The 2017 report of the Electoral Boundaries Commission was tabled today in the P.E.I. legislature, which details the changes coming to voting districts.
The commission concluded that, with the exception of Evangeline-Miscouche, all districts in P.E.I. require some adjusting to get their population to within 10 per cent of the provincial average number of voters for 27 districts.
Related: Read the boundaries commission report
Several of P.E.I’s ridings have become more than 25 per cent above or below the population average, which is forbidden by the Electoral Boundaries Act.
The commission held 14 public meetings across the province and invited written submissions, but attendance and public input was low. Only 206 Islanders attended the 14 public meetings and only 22 written submissions were received.
Of the input that was submitted, major concerns were raised about the continued centralization of the province’s population. This trend was used as both an argument in favour and against electoral boundary changes.
“Communities experiencing population growth seek greater parity of voting power,” the commission states in its report.
“On the other hand, people from areas suffering population declines believe significant increases in the size of their electoral districts will only worsen the problems they have with access to government and service now.”
Related: Illegal districts on P.E.I.: Boundaries map under review
In the end, the commission took the view that dividing the districts should not simply be a numbers game, agreeing with the idea that proper rural representation justifies some deviation from parity when it comes to the number electors in a district.
“As a result, some proposed districts are not as large and others are not as small as would be the case if parity and population trends were the only factors to be considered,” the report states.
Some of the biggest changes are in rural districts in eastern P.E.I. Souris-Elmira is getting bigger in both boundary lines and in population and
District 2 Georgetown-St. Peters will become Georgetown-Pownal with a whole new set of communities.
District 6 Stratford-Kinlock, which is currently the largest electoral district with 5,317 registered electors, will become Stratford-Keppoch with a smaller number of voters. Surrounding districts have been redrawn as well - District 5 will become Mermaid-Stratford, District 7 will become
Morell-Donagh, District 8 will be Stanhope-Marshfield and District 9 will become Charlottetown-Hillsborough Park.
Some city ridings in Summerside and Charlottetown were also changed to reflect population changes in the province’s two cities.
Evangeline-Miscouche will remain a smaller district to preserve the Acadian heritage and culture within this riding.
The report’s recommendations are binding and will come into effect for the next provincial election.
New Electoral Districts
The following is a list of the names of the proposed districts, the number of electors in each, and the percentage variance from the provincial average, which is about 3,600 voters:
1. Souris - Elmira, 3,582 electors (-3.1 per cent)
2. Georgetown - Pownal, 3,644 (-1.4)
3. Montague - Kilmuir, 3,571 (-3.4)
4. Belfast - Murray River, 3,509 (-5.1)
5. Mermaid - Stratford, 3,597 (-2.7)
6. Stratford - Keppoch, 3,593 (-2.8)
7. Morell - Donagh, 3,690 (-0.2)
8. Stanhope - Marshfield, 3,577 (-3.2)
9. Charlottetown - Hillsborough Park, 3,898 (+5.45)
10. Charlottetown - Winsloe, 4,028 (+9.0)
11. Charlottetown - Belvedere, 3,972 (+7.4)
12. Charlottetown - Victoria Park, 4,019 (+8.7)
13. Charlottetown - Brighton, 4,014 (+8.6)
14. Charlottetown - West Royalty, 4,032 (+9.1)
15. Brackley - Hunter River, 3,609 (-2.4)
16. Cornwall - Meadowbank, 3,853 (+4.2)
17. New Haven - Rocky Point, 3,719 (+0.6)
18. Rustico - Emerald, 3,794 (+2.6)
19. Borden - Kinkora, 3,718 (+0.6)
20. Kensington - Malpeque, 3,890 (+5.2)
21. Summerside - Wilmot, 4,048 (+9.5)
22. Summerside - South Drive, 4,044 (+9.4)
23. Tyne Valley - Sherbrooke, 3,613 (-2.3)
24. Evangeline - Miscouche, 2,925 (-21.9)
25. O’Leary - Inverness, 3,353 (-9.3)
26. Alberton - Bloomfield, 3,346 (-9.5)
27. Tignish - Palmer Road, 3,367 (-8.9)
Source: 2017 P.E.I. Electoral Boundaries Commission.
