HALIFAX: The Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission of Nova Scotia is calling for the formation of the new riding of Cape Breton-Canso-Antigonish.
According to a report submitted by the commission last week, the new federal electoral district would take in Antigonish town and county, the Municipality of the District of Guysborough, as well as Inverness, Richmond, and Victoria counties.
Also included in this proposal are rural parts of the Cape Breton Regional Municipality, putting the population of the new configuration at 75,141.
According to a press release issued on Nov. 17, the commission said its aim was to bring the populations of most of the 11 electoral districts in Nova Scotia “within a closer range,” which resulted in “significant adjustments to the existing boundaries.”
“When drawing the boundaries for the 11 electoral districts, we received advice from many citizens and organizations across the province,” said Cindy A. Bourgeois, chair of the three-member commission. “As a result, the commission made a number of changes to the initial proposal. The commission is satisfied that it has balanced its statutory obligations with the views of the people of Nova Scotia in striving for the goal of effective representation.”
The commission said the report was tabled in the House of Commons on Nov. 17, then sent to the Speaker of the House of Commons through the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada. They said the report will be reviewed by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs.
As it is mandated to do every 10 years, the commission started its review in February, using the 2021 Census population counts
Bourgeois said the commission had to distribute 969,383 people among 11 ridings in Nova Scotia, which comes out to an average of 88,126 people in each riding.
Among the considerations for the commission was voting parity, history, existing boundaries, and they looked at the current Cape Breton-Canso riding which has a population around 71,000, while Sydney-Victoria has a total of 72,000, Bourgeois noted.
With parts of the Strait area, like Antigonish town and county, experiencing population growth, while outmigration trends have subsided in other parts of the region, Bourgeois said those trends had to be put in context against population growth in other parts of Nova Scotia.
Aside from the numbers, Bourgeois said there are also First Nation communities to consider in both Cape Breton ridings.
The commission announced in April that it was starting the public consultation phase.
On May 31, Antigonish Town Hall hosted one of nine in-person public hearings across the province held by the commission.
At the time, the commission was proposing the formation of a new riding to be called Cape Breton-Antigonish, with a population of 84,999 that took in the counties of Antigonish and Richmond, the Municipality of the District of Guysborough, Inverness County, south of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park, as well as communities within Cape Breton Regional Municipality that are in the Cape Breton-Canso riding.
Led by Bourgeois, the commission also consisted of Louise Carbert, Associate Professor of Political Science at Dalhousie University, and David Johnson, Political Science Professor at Cape Breton University.
To consult the report, visit: redistribution2022.ca.