Victoria – The BC Electoral Boundaries Commission has published its final report with recommendations to the Legislative Assembly for changing British Columbia’s provincial electoral districts.
The Commission’s recommendations include a proposal to create six additional electoral districts in areas of rapid population growth, bringing the total number of provincial ridings to 93 from the current 87.
Abbotsford would have Abbotsford-South, Abbotsford-West and Abbotsford-Mission. Chilliwack would be Chilliwack-North and Chilliwack-Cultus Lake.
“Our proposal to increase the number of electoral districts reflects our growing province,” said Justice Nitya Iyer, chair of the Commission. “We do not recommend reducing the number of ridings in more sparsely populated areas of the province because doing so would undermine effective representation.”
The Commission recommends adjustments to the boundaries of 72 electoral districts and changes to 41 electoral district names based on the geographic, demographic, and communication and transportation considerations set out in the Electoral Boundaries Commission Act.
“We learned a great deal from our initial and final public consultations,” said Iyer. “In total, we held 63 public meetings in 44 communities and received more than 2,000 submissions. We wish to thank wholeheartedly the many British Columbians who took the time to share their views with us. Your input was invaluable in shaping our understanding of our complex and diverse province.”
The publication of the final report marks the end of the Commission’s process. It is now the responsibility of the Legislative Assembly to decide whether to accept all, some or none of the Commission’s recommendations.
