Halton set to get new federal seat, as Hamilton and Niagara will see riding boundaries shift
The Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission published its final report last week
The Halton region is set to gain a new federal riding to keep up with a growing population.
The Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission published its final report last week that includes redrawn electoral maps for most of Ontario. The proposal is now at the House of Commons and will be reviewed by MPs before becoming law.
In its report, the commission noted that Halton, Guelph and Wellington together grew by 18.4 per cent between 2011 and 2021, while the rest of the province grew 10.2 per cent.
It recommended Halton have six ridings, Burlington Lakeshore, Burlington—Milton West, Georgetown—Milton East, Oakville Lakeshore, Oakville North and Wellington-Halton. At present, it has five: Burlington, Oakville North—Burlington, Oakville, Milton and Wellington—Halton Hills.
The proposal is based on public input submitted last fall. Burlington MP Karina Gould said in a statement on Instagram the community's request for more representation had been heard.
In Hamilton and Niagara, where the population grew by 10 per cent in the last decade, the report proposed boundary changes to even out the number of people in the nine ridings of Flamborough—Glanbrook, Hamilton Centre, Hamilton Mountain, Hamilton—Stoney Creek—Lakeshore, Hamilton West—Ancaster—Dundas, Niagara Falls, Niagara South, Niagara West and St. Catharines.
After hearing from the public, the commission decided not to divide Grimsby but rather put it all in the Niagara West riding. It also proposed adding Paris and St. George to the district of Flamborough—Glandbrook
It put Niagara-on-the-Lake and Niagara Falls in the same district, Niagara North. Welland, Thorold, Port Colborne and Fort Erie were placed together in Niagara South, which includes the Welland Canal, the report said. Brock University will be in the single district of St. Catharines.
"The resulting deviations are wider than the commission had originally proposed; however, the submissions to make the changes described were compelling," the report said.
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