Starting earlier this month, an independent commission has been looking at the British Columbia Electoral Boundaries, and have begun holding public consultations throughout the province, beginning in the Lower Mainland.
So far, they’ve held 20 meetings, all in the Lower Mainland and on Vancouver Island.
This is the first review since the Electoral Boundaries Commission Act was revised in 2021. That change removed amendments that established a restriction protecting rural areas in the North, the Cariboo-Thompson and Columbia-Kootenay regions representation. These areas were restricted to having a minimum of 17 seats, regardless of the population of these regions.
The Government claims the intent of the amendment was to: “ensure the location of political boundaries between seats is determined not by politicians, but by an independent commission. The process will not be guided by political interests, but by a legislated mandate to establish effective representation for British Columbians. The commission will be asked to achieve through recommendations – to the extent possible – the fundamental democratic principle that everyone’s vote should be reasonably equal in weight in choosing elected officials.”
However, many northern MLAs are worried that this change will mean that some of the larger, lower population ridings might be combined.
According to the rules, the commission must seek to recommend electoral districts with populations within plus or minus 25 percent of the average electoral district population, which is currently 57,000.
The population in Peace River South is 25,635, or less than half the average electoral district population.
The population in Peace River North is 40,375, or about 70 percent the average.
Combine the two, and you have 66,010, or about 16 percent over the average, which falls within the 25 percent plus or minus stated by the law.
This leads many to suspect that the two ridings will be combined for the next election.
Of course, the commission has not made any recommendations yet, and the commission may recommend electoral districts with populations outside that range.
Northern BC, which has a population of just over 300,000, is currently represented by nine MLAs. Should the commission choose to adjust riding boundaries to represent the provincial average, the number of seats in the north could be reduced to less than six.
According to the BC Chamber of Commerce, “Representation is especially important in northern British Columbia, where lack of connectivity and inefficient transportation options provide barriers to access for elected officials and government. Many of our communities do not have adequate access to internet or cell phone service, making it difficult for residents to depend on virtual connectivity with their representatives.”
The electorial commission does recognize “the representation concerns in less populated regions,” and may take into account “special considerations respecting demographic and geographic factors. These factors include keeping a manageable geographic size for electoral districts in order to ensure effective representation.”
The Peace River North riding is already BC’s second largest riding at 175,813 sq. km. The Stikine Riding, with a population of just over 25,500 people, is the largest riding, but also has the smallest population.
If the two Peace River ridings were combined, they would cover over 200,000 sq. km.
With nearly 500,000 new people in the province since the last census, the commission is empowered to recommend the creation of up to six additional seats in the BC Legislature, meaning the total number of seats may be raised to a maximum of 93 (up from 87).
“It is important that residents living outside of major population centres maintain access to their elected officials,” says a recent release by the BC Chamber of Commerce. “Residents in Northern British Columbia deserve a right to meet with MLAs face to face. While we all understand the vast geographical challenges our MLAs face today, we need to ensure that the Electoral Boundaries Commission fully comprehends the challenges surrounding the physical separation of our communities.”
There are meetings expected in the north over the next couple of months, but you can also have your say at https://bcebc.ca/your-voice/.
Trent is the publisher of Tumbler RidgeLines.
