WELLINGTON COUNTY – Change is coming to the Wellington-Halton Hills federal electoral district.
People living in the south-end of Guelph will likely be joining the Wellington–Halton riding, and people living in the southern part of Halton Hills will likely be joining the new riding of Milton East–Halton Hills South.
This increases the number of ridings in the Wellington, Guelph and Halton region from six to seven.
The Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Ontario has completed its final report on the redistribution, but the new boundaries are not expected to become official until September.
The changes will then be implemented during the first federal election that happens at least seven months after the date it becomes official (the next federal election is tentatively scheduled for the fall of 2025).
The House of Commons tabled the commission’s report on July 19 and the Chief Electoral Officer will use the report to draft a representation order.
The new boundaries are meant to ensure changes to population and settlement patterns don’t result in large discrepancies in the number of people in each riding.
“Established in November 2021, this independent commission worked to set boundaries so that the populations of the electoral districts are as even as reasonably possible, while also taking into account communities of interest or identity, historical patterns, and geographic size in sparsely populated regions,” states a press release about the redistribution.
Boundaries are reviewed once every 10 years.
According to the report, the overall population of Wellington, Guelph and Halton has increased from 680,234 in 2011 to 805,299 in 2021.
“The commission wants to express its sincere gratitude to the many members of the public who took part in this undertaking that is such an important part of Canada’s democratic process,” states the press release.
