Lanark-Frontenac : New Riding After Redistribution

Jeff Green | Feb 15, 2023

North Kingston Returns to Kingston & the Islands.

When the draft version of the new Ontario electoral map was circulated last summer, the commissioner who designed the new boundaries stuck pretty strictly to designing ridings with a very similar number of voters.

That led to a proposal which would have shifted South Frontenac, except for Bedford, to the Leeds, 1000 islands Riding, and included the township of Madawaska in Renfrew County as well as a chunk of rural Ottawa, in the Lanark-Frontenac riding.

But after hearing from the local communities, the commissioner’s had a change of heart.

Concerning the cluster of 6 ridings in Eastern Ontario, the region bordered by Algonquin Park to the north west, and Kingston to the southwest, and extending to the boundaries with the Province of Quebec at Cornwall and the City of Ottawa (see map) the commissioners said, “Several changes have been made to the proposed boundaries in response to submissions. The Commission received many submissions about the portions of Kingston north of Highway 401, the splitting of several counties, and the transfer of the Township of North Glengarry from Glengarry— Prescott—Russell to Stormont—Dundas—Glengarry.”

One of the major issues noted by them was the desire of Kingston residents living north of Highway 401 to be brought back into the fold with Kingston and the Islands, after being removed to the Frontenac-Lanark-Kingston riding the last time redistribution was done in 2013.

“The Commission concluded that this should be implemented. All of the City of Kingston is now in the final district of KINGSTON AND THE ISLANDS, along with the Township of Frontenac Islands. This has given the district a deviation from the Quota of +15.3%, the highest in the province. The Commission determined that this is necessary based on geographical circumstances. There are limitations on where this district can be divided considering that the southern part of the district consists of islands. Further, there was an overwhelming number of independent submissions to maintain the municipal boundary as the district boundary, where the anticipated growth is relatively modest. The Commission observes that it may not be reasonably possible to maintain these boundaries in the future.”

As far as South Frontenac is concerned, the commissioners noted that some of the residents who contacted them wanted to be part of Kingston and the Islands.

“Other submissions, including one from the Township itself, suggested that the Township of South Frontenac should be maintained with the rest of Frontenac County in Lanark—Frontenac. The Commission found these arguments persuasive as such a change preserves effective representation. LANARK—FRONTENAC has been restored to its existing boundaries.”

The result is that residents of all three of the land-locked Frontenac Township; North, Central, and South, will be in LANARK-FRONTENAC

North Kingston residents, as well as Frontenac Islanders, will be in the riding of KINGSTON AND THE ISLANDS

Based on the 2021 census, The Lanark-Frontenac riding has a permanent resident population of 103,120, 11.55% lower than the target population of 115,000.

The population of the new Kingston and the Islands riding is 134,415 over 15% over the target, making it the most populous riding in Ontario.

Based on the results from previous elections, the two ridings will almost certainly be safe seats, at least federally, for the parties that represent them now, the Conservative Party (incumbent Scott Reid) in Lanark-Frontenac, and the Liberal Party in Kingston and the Islands (incumbent Mark Gerretson)

For residents of Addington Highlands, they will be included in the riding of Hastings-Lennox and Addington-Tyendinaga, with minimal changes from the existing riding of Hastings-Lennox an Addington. By adding Tyendinaga to the riding, it has a population of 111,331, 4.5% lower than the target, but closer than it is now.

The new boundaries will come into effect for the next Federal election, unless one is called before they are formally adopted, and will then be adopted in time for the next provincial election in Ontario in 2026.