2008 British Columbia electoral redistribution

An electoral redistribution was undertaken in 2008 in British Columbia in a process that began in late 2005 and was completed with the passage of the Electoral Districts Act, 2008 on April 10, 2008. The redistribution modified most electoral boundaries in the province and increased the number of MLAs from 79 to 85. The electoral boundaries created by the redistribution were first used in the 2009 provincial election. The provincial government mandated the BC Electoral Boundaries Commissionhttp://www.bc-ebc.ca/ Home bc-ebc.ca to recommend new maps (for both BC-STV and the traditional "single-member plurality" SMP systems) prior to the second electoral reform referendum. The commission's preliminary report, delivered in August 2007, was received with concern by both the New Democratic Party opposition and the governing Liberal party. In addition to concerns about boundaries and size of individual ridings, the commission was criticized for shifting seats to the Lower Mainland (which was growing in population) and away from larger but less populated areas (BC has traditionally given some electoral weight to vast but relatively underpopulated regions without large urban centres, particularly in the north). The commission held subsequent hearings and, in February 2008, submitted 50 amendments to its preliminary report. Province-wide, the amendments would result in a net increase of four electoral districts, for a total of 83 single member plurality electoral districts. The number of proposed BC-STV electoral districts remained at 20. Electoral Boundaries Commission amends its proposal for northern electoral district boundaries B.C. Electoral Boundaries Commission 2008-02-14 http://www.bc-ebc.ca/files/pdf/News/FinalReport/north.pdf 2008-03-08July 2017 InternetArchiveBot yes Because of the concern of both parties about the loss of seats in the North and Cariboo, the Commission also reported on the 85-seat map it would have designed if the legislature had passed an amendment requiring this. The legislature then approved the alternative boundaries for 85 ridings. The 2008 provincial election in neighbouring Alberta served as a reminder to BC of the "unfinished business" looming ahead. Ed Stelmach's Conservative party won a sizable majority government (73 out of 83 seats) on the strength of a bare majority of votes cast. In response, the Vancouver Sun described BC's indecision over boundaries as "a significant hitch (that) has developed in the electoral boundary reform process that was to have illustrated how an STV system would carve up the province...Unless members of the legislature are able to forge a compromise that will rescue the politically unpalatable recommendations of the Electoral Boundaries Commission, voters will face another vote on whether to change the system while still uncertain as to how it will look in their home communities." Editorial Lopsided Alberta vote underscores B.C.'s unfinished electoral work Vancouver Sun 2008-03-05 http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/editorial/story.html?id=2e1a36d3-eaf5-49de-907b-f8118e1ea645 2008-03-08 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20121104064814/http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/editorial/story.html?id=2e1a36d3-eaf5-49de-907b-f8118e1ea645 2012-11-04 Changes No change (6) Comox Valley Delta North Delta South New Westminster North Island Saanich North and the Islands Adjusted (44) Burnaby North Burnaby-Edmonds Cariboo North Columbia River-Revelstoke Coquitlam-Maillardville Fort Langley-Aldergrove Kamloops-North Thompson Kelowna-Lake Country Kelowna-Mission Langley Maple Ridge-Mission Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows Nanaimo Nelson-Creston North Coast North Vancouver-Lonsdale North Vancouver-Seymour Oak Bay-Gordon Head Peace River North Peace River South Powell River-Sunshine Coast Richmond Centre Richmond East Richmond-Steveston Saanich South Shuswap Skeena Surrey-Cloverdale Surrey-Green Timbers Surrey-Newton Surrey-Tynehead Surrey-Whalley Surrey-White Rock Vancouver-Fairview Vancouver-Fraserview Vancouver-Hastings Vancouver-Kensington Vancouver-Kingsway Vancouver-Langara Vancouver-Mount Pleasant Vancouver-Point Grey Vancouver-Quilchena Victoria-Beacon Hill West Vancouver-Capilano Minor adjustment with name change (3) Kootenay East (was "East Kootenay") Vernon-Monashee (was "Okanagan-Vernon") West Vancouver-Sea to Sky (was "West Vancouver-Garibaldi") Replaced (26) (primary successor riding is shown) Abbotsford-Clayburn → Abbotsford-Mission Abbotsford-Mount Lehman → Abbotsford West Alberni-Qualicum → Alberni-Pacific Rim Bulkley Valley-Stikine → Stikine Burnaby-Willingdon → Burnaby-Deer Lake Burquitlam → Burnaby-Lougheed Cariboo South → Cariboo-Chilcotin Chilliwack-Kent → Chilliwack-Hope Chilliwack-Sumas → Chilliwack Cowichan-Ladysmith → Cowichan Valley Esquimalt-Metchosin → Esquimalt-Royal Roads Kamloops → Kamloops-South Thompson Malahat-Juan de Fuca → Juan de Fuca Nanaimo-Parksville → Parksville-Qualicum Okanagan-Westside → Westside-Kelowna Penticton-Okanagan Valley → Penticton Port Coquitlam-Burke Mountain → Port Coquitlam Port Moody-Westwood → Port Moody-Coquitlam Prince George North → Prince George-Mackenzie Prince George-Mount Robson → Prince George-Valemount Prince George-Omineca → Nechako Lakes Surrey-Panorama Ridge → Surrey-Panorama Vancouver-Burrard → Vancouver-West End Victoria-Hillside → Victoria-Swan Lake West Kootenay-Boundary → Kootenay West Yale-Lillooet → Fraser-Nicola New ridings (6) Abbotsford South Boundary-Similkameen Coquitlam-Burke Mountain Nanaimo-North Cowichan Surrey-Fleetwood Vancouver-False Creek See also New Brunswick electoral redistribution, 2006 References 2008 British Columbia electoral redistribution, 2008 Electoral redistribution