North loses two ridings in federal redistribution plan

Northern MPs react to proposed riding changes Members of Parliament in northern Ontario voiced their concerns over proposed changes to riding boundaries.

Northern Ontario has lost two of its 10 federal electoral ridings, with many of the remaining nine being rejigged to incorporate new areas.

Gone is the riding of Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing, currently represented by New Democrat MP Carol Hughes.

Here are some of the major changes that affect northern Ontario:

- Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing has been incorporated into new ridings of Sault Ste. Marie-Algoma, Manitoulin-Nickel Belt and Kapuskasing-Timmins-Mushkegowuk.

- The northwestern tip of the riding has been placed into Thunder-Superior North riding.

- The western parts of the Sudbury riding have been added to Manitoulin-Nickel Belt, while eastern areas such as Garson and Skead have been added to Sudbury.

- Nipissing-Timiskaming has been extended north as far as Englehart.

The new electoral boundaries are the culmination of a long process by the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Ontario, which included consultations across northern Ontario.

The changes are directly related to population growth and a mandate to ensure each riding has a similar population base. Surging population growth in southern Ontario contrasts with slow decline in many areas of the north.

“Each electoral district shall, as close as reasonably possible, correspond to the provincial electoral quota,” said the commission’s report.

“The quota is the total population divided by the number of districts. For 2022, the quota for Ontario is 116,590.”

The goal is to have each riding with a population within 25 per cent of the quota, unless there are exceptional circumstances. Three ridings in northwestern Ontario qualify as exceptional: Kenora-Kiiwetinoong (population 61,962), Thunder Bay-Rainy River (82,357) and Thunder Bay-Superior North (86,147).

Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus tweeted Friday that the commission disregarded northerner’s input.

“The (commission) ignored the calls of business groups, communities, First Nations from across northern Ontario,” Angus said.

“They claim northern Ontario is overrepresented because we aren’t growing as fast as the urban south. They cut a riding from the north and gave it to the south.”

Angus told CTV’s Lydia Chubak the commission created massive ridings for one person to try and serve.

‘SUPER RIDINGS’

“They’ve killed the Nickel Belt riding and they’ve created a whole bunch of new super ridings,” he said.

“For me, I look at the riding that they’ve created and yeah, we’ve got connections there and yes we can find a way to do it but, geez who’s going to run for office in northern Ontario when the ridings are already big and now they’ve just been made bigger?”

For her part, Hughes said the report favours southern Ontario.

“If I look again at Brampton, which was gaining an extra MP, (that’s) five MPS for a riding that is just so small,” she said.

“(It’s) is really not acceptable to us to lose an MP and these ridings.”

Nickel Belt MP Marc Serré said his massive riding just got bigger.

“Now they added Manitoulin, so now I’ve got another four-hour drive from home to Manitoulin Island,” Serré said.

“So the bad news is there’s less representation, less money to northern Ontario.”

The report itself said that the lack of population growth compared to southern Ontario drove the changes.

“As previously described, the population growth between northern Ontario and the remainder of Ontario is starkly different: 2.8 per cent compared to 11.2 per cent, respectively,” the report said.

MISMATCH IN POPULATION GROWTH

“This mismatch in population growth, and the addition of only one seat to all of Ontario, has led to all districts in northern Ontario falling further below the quota. Indeed, if 10 districts were maintained in northern Ontario, the average district population would be just 85,513, or 73 per cent of the Quota (whereas in 2012 it was 78 per cent of the quota).”

The loss of seats follows a pattern. Northern Ontario had 11 seats until a similar process in 2011-2012 reduced it to 10, and now nine.

“The problem of slow population growth in the north is one confronting Franco-Ontarians and other population groups in the region,” the report said.

“As discussed, it is this overall pattern of slow growth relative to the rest of the province that necessitates removing one seat from this region.”

Read the full report in PDF form here.

- With files from CTVNorthernOntario.ca journalist Lydia Chubak