Have your say in Barrie’s ward boundary review

Barrie City Hall wants residents ideas re its ward boundary review process. Wed., March 26, 2025.

To ensure fair representation at city council, Barrie’s wards should have equal populations.

But since Barrie’s population has been steadily increasing – a nearly 12 per cent increase since the last review of ward boundaries in 2013 – the city wants to know if it’s time to pencil in some new boundaries.

In effect, the 2021 census reports Barrie has about 153,000 residents, so city councillors must decide whether to maintain the current ward structure or adopt a new one.

The Ward Boundary Review Public Feedback Survey will help review consultants understand how Barrie citizens view the current electoral arrangement.

City staff are asking for your wisdom and insight to enable the consulting team to provide recommendations to city council.

The survey is open until Friday at midnight.

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A brief history of the electoral system

• 1959: Barrie became a City
• 1870: Barrie was incorporated as a Town
• 1982: Barrie has been governed by a council of 11 members (10 councillors and the Mayor elected at-large).
• 1995: The current 10-ward system was established, with one councillor elected from each ward.
• 2013: The last ward boundary review was conducted to achieve greater population parity.