Northern Ontario could lose one House of Commons seat

The Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Ontario is proposing changes to the current ridings map based on the latest census results, including consolidating the current 10 northern districts into nine.

This means northern Ontario would have one less representative in the House of Commons.

Current electoral districts are based on census data from 2011 and after last year's results showed the province's population grew by more than 1.37 million people, the province's districts are being redrawn and will include an extra seat in Parliament for a total of 122.

Because northern Ontario's population only saw a 2.8 per cent growth over the last 10 years – from 831,984 to 855,138 --while the rest of the province grew by 11.2 per cent, the southern part of the province would gain the additional seat as well as pick up the seat being lost by the north.

In the proposal, the commission said although the population and voter parity mandate would allow for the region to lose two electoral districts in the northern region, it decided on reducing the number by one.

It is being recommended that Ontario's Far North become one electoral district called Kiiwetinnong-Mushkegowuk covering 520,307 kilometres, most of which does not have road access, and a population of mostly Indigenous Peoples.

"The commission concluded that any further reduction in the number of districts in the north would imperil the principle of effective representation in this part of the province, considering its widely dispersed population and communities of interest," the proposal said.

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This after Kenora was deemed an "extraordinary circumstance" district in 2012. This designation would shift to the new district.

With that, the boundary lines of the other eight districts in the northern region will be redrawn in the proposed redistribution plan. The Sudbury and Parry Sound – Muskoka ridings would essentially remain the same.

The proposal would see the elimination of the Algoma-Kapuskasing-Manitoulin riding with the communities being redistributed among three redrawn ridings.

Maps of the proposed and existing northern Ontario ridings. (CTV Northern Ontario)

NDP MP Carol Hughes has represented Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing since being first elected in 2008.

"That’s not a proposal that any of the MPs in northern Ontario, whether we’re liberal, conservative, NDP, or I’m sure other parties that run, would be in favour of," Hughes told CTV News.

"It’s very problematic for us to lose a voice here in northern Ontario only to give a voice to the southwest. In the bigger centres, they have access to public transportation, they have access to reliable internet, they have access to cell service that actually works compared us here in the north."

Liberal MP Marc Serre is in his third term as the MP for Nickel Belt.

"I think it’s very important to keep the ten seats in northern Ontario," Serre said.

The new riding of Manitoulin-Nickel Belt will include some of the current Greater Sudbury communities, but not others.

"But now, they took away Wanapitei, Conistion, Garson and Capreol and they gave it to the Sudbury riding. But then, they left the Valley, all of Valley East, and Azilda, Chelmsford, Onaping, Levack .. now they’re putting that into the Algoma: Elliot Lake, Espanola, and Manitoulin Island," Serre said.

Some of the proposed changes to the federal ridings include:

• The City of Kenora would become part of the Thunder Bay – Rainy River riding
• The James Bay coast will be part of the new Kiiwetinnong-Mushkegowuk riding
• The boundaries of the Sault Ste. Marie riding would extend north to include White River and Chapleau
• Kapuskasing would become part of the new Cochrane – Timmins  - Timiskaming riding
• Manitoulin Island and Elliot Lake would become part of the Nickel Belt riding
• The Nipissing District would become a stand-alone riding

"As previously noted, where a community of francophones represented a substantial percentage of a riding, the proposed boundaries ensure that their representation is not diluted or diminished within this redistribution plan," the commission said in the proposal.

PUBLIC INPUT

A series of in-person and online public hearings will be conducted this fall.

Here are the times and locations for the hearings:

• Oct. 3 at The Forest Inn & Conference Centre in Sioux Lookout
• Oct. 4 at 6:30 p.m. at Douglas Family Art Centre – The Muse in Kenora
• Oct. 11 at 6:30 p.m. at The Senator Hotel in Timmins
• Oct. 26 at 6:30 p.m. online, a link to be provided to participants at a later date
• Oct. 29 at 12 p.m. online, a link to be provided to participants at a later date

Request details on the virtual hearings here.

Submit your comments or suggestions about the proposal here.

"The new boundaries can only be put in place at a general election called at least seven months after the new electoral districts have been set," Elections Canada said on its website.

"We expect that the new federal electoral boundaries will take effect during a general election held after April 1, 2024, at the earliest."