CONSTITUTION AND OPERATION OF COMMISSIONS
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The federal electoral districts in each province are redistributed after every decennial census, to reflect any changes and shifts in the population and to ensure that there is effective representation in the House of Commons. There are 10 commissions. As the Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut each have only one electoral district, there is no need for a commission.
Each commission shall consist of three members: a chair who is a judge appointed by the Chief Justice of the province in question, and the other two appointed by the Speaker of the House of Commons. The commissions are independent of the government. Their task is to redraw a province’s electoral map to ensure, as closely as is reasonably possible, that each electoral district has approximately the same number of voters. This is achieved by dividing the total population in the province by the number of seats it has in Parliament. The result is called the “electoral quota” or “electoral quotient”. For example, the population of Alberta was 2,974,807 in the 2001 census for a total of 28 seats in Parliament. Each electoral district should therefore have corresponded as closely as possible to the provincial quotient of 106,243.
Under the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act, each commission must also take the following factors into consideration in carrying out the redistribution: (i) the community of interest, the community of identity or the historical pattern of an electoral district and (ii) a concern to maintain a manageable geographic size for districts in sparsely populated regions. This act prescribes a maximum deviation of 25% between the population within an electoral district and the electoral quotient established for the province. The 25% range can only be exceeded in circumstances viewed by the commission as being extraordinary, and it must provide a rationale for doing so.
Each commission proposes an initial electoral map, which is published in the Canada Gazette and in at least one newspaper of general circulation in the province prior to the start of hearings, in order to learn about citizens’ opinions concerning the proposals. Following the public hearings, the commissions table a report in Parliament for study by the MPs. The commissions then review any objections from MPs and make a final decision within a prescribed time period.
The Chief Electoral Officer then submits a draft Representation Order to Parliament which includes the following information: the number of federal members of Parliament to be elected in each province; the number of electoral districts for each province; the limits of each district including its total population; as well as the name of each district. The order is brought into force by proclamation of the Governor in Council within five days of its being sent to Parliament.
