County boundaries breached in new riding proposal

Jeff Green | Oct 19, 2022

Every ten years, the federal ridings are adjusted, and they take effect whenever the next federal election is called, and then in the following provincial election.

Because of this, people living in certain rural areas, like Frontenac County, tend to be moved from one riding to another each time the commission does its work.

Frontenac County was part of the Hastings-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington riding until 2004, Lanark Frontenac-Lennox and Addington from 2004 -2103, and Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston from 2013 until now.

The way the process works is that a commission is formed every ten years, one year after a census year and using the new census data, they carve up the country. There is a target population for each riding as well as the map of Canada to work with. They are also expected to look at historical connections between communities.

Once the proposals are made, the public is given the opportunity to weigh in, and individuals, groups and local governments have the opportunity to critique the proposals and offer alternatives.

During the last redistribution process in 2012, MP Scott Reid made a presentation to the commission, asking them to change their initial proposal in order to create a riding that included all of Lanark County. His proposal was, in large part, accepted.

With the creation of the Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston riding, Mississippi Mills Township, which had been in a different riding than the rest of the Lanark, joined with Lanark in the new riding.

Three of the four Frontenac townships were also in the riding, and to fill it out to the population target of the day ($107,000)  people, rural Kingston was tacked on.

This left the historical Kingston and the Islands riding in place.. The orphan group were people living in Rural Kingston. While all of their services, community and economic ties are to the City of Kingston, their MP and MPP are based in Lanark County, which has no connection to the City of Kingston at all.

The proposal from the 2022 commission would leave Lanark County intact, but it would split Frontenac County into two ridings. The northern section, including North and Central Frontenac and Bedford District of South Frontenac, would remain in the new Lanark Frontenac Riding, which would also include Greater Madawaska Township in Renfrew County, and a section of rural Ottawa.

The balance of South Frontenac (Portland, Storrington and Loughborough Districts) as well rural Kingston would join with a new Brockville Prescott Riding,

The Township of South Frontenac, as well as Frontenac County, are opposing this change.

“Dealing with upper levels of government is difficult enough, but if two different people have to contact two other different people for the county, and even South Frontenac itself, just to make a presentation or get some information, doesn't make any sense. It's confusing enough, without going, ok, now, who do I call,” said South Frontenac Mayor Ron Vandewal at a special meeting of Frontenac County Council earlier this week.

At Frontenac County Council, Bill MacDonald pointed out that the electoral boundaries commission is supposed to take “historical communities of interest” into account, which keeping Frontenac County in one riding would accomplish.

But, MacDonald also said that whenever a change to the commission proposals are brought forward, the commission then asks about the cascading effect on all the other ridings.

The commission is dealing with a massive jigsaw puzzle and will not waver much from the target population for ridings, which is about 116,000 this time around. 

But some aspects of these proposals seem to come from an attempt to remain very, very close to the target number.

For example, the very small Township of Greater Madawaska in Renfrew County, population 2864, is being pulled from the Renfrew County riding and included in the Frontenac Lanark riding. 

There are always winners and losers during riding redistribution, and low priority communities, such as Frontenac County and rural Kingston, can easily be shuffled around with little regard to local interests.

This new plan would align South Frontenac, and rural Kingston, with the St. Lawrence River Corridor, with which it has little, or no, community of interest.

In my view, it would make more sense to align Frontenac County with Lennox and Addington, which were once a single county and have historical and current connections through public health, economic and travel ties. The old Frontenac Lennox and Addington Hastings riding was probably the best riding we have had, and it had the added advantage of being a swing riding, always a good thing for voter engagement. But it now has a cumulative population of 125,000, which would be a problem.

There are opportunities for written and oral submissions to the riding redistribution commission. The deadline for written submissions is October 29. Groups and individuals, as well as municipal governments, can make submissions. 

Frontenac County will be asking the commission to amend the redistribution map to keep  South, Central and North Frontenac in the same riding.