How seat redistribution works
Good morning, I’m a senior producer with the CBC News Decision Desk. We mentioned Poilievre is in Brampton this morning, a city that now has one additional riding. Here’s why:
What is redistribution?
Every 10 years, the electoral map is assessed to ensure that each member of Parliament roughly represents the same number of Canadians in the House of Commons.
What does it mean for me?
This time around, redistribution resulted in five more ridings — one in Ontario, one in B.C. and three in Alberta — for a total of 343. This means the new number of seats a party needs to win to form a majority government is also higher, at 172.
Many existing ridings changed boundaries, or names. You may live in a brand new riding, or a renamed riding, or a neighbourhood that has been drawn into a different riding than the one you’re used to voting in. Find your riding for the next federal election here.
How is it done?
A formula is applied to the population of each province to calculate the number of ridings each province should have. Then an independent commission is convened to look at the boundary lines and suggest changes. The commissioners’ proposals are presented to the public and to members of Parliament for their input, but the final decisions on the boundaries are made by the commissioners.
