Table of Contents Show
In this article, our prime focus will be on the following points:
- What exactly are electoral districts?
- Definition of Electoral districts in Canada?
- The number of electoral districts in Canada.
- Federal electoral districts in Canada.
- Determination of electoral districts in Canada.
- Electoral Boundaries Commission.
What are Electoral Districts?
An electoral district is also an election district or a voting district. It is a subdivision of a country or a larger state meant to provide a representation of that area in its legislative assembly. This legislative body defines the boundary of the district and whether or not a single member or several members would represent the district.
In most cases, during the occurrence of the election, only the voters belonging to that particular district or area are allowed to participate in the election and the voting procedure.
The other section will deal with a specific definition of Electoral districts and several Federal Electoral districts in Canada.
What are electoral districts in Canada?
In Canada, a voting district or an election district is a geographical faction on which the representative democracy of Canada is built. In English, Canada’s electoral districts are also called ridings or constituencies.
The word Ridings was coined in 2013 representation order. In Canada, there is a total of 338 electoral districts/ridings, which came into effect in 2015. The Canadian electoral districts help elect and determine the members of Parliament to Canada’s House of commons in every election.
The electoral districts in Canada and Canada’s electoral system are termed the First-past-the-post system.
Note: Results have been taken according to which the word Riding is no longer used officially as the usage of the term has become more common and neutral.
Federal Electoral District
The Federal electoral district is an area/region/province represented by a House of Commons member. Federal Electoral District Boundary Files display the federal electoral district boundaries for which census data is dispersed via different publications.
The federal electoral district boundaries used for the census are established on the Representation order in effect on January 1st of the census year. The files have information about the boundaries of the federal electoral districts, which combine to cover all of Canada.
In the federal electoral district boundary files, there are two types of files, digital and cartographic files. The digital files have information regarding the geographical areas. The Cartographic files depict the geographical areas restricted to Canada’s land mass.
The Canadians, in general, common to the certain province, can vote for their representation. The elected member at the end of the result is responsible for the region’s development and providing services to the Canadians. The list of the recognized electoral district in Canada are mentioned below:
How many electoral districts are there in Canada?
Since 2015, a total number of 338 electoral districts have been recognized in Canada.
The list of the federal electoral district of Canada is given below, along with the number of seats per province.
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador form the eastern province of Canada. The Newfoundland and Labrador region has 7 seats (1 seat per area).
1. Avalon
2. Bonavista-Burin-Trinity
3. Coast of Bays-Central-Notre Dame
4. Labrador
5. Long Range Mountains
6. St. John’s East
7. St. John’s South-Mount Pearl
Nova Scotia
The Nova Scotia region is one of thirteen provinces of Canada. It offers 11 electoral districts (11 seats, 1 seat per district). The list of the electoral districts in the Nova Scotia region is given below. The list of the regions is given below:
1. Cape Breton-Canso
2. Central Nova
3. Cumberland-Colchester
4. Dartmouth- Cole Harbor
5. Halifax
6. Halifax West
7. Kings-Hants
8. Sackville-Preston-Chezzetcook
9. South Shore-St. Margarets
10. Sydney-Victoria
11. West Nova
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is located in the Eastern portion of Canada’s maritime provinces. It has a total of 4 seats.
1. Cardigan
2. Charlottetown
3. Egmont
4. Malpeque
New Brunswick
It is one of thirteen provinces of Canada and one of three Maritime provinces. The New Brunswick region constitutes 10 electoral districts in Canada.
1. Acadie-Bathurst
2. Beausejour
3. Fredericton
4. Fundy Royal
5. Madawaska-Restigouche
6. Miramichi-Grand Lake
7. Moncton-Riverview-Dieppe
8. New Brunswick Southwest
9. Saint John-Rothesay
10. Tobique-Mactaquac
Manitoba
Manitoba is a province of Canada which shares its borders with Ontario in the East and Saskatchewan in the West. It can be divided into rural and urban regions. The rural subdivision offers 6 seats, and the urban region has 8 seats.
- Rural
- Brandon-Souris
- Churchill-Keewatinook Aski
- Dauphin-Swan River-Neepawa
- Portage-Lisgar
- Provencher
- Selkirk-Interlake-Eastman
2. Winnipeg
- Charleswood-St. James-Assiniboia-Headingley
- Elmwood-Transcona
- Kildonan-St. Paul
- Saint Boniface-Saint Vital
- Winnipeg Centre
- Winnipeg North
- Winnipeg South
- Winnipeg South Centre
Yukon
Yukon is one of the Northwest Territories in Canada. It offers only one electoral district for the elections.
1. Yukon
Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories are federal electoral districts represented in the House of Commons.
1. Northwest Territories
Nunavut
It is a huge but less populated region in Northern Canada. It offers only one seat in Canada’s elections.
1. Nunavut
British Columbia
British Columbia is the Westernmost province in Canada. The British Columbia province has about 42 electoral districts in Canada.
1. Abbotsford
2. Burnaby North-Seymour
3. Burnaby South
4. Cariboo-Prince George
5. Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola
6. Chilliwack-Hope
7. Cloverdale-Langley City
8. Coquitlam-Port Coquitlam
9. Courtenay-Alberni
10. Cowichan-Malahat-Langford
11. Delta
12. Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke
13. Fleetwood-Port Kells
14. Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo
15. Kelowna-Lake Country
16. Kootenay-Columbia
17. Langley-Aldergrove
18. Mission-Matsqui-Fraser Canyon
19. Nanaimo-Ladysmith
20. New Westminster-Burnaby
21. North Island- Powell River
22. North Okanagan-Shuswap
23. North Vancouver
24. Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge
25. Port Moody-Coquitlam
26. Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies
27. Richmond Centre
28. Saanich-Gulf Islands
29. Skeena-Bulkley Valley
30. South Okanagan-West Kootenay
31. South Surrey-White Rock
32. Steveston-Richmond East
33. Surrey Centre
34. Surrey-Newton
35. Vancouver Centre
36. Vancouver East
37. Vancouver Granville
38. Vancouver Kingsway
39. Vancouver Quadra
40. Vancouver South
41. Victoria
42. West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada situated in the country’s western area. As of now, the number of ridings in Alberta is 34.
1. Banff-Airdrie
2. Battle River- Crowfoot
3. Bow River
4. Calgary Centre
5. Calgary Confederation
6. Calgary Forest Lawn
7. Calgary Heritage
8. Calgary Midnapore
9. Calgary Nose Hill
10. Calgary Rocky Ridge
11. Calgary Shepard
12. Calgary Signal Hill
13. Calgary Skyview
14. Edmonton Centre
15. Edmonton Griesbach
16. Edmonton Manning
17. Edmonton Mill Woods
18. Edmonton Riverbend
19. Edmonton Strathcona
20. Edmonton West
21. Edmonton-Wetaskiwin
22. Foothills
23. Fort McMurray-Cold Lake
24. Grande Prairie-Mackenzie
25. Lakeland
26. Lethbridge
27. Medicine Hat-Cardston-Warner
28. Peace River-Westlock
29. Red Deer-Lacombe
30. Red Deer-Mountain View
31. Sherwood Park-Fort Saskatchewan
32. St. Albert Edmonton
33. Sturgeon River-Parkland
34. Yellowhead
Ontario
Ontario is the largest province in Canada. It is situated in east-central Canada and shares its borders with the U.S. and the Great Lakes. Ottawa, the capital of Canada, is located in Ontario. Ontario determines the winning party in Canada’s elections and has 121 electoral districts in Canada.
- Ajax
- Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing
- Aurora-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing
- Barrie-Innisfil
- Barrie-Springwater-Oro-Medonte
- Bay of Quinte
- Beaches-East York
- Brampton Centre
- Brampton East
- Brampton North
- Brampton South
- Brampton West
- Brantford-Brant
- Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound
- Burlington
- Cambridge
- Carleton
- Chatham-Kent-Leamington
- Davenport
- Don Valley East
- Don Valley North
- Don Valley West
- Dufferin-Caledon
- Durham
- Eglinton-Lawrence
- Elgin-Middlesex-London
- Essex
- Etobicoke Centre
- Etobicoke Lakeshore
- Etobicoke North
- Flamborough-Glanbrook
- Glengarry-Prescott-Russell
- Guelph
- Haldimand-Norfolk
- Haldimand-Kawartha Lakes-Brock
- Hamilton Centre
- Hamilton East-Stoney Creek
- Hamilton Mountain
- Hamilton West-Ancaster-Dundas
- Hastings-Lennox and Addington
- Humber River-Black Creek
- Huron-Bruce
- Kanata-Carleton
- Kenora
- King-Vaughan
- Kingston and the Islands
- Kitchener Centre
- Kitchener-Conestoga
- Kitchener South-Hespeler
- Lambton-Kent-Middlesex
- Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston
- Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes
- London-Fanshawe
- London North Centre
- London West
- Markham-Stouffville
- Markham-Thornhill
- Markham-Unionville
- Milton
- Mississauga Centre
- Mississauga East-Cooksville
- Mississauga-Erin Mills
- Mississauga-Lakeshore
- Mississauga-Malton
- Mississauga-Streetsville
- Nepean
- Newmarket-Aurora
- Niagara Centre
- Niagara Falls
- Niagara West
- Nickel Belt
- Nipissing-Timiskaming
- Northumberland-Peterborough South
- Oakville
- Oakville North-Burlington
- Orleans
- Oshawa
- Ottawa Centre
- Ottawa South
- Ottawa-Vanier
- Ottawa West-Nepean
- Oxford
- Parkdale-High Park
- Parry Sound-Muskoka
- Perth-Wellington
- Peterborough-Kawartha
- Pickering-Uxbridge
- Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke
- Richmond Hill
- St, Catharines
- Sarnia-Lambton
- Sault Ste. Marie
- Scarborough-Agincourt
- Scarborough Centre
- Scarborough-Guildwood
- Scarborough North
- Scarborough-Rouge Park
- Scarborough Southwest
- Simcoe-Grey
- Simcoe North
- Spadina-Fort York
- Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry
- Sudbury
- Thornhill
- Thunder Bay-Rainy River
- Thunder Bay-Superior North
- Timmins-James Bay
- Toronto Centre
- Toronto-Danforth
- Toronto-St, Paul’s
- University-Rosedale
- Vaughan-Woodbridge
- Waterloo
- Wellington-Halton Hills
- Whitby
- Willowdale
- Windsor-Tecumseh
- Windsor West
- York Centre
- York-Simcoe
- York South-Weston
Quebec
- Abitibi—Baie-James—Nunavik—Eeyou
- Abitibi—Témiscamingue
- Ahuntsic-Cartierville
- Alfred-Pellan
- Argenteuil—La Petite-Nation
- Avignon—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia
- Beauce
- Beauport—Côte-de-Beaupré—Île d’Orléans—Charlevoix
- Beauport—Limoilou
- Bécancour—Nicolet—Saurel
- Bellechasse—Les Etchemins—Lévis
- Beloeil—Chambly
- Berthier—Maskinongé
- Bourassa
- Brome—Missisquoi
- Brossard—Saint-Lambert
- Charlesbourg—Haute-Saint-Charles
- Châteauguay—Lacolle
- Chicoutimi—Le Fjord
- Compton—Stanstead
- Dorval—Lachine—LaSalle
- Drummond
- Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine
- Gatineau
- Hochelaga
- Honoré-Mercier
- Hull—Aylmer
- Joliette
- Jonquière
- La Pointe-de-l’Île
- La Prairie
- Lac-Saint-Jean
- Lac-Saint-Louis
- LaSalle—Émard—Verdun
- Laurentides—Labelle
- Laurier—Sainte-Marie
- Laval—Les Îles
- Lévis—Lotbinière
- Longueuil—Charles-LeMoyne
- Longueuil—Saint-Hubert
- Louis-Hébert
- Louis-Saint-Laurent
- Manicouagan
- Marc-Aurèle-Fortin
- Mégantic—L’Érable
- Mirabel
- Montarville
- Montcalm
- Montmagny—L’Islet—Kamouraska—Rivière-du-Loup
- Mount Royal
- Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Westmount
- Outremont
- Papineau
- Pierre-Boucher—Les Patriotes—Verchères
- Pierrefonds—Dollard
- Pontiac
- Portneuf—Jacques-Cartier
- Québec
- Repentigny
- Richmond—Arthabaska
- Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques
- Rivière-des-Mille-Îles
- Rivière-du-Nord
- Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie
- Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot
- Saint-Jean
- Saint-Laurent
- Saint-Léonard—Saint-Michel
- Saint-Maurice—Champlain
- Salaberry—Suroît
- Shefford
- Sherbrooke
- Terrebonne
- Thérèse-De Blainville
- Trois-Rivières
- Vaudreuil—Soulanges
- Ville-Marie—Le Sud-Ouest—Île-des-Sœurs
- Vimy
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a Canadian province that shares its borders with the United States to the south.
- Battlefords—Lloydminster
- Carlton Trail—Eagle Creek
- Cypress Hills—Grasslands
- Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River
- Moose Jaw—Lake Centre—Lanigan
- Prince Albert
- Regina—Lewvan
- Regina—Qu’Appelle
- Regina—Wascana
- Saskatoon—Grasswood
- Saskatoon—University
- Saskatoon West
- Souris—Moose Mountain
- Yorkton—Melville
How are electoral districts determined in Canada?
Canada election: How are federal electoral districts determined
In this section, we have attached a YouTube video on how the determination of electoral district takes place in Canada.
Concerning the Constitution of Canada, the federal electoral boundaries are reviewed every 10 years based on the recent census to present Canada’s population with time. During the change period, independent electoral boundaries commissions were created for each province because of their confined population and the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act.
Each of these committees has three keys, one judge who chairs the commission and two members appointed by the speaker of the House of Commons. The key criteria for the determination of the boundaries are population equality. The rest criteria, such as communities of interest or identity, historical patterns of previous limits, and manageable geographic size, are considered too.
After this, a public hearing is held for the public’s participation in the process.
One important aspect of determining the Electoral district is the Electoral boundaries commissions.
Electoral Boundaries Commissions
The present electoral boundaries commission was established on October 21, 2021. These Electoral Boundaries Commissions are established and changed after every two general elections. This is a three-person, independent and non-partisan commission.
The commission recommends changes to the area, boundaries and names of different British Columbia provincial electoral districts. This ensures that each MLA and hence, later, the governor can represent a similar number of people.
The Legislative Assembly reviews the commission’s recommendations and votes to accept them, reject them, or approve them with changed ideas. If the commission’s proposals are approved or altered, the government must introduce them as a Bill.
Role of Quebec in Canada’s Federal elections
Role of Quebec in Canada’s Federal Elections
Quebec is a province that has 78 electoral districts in Canada. It is the second-largest province after Ontario. A video describing the situation in Quebec, Canada, has been attached for further information.
The French media, which is Quebec-centric, generally affects voting habits in Quebec. In general, the largest province, Ontario, decides which party will govern, whereas the province of Quebec decides if the party gets a majority.
Conclusion
This article talked about the Electoral districts in Canada, with a major emphasis on the boundary commissions and determining factors. In general, Canada is a huge country divided into several electoral districts that determine the country’s election system.
Last Updated on by Priyanshi Sharma
