Skip to main content

“I am a Canadian, free to speak without fear, free to worship in my own way, free to stand for what I think right, free to oppose what I believe wrong, or free to choose those who shall govern my country. This heritage of freedom I pledge to uphold for myself and all mankind.” ~~ John G. Diefenbaker

FELDSTED: The problem as we witness every day is that regional, and personal equality, is thrown under the election bus

Sixty-one electoral districts?

City of Vancouver
The most fiercely contested territory in the October Election will be in 61 federal electoral districts. These will be the 18 in Montreal ... 25 in Toronto ... and 128 in Vancouver.

These sixty-one electoral districts make up 18% of the seats in the House of Commons, but are vital to any political party seeking a majority government.

Quebec has 8 cities outside Montreal which add another 30 electoral districts.
... 48 of 78 Quebec electoral district, or 61.5%, are urban.

Ontario has 16 cities outside Toronto which add another 67 electoral districts.
...92 of 121 Ontario electoral districts, or 55.4%, are urban.

British Columbia has 4 cities outside Vancouver which add another 10 electoral districts.
... 28 of 42 British Columbia electoral districts, or 66.7%, are urban

Toronto with CN Tower in foreground
The urban ridings in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia account for just over half (50.1%) of the seats in the Commons.  Which is why every political party will throw major resources, manpower, (cash if you are in government) and promises of more cash into those urban electoral districts to secure seats -- and a majority government.

The problem, as we witness every day, is that regional and personal equality is thrown under the election bus. Political parties will be driven to favour vote rich areas rather than treat all provinces, cities, towns and people equally and fairly.

One solution to the problem is to convert our three major metropolitan areas, Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver into separate provinces with full provincial rights.

It sounds a bit strange, until we consider the effect on the amending formula in our constitution:
Montreal City

  • 7 of 10 provinces becomes 9 of 13 provinces representing 50% of the population, with many more possible combinations than we have at present.

  • the equalization formula would have to be changed, modernized and updated to accommodate 13 provinces; and

  • more per capita federal funding for education, health care and welfare would flow to other provinces and smaller centres.  

There is some food for thought.  


John Feldsted
Political Consultant & Strategist
Winnipeg, Manitoba
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nurses Take Job Action After Years of NDP Neglect

Image Credit:  BC Nurses Union BC nurses have reached a breaking point after years of unsafe conditions, rising violence in the workplace and a government that wouldn’t listen. Now they are on the picket line fighting to be heard. Last week, nurses began job action with a 72-hour strike notice, refusing non-essential overtime and stepping back from non-nursing duties. As of Tuesday, they have escalated to picket lines for the first time in decades. This moment was avoidable. It is the result of years of unanswered concerns from the frontline workers who keep our hospitals running. Nurses have been raising the same concerns for years: unsafe staffing levels, rising violence on the job, and a workload no single person should have to carry. None of it is new, and none of it should have taken a strike vote to get the government's attention. "Nurses are exercising their legal right to job action, but it shouldn’t have had to come to this," said Kiel Giddens, MLA for...
Post a Comment
Read more

British Columbians Still Don’t Know Who’s Paying for NDP’s BC Hydro Deal

The NDP is making billion-dollar promises with BC Hydro, but British Columbians still don’t know who will pay the bill. Last week’s memorandum of understanding isn’t what the federal government and the NDP are making it out to be. It’s an admission that the NDP failed to make the long-term investments needed to keep B.C. powered. Now British Columbians have serious questions about the cost and whether BC Hydro ratepayers will end up paying the price. David L. Williams, MLA for Salmon Arm-Shuswap and Shadow Minister for BC Hydro and Electrical Energy Development , said British Columbians deserve clear answers about the full implications of the Canada–British Columbia Cooperative Prosperity Agreement. “British Columbians deserve the full truth,” said Mr. Williams. “This multi-billion-dollar announcement does not answer who pays for cost overruns, who pays for new generation, who carries the risk if industrial customers do not materialize, or whether ratepayers will be forced ...
Post a Comment
Read more

NDP Government Blames Everyone but Themselves

The federal government has announced new measures to support British Columbia's forestry sector, including $65 million in funding for projects across the province. While any support is welcome, it falls far short of the level of assistance other provinces have secured for key industries. Conservative Forests Critic Ward Stamer says the NDP government needs to take responsibility for its mismanagement of B.C.’s forest industry instead of trying to pass on the blame. Despite promising to create more jobs in the forest sector, the NDP government has overseen the loss of thousands of forestry jobs and 21 mill closures which have devastated communities. “If Premier Eby spent more time addressing the regulatory issues impacting the forestry sector than he did complaining about the federal government, we would not be in the position we are now,” said Stamer. “And instead of trying to place the blame for mill closures on Donald Trump, Minister of Forests Ravi Parmar should t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Labels

Show more