Commentaire 145 – commentaires et rétroaction

Stephen Yardy

London-Fanshawe New Democratic Party Riding Association

Introduction

We first would like to thank the Electoral Boundary Commission and its three members, the Honourable Justice Lynne C. Leitch, Dr. Karen Bird, and Dr. Peter Loewen, for their hard work and dedication to this vital undertaking. This isn't an easy process, trying to find the balance between Ontario's changing demographics and population while drawing an electoral map that considers community interests. We are fortunate to live in a democratic country like Canada. While our electoral system is far from perfect, we enjoy many privileges, including an independent commission to draw up our electoral districts.

We are putting forward this written submission on behalf of the London-Fanshawe New Democratic Party's riding association. Our riding association and team have been running election campaigns in the city since the early 1990s and under several different electoral district maps. We have been fortunate to have been able to elect Members of Parliament, along with our provincial counterparts, Members of Provincial Parliament. We have deep roots in the community and every part of the existing London-Fanshawe riding. We have prepared this report drawing upon these decades of experience and knowledge of London and the neighbourhoods that make up our wonderful city, namely three distinct urban ridings.

2022 Proposal

The 2021 census data shows that London is the fastest-growing city in Ontario – however, with this rapid growth come new challenges. We were disappointed to see the Commission's proposed map for London. For the last 25 years, London has had three urban seats. Under the new proposal, our urban representation will be reduced to two within the city limits. The rest of the city will then be divided into seats covering parts of the city and large swaths of surrounding rural townships. We believe the proposed boundaries don't fulfill the mandate of the Commission when considering the criteria of communities of identity and interest and the historical patterns of an electoral district.

We believe that with London's rapid and continued growth, we should strengthen our representation in the House of Commons. It is anticipated that London will grow significantly in the next four years, primarily in northwest of the city. London's Members of Parliament need to be focused on issues like the lack of housing, a deficit of services, mental health and addiction support and a severe need to address poverty and homelessness. While these issues aren't unique to urban living, the city benefits from having urban MPs who can focus on the city's challenges.

We recognize the challenge with which the Commission is faced. London doesn't have enough population to have four seats entirely within the city limit, but this shouldn't cut the city into two urban and two rural-urban seats. Neighbourhoods that have been working together to address the severe challenges faced by our city have been split apart by the new boundaries. These are cohesive communities of interest and should be able to work together as such.

We want to be supportive of the Commission's work, and we have put together a proposal we wish to share in the hope you can draw upon it in your deliberations.

We want to propose four key recommendations when considering London's electoral boundaries:

Recommendation 1

That as a guiding principle – the commission should maintain a minimum of three urban seats within the city limits of London. There have been three urban seats for the past twenty-five years.

Recommendation 2

The commission should consider, in its final proposal, that London is the fastest growing city in Ontario. The growth since the 2021 census and the projected growth in the immediate future of London presents a significant challenge when considering London's electoral boundaries.

Recommendation 3

Where possible, the commission should maintain historical riding names such as: London Fanshawe, London West and Elgin-Middlesex London.

Recommendation 4

The commission should put in place a two-month extension for consultations. Having the process during the municipal election disenfranchises community leaders such as councillors and mayors from fully participating.

Proposal that Maintains Three Urban Seats

While maintaining the guiding principles set out by the Commission on geography, community history, community interests and minority interests, we would encourage the Commission to consider our proposal for the City of London.

City Overview

London Fanshawe

1. Maintains a historical identifier that has been in use for twenty-five years, retaining the name London-Fanshawe for the following reasons: Notably institutions such as Fanshawe College, landmarks such as Lake Fanshawe, Fanshawe Conservation Area, Fanshawe Dame and Fanshawe Pioneer Village
2. Maintains the seat within urban city boundaries
3. Better aligns communities with similar interests, and that share business districts
4. Maintains communities that have similar demographics and housing concerns
5. Uses the 2021 census to provide the proposed riding with a population of 126,286 people, within the commission's mandate

Map of London-Fanshawe:

London North Centre

1. Recognizes the 12% growth in population within the downtown core
2. Ensures the seat is within the urban city boundaries
3. Builds off the commission's proposed boundary change and aligns more communities with similar interests
4. recognizes these communities have similar demographics and housing concerns
5. Uses the 2021 census to determine that the proposed riding has a population of 126,947, again within the commission's mandate.

Map of London Centre:

London West

1. Combines communities with similar demographics, including many neighbourhoods with a higher than average population of new Canadians
2. Keeps the Seat within the urban city boundary
3. Uses historical boundaries and keeps communities together
4. Maintains a historical identifier that has been in use since 1968
5. Uses the 2021 census the proposed riding has a population of 124,167, within the commission's mandate takes into account the rapid growth in London West

Map of London West:

Elgin-Middlesex-London

1. Maintains historical boundaries, maintaining rural representation
2. Keeps communities of interest together
3. Recognizes that St. Thomas is the main economic and administrative hub for surrounding communities; it is important to keep them together
4. Uses the 2021 Census to ensure the riding has a population of 122,425, within the mandate of the commission.

Map of Elgin-Middlesex-London