main and Queen streets. All of this area is now included in BRAMPTON WEST. Most of the rest of the City of Brampton forms the electoral district of BRAMPTON–SPRINGDALE.

The only way to avoid creating a second electoral district that straddles the border of Mississauga and Brampton is to split either Bramalea or downtown Brampton. But the Commission does not accept that this is a reasonable response. By establishing the Brampton electoral districts described above, the portion of Brampton south of Steeles Avenue between McLaughlin and Kennedy is joined with the north-central part of Mississauga to form the electoral district of PEEL CENTRE.

The Commission heard strong representations that the southern part of Mississauga on both sides of the Credit River should be kept together. The Commission has therefore decided to maintain the existing MISSISSAUGA SOUTH in its current configuration, with some minor extensions to its northerly boundary. The remaining electoral districts are shown on the accompanying maps. MISSISSAUGA–STREETSVILLE, MISSISSAUGA–ERINDALE and MISSISSAUGA–COOKSVILLE are all established in an attempt to keep traditional communities of interest in the area intact.

The legal descriptions of these electoral districts and the resulting maps are attached to this report.

Dated at Toronto, Ontario, this 14th day of March, 2003.

Honourable Mr. Justice Douglas Lissaman
Chairperson

Janet Hiebert
Member

Andrew Sancton
Member

CERTIFIED copy of the Report of the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Ontario.

Will Fripp
Commission Secretary

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