Research publications

Contents

• Executive Summary
• 1 Introduction
• 2 How Seats Are Allocated to the Provinces in the House of Commons
  • 2.1 Legal Basis
  • 2.2 Rules for Allocating Seats to Provinces
  • 2.3 Results of the 2021 House of Commons Seat Readjustment
• 3 Readjusting Electoral Boundaries Within Each Province
  • 3.1 Federal Electoral Boundaries Commissions
  • 3.2 Rules for Determining Electoral Boundaries
  • 3.3 Establishing Names of Electoral Districts
• 4 Key Steps in the Redistribution and Readjustment Process
• 5 Noteworthy Jurisprudence
  • 5.1 Reference Re Provincial Electoral Boundaries (Sask.)
  • 5.2 Raîche V. Canada (Attorney General)
• Appendix A – Section 51(1): Six Rules For Readjusting Representation in The House of Commons
• Appendix B – Mathematical Calculations for Applying the Representation Rule in 2021
• Notes

Executive Summary

After each decennial census – the federally run count of Canada’s total population that occurs every 10 years – the number of members of the House of Commons and the representation of each province are adjusted according to the rules found in section 51 of the Constitution Act, 1867.

The chief electoral officer (CEO) makes a calculation to determine the number of members of the House allotted to each of Canada’s 10 provinces; this calculation is mathematical, and therefore the CEO cannot exercise any discretion in the matter.

Further, Canada’s three territories are assigned one seat each under section 51(2) of the Act and are thereby excluded from the readjustment process.

Under the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act, an independent, three member electoral boundaries commission must be established for each province. The mandate of these commissions is to consider and report on the division of their province into electoral districts, the description of the boundaries and the name of each electoral district.

The Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act also sets out the rules that govern the division of a province into electoral districts. The population of each electoral district in a province must correspond as closely as possible to the electoral quota for that province, which is the figure obtained by dividing the population of the province by the number of members of the House of Commons to be allocated to it under section 51 of the Constitution Act, 1867.

In setting the boundaries of an electoral district, each commission is legally obliged to take into account communities of interest, communities of identity and the historical pattern of an electoral district. In addition, electoral districts must have a manageable geographic size, especially sparsely populated, rural or northern regions.

A commission may depart from the provincial electoral quota by plus or minus 25% in order to respect a community of interest, a community of identity or the historical pattern of an electoral district, or to maintain the manageable geographic size of sparsely populated districts. In circumstances that a commission views as extraordinary, the variance from the electoral quota may exceed 25%. 

In conducting its work, a commission is required to hold at least one public meeting to hear representations by interested persons. Once the public hearings conclude, each commission prepares a report on the boundaries and names of the electoral districts of the province. These reports are tabled in the House of Commons and referred to its Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs (PROC). Members of the House have 30 calendar days after tabling to file objections to the proposals contained in any of these reports.

PROC then has the next 30 sitting days to consider the objections, unless an extension is granted by the House. Reports on members’ objections prepared by PROC are referred back to the relevant commissions, after which each commission must, within the next 30 calendar days, consider the merits of any objection and prepare its final report.

Once all the commission reports have been finalized, the CEO prepares a draft representation order setting out the boundaries and names of the new electoral districts. This is sent to the Governor in Council who, within five days, must proclaim the new representation order to be in force for any general election that is called seven months after the proclamation is issued.

1 Introduction

After each decennial census, Canada’s House of Commons readjusts both the number of members who represent each province and the boundaries of every provincial electoral district.

For their part, Canada’s three territories are assigned one seat each in the House under the Constitution Act, 18671 and are consequently excluded from the readjustment process.

The chief electoral officer (CEO) is responsible for calculating the number of members of the House allotted to each province; given that this calculation is mathematical, the CEO cannot exercise any discretion in the matter.

The work of readjusting electoral boundaries is carried out in each province by an independent and neutral three-member electoral boundaries commission.

This paper describes the formula used for determining how seats are allotted to each province and the work conducted by the commissions to readjust and name each provincial electoral district.

2 How Seats Are Allocated to the Provinces in the House of Commons

2.1 Legal Basis

The legal basis for redistributing seats in the House of Commons is found in section 51 of the Constitution Act, 18672 which vests the authority, manner and time frame for seat readjustments in the Parliament of Canada.

This redistribution process takes place after each decennial census and involves only the 10 provinces; as mentioned, Canada’s three territories are assigned one seat each in the House under section 51(2) of the Constitution Act, 1867.3 

Further, the federal Parliament possesses the power to amend the constitutional formula for assigning the number of members seated in the House of Commons. Section 44 of the Constitution Act, 19824 grants Parliament the power to act alone (i.e., without provincial consent) to make laws that amend the Constitution of Canada concerning the executive government of Canada or the Senate and House of Commons. However, this power does not apply to the constitutional matters delineated in sections 41 and 42 of the Constitution Act, 19825 which are subject to separate amending formulas.

Section 52 of the Constitution Act, 1867 adds that Parliament may act alone to increase the number of seats in the House of Commons provided that the principle of proportionate representation of the provinces in the House is not disturbed.6

2.2 Rules for Allocating Seats to Provinces

The formula for assigning seats in the House of Commons to Canada’s 10 provinces is set out in sections 51(1), 51(1.1) and 51A of the Constitution Act, 1867. Section 51(1) contains the six rules put in place through the Fair Representation Act,7 which became law in December 2011. Bill C-14, An Act to amend the Constitution Act, 1867 (electoral representation) amended rule 2 in June 2022.

Currently, a province can be allocated its share of seats in the House according to four mechanisms that stem from the six rules mentioned above.8 The mechanism or combination of mechanisms that grants the province its highest number of seats is the one that applies to that province. These mechanisms are:

• Rapid comparative provincial population growth: a province can be allocated its final seat tally by dividing that province’s population as at 1 July of the decennial census year, by the electoral quotient set out in section 51 which represents the average riding population in Canada;
• The senatorial clause, section 51A of the Constitution Act, 1867: a province cannot have fewer seats in the House of Commons than it has senators who represent that province. This mechanism acts as a floor below which the seat count of a province cannot fall;
• The amended grandfather clause, or a province’s seat allocation during the 43^rd Parliament (2019–2021): the number of seats allocated to a province cannot fall below the number of seats it had during the 43^rd Parliament (2019–2021). This mechanism also acts a seat-count floor; and
• The representation rule, or the combined application of rules 3 and 4 of section 51 of the Constitution Act, 1867: a province can receive an additional number of seats as close as possible to the difference between its share of seats in the House and its share of the total population of all 10 provinces, without going below this difference.

2.3 Results of the 2021 House of Commons Seat Readjustment

The application of the rules found in sections 51(1), 51(1.1) and 51A of the Constitution Act, 1867 determines the number of members in the House of Commons and the representation for each province. Table 1 shows the results of the 2021 seat readjustment.

3 Readjusting Electoral Boundaries Within Each Province

The Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act9 (EBRA) governs the process that occurs at each decennial census for readjusting federal electoral districts (also called a constituency or riding) within a province. As part of this process, each provincial electoral district is assigned a name.

3.1 Federal Electoral Boundaries Commissions

The electoral boundaries for each province are set by an independent, neutral three member commission, comprising:

• a chairperson who must be a currently presiding judge from that province.10 This person is appointed by the province’s chief justice; and
• two members who must be resident in that province and deemed suitable for appointment by the Speaker of the House of Commons.

The EBRA specifies that no sitting federal parliamentarian or current member of a legislative assembly or legislative council of a province is eligible to be a member of a commission.11

Decisions about a province’s electoral boundaries and electoral district names are the prerogative of each commission. It is worth noting that Elections Canada has no involvement in making decisions about a province’s electoral boundaries. Rather, Elections Canada plays an important role in the readjustment process by supporting the work of the commissions through a variety of professional, financial, technical and administrative services.

3.2 Rules for Determining Electoral Boundaries

In setting the boundaries of an electoral district, each commission is legally obliged to take into account communities of interest, communities of identity and the historical pattern of an electoral district in the province. Further, electoral districts ought to have a manageable geographic size, especially sparsely populated, rural or northern regions.

In its instructions to each commission, the EBRA stipulates that the population of each electoral district in the province must be as close as possible to the electoral quota for that province. This is the quotient obtained by dividing the population of the province by the number of members of the House of Commons to be allocated to it under section 51 of the Constitution Act, 1867.  

However, the commission may depart from the provincial electoral quota by plus or minus 25% in order to respect a community of interest, community of identity or historical pattern of an electoral district, or to maintain the manageable geographic size of sparsely populated districts. In circumstances that are viewed as extraordinary by a commission, the variance from the electoral quota may be greater than 25%.

The process for determining electoral boundaries requires each commission to make an initial proposal to divide its province into named electoral districts and to give the reasons for its decisions.

Following this step, a commission may receive comments from the public and it must hold at least one public hearing. After receiving feedback, the commission must prepare a report setting out the proposed electoral districts and their names for tabling in the House of Commons. Members of the House may then file objections to any proposed riding or riding name.12 Any such objections are studied by the Standing House Committee on Procedure and House Affairs and reported back to the commission for consideration.

Each commission then prepares a final report which, compiled, form the basis for the representation order that establishes the new electoral districts and their names.

3.3 Establishing Names of Electoral Districts

The commissions establish the names of the federal electoral districts in their respective provinces as part of the electoral boundaries readjustment process. To arrive at a given name for a riding, commissioners receive representations about their proposed riding names from the public and from members of the House of Commons. In addition, since 1998, commissions consult with the Geographical Names Board of Canada (GNBC) for naming advice.13 To this end, the GNBC secretariat has prepared a set of guidelines to assist provincial commissions in their reviews of federal riding names for suitability.14

These guidelines include characteristics that federal riding names ought to have and those it ought to avoid. In naming a federal riding, a commission should bear in mind the following:

• the name should reflect the character of Canada, give a sense of location, maintain a sense of tradition, and be clear and unambiguous;
• the name may be retained from one redistribution to another if the new district is essentially the same as in the previous riding. If the boundaries of a riding are changed extensively, a new name should be considered;
• a distinction is made between a hyphen (-) used to link parts of geographical names and an em dash (–) used to unite two or more distinct geographical names;
• ideally, single names should be given preference, as these are easiest to understand. However, two or three unique geographical names linked by em dashes may be more appropriate, in which case consideration should be given to the logical order of the names (e.g., alphabetical, relative importance);
• names should be unique yet recognize that repetition may be necessary in populous urban areas; and
• common federal and provincial electoral district names are acceptable.

Characteristics to avoid in naming federal ridings include:

• awkward translations;
• cardinal points;
• names that contain too many hyphens and dashes;
• repeated identical geographical names;
• names of provinces;
• multiple words in ridings with triple names;
• quadruple names;
• names of individuals;
• descriptive names;
• contrived names or names from non-geographical sources; and
• imprecise

Lastly, it is worth noting that after the five previous boundary readjustment processes were completed, Parliament acted outside the process foreseen by the EBRA and passed legislation that changes the names of a large number of federal ridings. For example, the Riding Name Change Act, 201415 changed the names of 30 electoral districts and was passed after the redistribution and readjustment process was completed.

This practice was criticized in 2000 by the Standing Senate Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs (LCJC) in its seventh and eighth reports. LCJC noted that the practice of immediately renaming ridings that had recently been named by the commissions “must be discouraged.”16 LCJC explained that the practice is confusing, has cost implications and does not follow the procedures that have been clearly established under the EBRA.

Figure 1 below gives an overview of the federal electoral boundaries adjustment process.

Figure 1 – Federal Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Process

Sources: Figure prepared by the Library of Parliament using data obtained from Constitution Act, 1867, 30 & 31 Victoria, c. 3 (U.K.); and Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. E‑3.

4 Key Steps in the Redistribution and Readjustment Process

This section provides a step-by-step overview of the 2021 redistribution and readjustment process; the date or estimated date of each event is indicated where available.17

1. The chief statistician of Canada prepares the estimates of the population of Canada and of the 10 provinces and submits them to the CEO (October 2021).
2. The CEO calculates the number of members of the House of Commons each province should have (16 October 2021).
3. The chief statistician submits to the CEO a return showing the total Canadian population and the population of Canada by province, electoral district and enumeration area. This information is provided to the electoral district commission as soon as it is established (9 February 2022).
4. The Governor in Council establishes a three-member electoral district commission for each province. The chief justice of the province appoints a judge to chair the commission, and the other two members are appointed by the Speaker of the House of Commons (proclamation made on 1 November 2021).
5. Each commission prepares and releases a proposal that divides a given province into electoral districts and proposes names for these districts (April to August 2022).
6. Each commission conducts at least one public hearing on the proposed boundaries (May to October 2022).
7. Each commission prepares a report that sets out the proposed boundaries and their names. The completed reports are transmitted to the CEO who in turn, sends copies of them to the Speaker of the House of Commons, and the Speaker tables these reports in the House. Upon their tabling, the reports are referred to the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs (PROC) (October to December 2022; however, a commission may request and receive an extension of up to two months from the CEO).
8. Members of the House of Commons may file an objection to proposed electoral district boundaries and names within 30 calendar days after the report of an electoral boundaries commission is tabled (October 2022 to February 2023).
9. PROC examines the objections and reports back to the Speaker. It must examine the objections for a province and report back within 30 sitting days after the 30‑calendar‑day period in which members can file objections. The House of Commons may grant the committee a time extension to consider the objections. The evidence, minutes and objections are referred to the commissions (November 2022 to May 2023).
10. The electoral boundaries commissions have 30 calendar days to “consider the matter of the objection and dispose of the objection.” They finalize their report with or without amendments and send it to the CEO and the Speaker of the House of Commons (January to June 2023).
11. The CEO receives the final reports of all commissions (except where no objection was filed for a province) and promptly prepares a draft representation order, then transmits it to the minister responsible for the EBRA (September 2023).
12. The representation order is proclaimed by the Governor in Council within five days after the minister receives it, and it is published in the Canada Gazette within five days of its issuance (September 2023).
13. The new electoral boundaries are applicable in any general election held seven months after the proclamation of a representation order (earliest in April 2024).18

5 Noteworthy Jurisprudence

5.1 Reference Re Provincial Electoral Boundaries (Sask.)

In this 1991 case,19 the Supreme Court of Canada ruled on a challenge brought forward by a group of Regina and Saskatoon voters concerning the constitutional validity of the electoral boundaries the province of Saskatchewan adopted after its The Representation Act, 1989 became law.

Saskatchewan’s The Representation Act, 1989 established a division between the province’s southern ridings and its northern ridings. The population size of southern ridings was allowed to vary by plus or minus 25% from the province’s electoral quotient, up from a variation of 15% set out in the previous version of the law. In northern ridings, a variation of plus or minus 50% from the electoral quotient was permitted. Further, Saskatchewan’s The Electoral Boundaries Commission Act imposed a quota on urban and rural ridings, and required that urban ridings coincide with existing municipal boundaries.

The court considered whether the variance in the population size among the province’s ridings infringed on rights guaranteed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (the Charter). It also considered whether establishing a division between urban, rural and northern areas infringed on Charter rights.

The court held that, in defining equitable electoral district boundaries, strict population count should not be deemed the only consideration. Instead, the court ruled, the purpose of the right to vote as protected by section 3 of the Charter is the right to effective representation, not necessarily equality of voting power.

Relative parity of voting can be achieved by taking into account factors such as geography, community history, community interest and minority representation. The court considered these factors important for ensuring that legislative assemblies effectively represent the diversity of the country’s social mosaic. Therefore, the right to vote comprises many factors, of which equity is but one.

It may also be worth noting that the province of Saskatchewan itself proposed a variation of plus or minus 25% of its electoral quotient for provincial electoral riding readjustments. Provinces are free to set the percentage of variation from electoral quotients, provided the variation does not infringe on the democratic rights provided for in the Charter.

5.2 Raîche V. Canada (Attorney General)

On 11 May 2004, the Federal Court rendered a decision in Raîche v. Canada (Attorney General).20 The applicants alleged, among other things, that the electoral boundaries commission for New Brunswick had misinterpreted the EBRA and that, as a result, certain French-speaking communities placed by the commission in the Miramichi electoral district should instead have been part of the Acadie–Bathurst electoral district.

The Court held that while the electoral boundaries commission for New Brunswick had been within its right to try keep any variance in the population of electoral districts under 10%, it did not correctly interpret the spirit of the EBRA when it failed to consider whether a greater variation in regard of community of interest and regional features would be desirable for any electoral districts. The Court declared invalid the Miramichi and Acadie–Bathurst electoral boundaries.

The Attorney General of Canada did not appeal the Raîche decision. However, the ruling did not impact the federal general election of 28 June 2004, as the Court had temporarily suspended its declaration of invalidity for a period of one year.

On 19 October 2004, the Governor in Council established a commission of inquiry under the Inquiries Act21 to consider the boundaries of the electoral districts of both Miramichi and Acadie–Bathurst, giving particular attention to the parishes of Allardville and Bathurst.22 The order in council that established the commission of inquiry required it to examine the electoral districts of Miramichi and Acadie–Bathurst following the same process set out in the EBRA. In its final report, the commission recommended that the parishes of Allardville and Bathurst be integrated into the electoral district of Acadie–Bathurst.23

Following the report’s publication, Parliament enacted An Act to Change the Boundaries of the Acadie–Bathurst and Miramichi Electoral Districts24 which amended the 2003 representation order in accordance with this recommendation. The federal general election of 23 January 2006 was held with the new electoral boundaries.

Notes

Appendix A – Section 51(1): Six Rules For Readjusting Representation in The House of Commons

Section 51(1) of the Constitution Act, 1867 sets out the six rules that are used to assign seats in the House of Commons to all 10 provinces:

1. Each province is assigned a number of members seated in the House of Commons equal to the quotient produced by dividing a given province’s population by the electoral quotient (see rule 6 below). Any fractions produced by the calculation are rounded up to one.
   For example, population of province X ÷ electoral quotient = number of seats for province X in the House of Commons.
2. If the assigned number of seats for a given province derived either from rule 1 or by the application of section 51A of the Constitution Act, 1867 is lower than the number of seats assigned to that province during the 43^rd Parliament, a number of members that corresponds with the difference is added in order to bridge the difference produced by a readjustment. This rule was amended in June 2022, when “during the 43^rd Parliament” replaced the “date of the coming into force of the Constitution Act, 1985 (Representation).” This additional seat apportionment is formerly known as the grandfather clause.
3. Subject to conditions set out in rule 4, a province receives an additional number of seats as close as possible to the difference between its share of seats in the House and its share of the total population of all 10 provinces, without going below this difference. This rule applies only after the application of rules 1 and 2, and section 51A of the Constitution Act, 1867. This additional seat apportionment is known as the representation rule.
4. This rule sets out the applicability of rule 3. A province can qualify for an additional seat or seats under rule 3 if, as a result of the preceding readjustment (i.e., the readjustment of about 10 years prior), that province had a share of seats in the House greater than or equal to its share of the total population of all 10 provinces. The date used in rule 4 for calculating a province’s share of the total population of all 10 provinces is 1 July of the year of the decennial census taken 10 years earlier.  
5. Unless otherwise indicated by the context, the population of a province in these rules is its estimated population as at 1 July of the year of the most recent decennial census.
6. a) Following the completion of the 2011 decennial census, the electoral quotient used for readjusting the number of seats in the House is 111,166.
   b) The electoral quotient for readjustments subsequent to the 2011 decennial census is arrived at by first calculating a number that is the average of the growth in population across each of the 10 provinces. This number is calculated by dividing the population of each province as at 1 July of the most recent decennial census by the population of the province as at 1 July of the preceding decennial census, then taking the average of these quotients. The result is then multiplied by the electoral quotient established for the preceding seat readjustment.

Appendix B – Mathematical Calculations for Applying the Representation Rule in 2021

The electoral quotient that was applied in the preceding readjustment is 111,166.

This table shows for each province its 2021 population estimate as divided by its 2011 population estimate.

The sum of the quotients obtained by dividing the population of each province by the population of the province as at July 1 of the year of the preceding decennial census according to the estimates prepared for the purpose of the preceding readjustment, is 10.96473027.

The average of the above figure is equal to 10.96473027 ÷ 10 provinces = 1.096473027.

Electoral quotient (rounding up any fractional remainder to one)

The 2021 electoral quotient is the product of 111,166 x 1.096473027. Rounding the remainder up to one, the 2021 electoral quotient is 121,891.

Cases in Which the representation rule was applied in 2021

Quebec would have been eligible to receive two seats under the representation rule

Quebec qualified to potentially receive an additional House of Commons seat or seats under rule 4 of section 51 of the Constitution Act, 1867. Quebec’s share of House seats among all provincial seats following the 2013 representation order (78 ÷ 335 = 0.23284) is greater than its share of the total population of all 10 provinces in 2011 (7,979,663 ÷ 34,371,116 = 0.23216).

Potential additional House seats would have been apportioned to Quebec through the application of rule 3 of section 51 of the Constitution Act, 1867.

Quebec’s share of House seats among all provincial seats following the 2021 seat readjustment (75 ÷ 340 = 0.22058823) is increased until this seat ratio is as close as possible to, without going below, Quebec’s share of the total population of all 10 provinces in 2021 (8,604,495 ÷ 38,118,215 = 0.22573185). As such, Quebec receives two additional House seats (77 ÷ 340 = 0.22647).

Manitoba qualified for but did not receive seats under the representation rule

Manitoba qualified to potentially receive an additional House of Commons seat or seats under rule 4 of section 51 of the Constitution Act, 1867. Manitoba’s share of House seats among all provincial seats following the 2013 representation order (14 ÷ 335 = 0.04179) is greater than its share of the 2011 population of all 10 provinces (1,250,574 ÷ 34,371,116 = 0.03638). 

Potential additional House seats would have been apportioned to Manitoba through the application of rule 3 of section 51 of the Constitution Act, 1867.

Manitoba’s share of House seats among all provincial seats following the 2021 seat readjustment (14 ÷ 340 = 0.04117647) would be increased until this seat ratio is as close as possible to, without going below, Manitoba’s share of the total population of all 10 provinces in 2021 (1,383,765÷ 38,118,215 = 0.03630193). However, as the former ratio is larger than the latter ratio, Manitoba receives no additional seats.

Saskatchewan qualified for but did not receive seats under the representation rule

Saskatchewan qualified to potentially receive additional House of Commons seats under rule 4 of section 51 of the Constitution Act, 1867. Saskatchewan’s share of House seats among all provincial seats following the 2013 representation order (14 ÷ 335 = 0.04179) is greater than its share of the 2011 total population of all 10 provinces (1,057,884 ÷ 34,371,116 = 0.03078).

Potential additional House seats would have been apportioned to Saskatchewan through the application of rule 3 in section 51 of the Constitution Act, 1867.

Saskatchewan’s share of House seats among all provincial seats following the 2021 seat readjustment (14 ÷ 340 = 0.04117647) would be increased until this seat ratio is as close as possible to, without going below, Saskatchewan’s share of the total population of all 10 provinces in 2021 (1,179,844 ÷ 38,118,215 = 0.03095224). However, as the former ratio is larger than the latter ratio, Saskatchewan receives no additional seats.