The Report of the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for the province of Quebec is tabled in the House of Commons

Montréal, Wednesday, February 1, 2023—The Report of the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for the province of Quebec was tabled in the House of Commons on this day, February 1. The report describes in detail the changes that the Commission, composed of Messrs. Jacques Chamberland, André Blais and Louis Massicotte, is making to the federal electoral map based on the demographic data of the latest census (2021). It will now be reviewed by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs, and the objections of Members of Parliament that are accepted at the end of this review will then be forwarded to the Commission for analysis and final decision.

The Commission conducted its work with the objective of balancing the population of each of the 78 electoral districts of Quebec as much as possible, while taking into account the specific situations provided for in the Electoral Boundaries Readjustment Act. This has resulted in major adjustments to the existing boundaries, as well as in the elimination of one district in Gaspésie and the creation of a new electoral district in the Laurentians.

The Commission is also changing the names of a number of electoral districts. Most of these changes result from the Commission's wish to add to the current names at least one reference to each of the 11 Aboriginal nations recognized in Quebec, namely the 10 First Nations and the Inuit Nation.

Following the publishing of its Proposal, the Commission held 20 public hearings across the province in September and October, including 3 held virtually. In addition to these public hearings, over 300 submissions, comments and suggestions were received from citizens, elected officials and organizations. "As promised, the Commission has made several changes to its initial Proposal. Though it has not been able to follow up on all the suggestions, the Commission believes that it has succeeded in reconciling its legal obligations with the comments received throughout the public hearings period, particularly with regard to respecting the boundaries of the regional county municipalities (RCMs) and local particularities," stated the Commission's Chairman, the Honourable Jacques Chamberland.

To read the report and for more information on the next steps in the redistribution process, visit www.redistribution2022.ca.