The B.C. Electoral Boundaries Commission has made their final report and with it comes some brand new changes that not everyone might be happy about.
As of April 3, the Fraser-Nicola electoral riding has been re-drawn to add Agassiz and Harrison Hot Springs — but now excludes Ashcroft and Cache Creek who have been added to the Cariboo-Chilcotin riding.
The new proposed Fraser-Nicola is now made up of: Hope, Yale, Boston Bar, Merritt, Lytton, Logan Lake, Lillooet, and includes communities on the north bank of the Fraser River such as Durieu, Dewdney, Deroche, Lake Errock, Harrison Mills, Harrison Hot Springs, and the District of Kent.
This decision puts MLA Jackie Tegart, whose is the MLA for the Fraser-Nicola, as the representative for an electoral district she does not live in; Tegart currently lives in Ashcroft.
According to the commission, the changes are due to changing population sizes in the neighbourhoods. Electoral areas are regularly redrawn, as what worked a few years ago may not necessarily work today. This ensures that populations within areas are of similar size to other areas. An MLA is elected for each area, which helps ensure proper representation in Victoria.
“The population of the electoral district of Fraser-Nicola is currently 41 per cent below the electoral quotient, and it is not projected to grow significantly over the next few years. To address this, we propose expanding its boundaries to include Durieu, Dewdney, Deroche, Lake Errock, Harrison Mills, Harrison Hot Springs and Kent,” said the commission. “These neighbouring communities are located north of the Fraser River and are connected to the rest of Fraser-Nicola by Highway 7. This change increases the riding’s population without significantly expanding its geographic area and keeps related communities together.”
The commission, which was appointed on Oct. 21, 2021, is made up of Justice of the Supreme Court of British Columbia (Chair) Nita Lyer, local government advisor Linda Tynan, and Chief Electoral Office of British Columbia Anton Boegman.
A preliminary report from October 2022 first proposed that Agassiz and Harrison Hot Springs could join the Fraser-Nicola. Until April 3, Agassiz and Harrison Hot Springs were part of the Chilliwack-Kent riding.
READ MORE: Local MLA Jackie Tegart kicks off her two-week constituency tour in Hope
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