Ford rules out boundary changes, while some worry ‘your vote is going to count for less’

As Ontario’s organization grows astatine grounds gait and nan state scrambles to guarantee lodging and different services tin support up, immoderate governmental watchers judge location is 1 area nan Ford government could time off group behind.

On Thursday, Ontario Premier Doug Ford emphatically ruled retired making changes to nan province’s electoral map, declaring nan existent group of 124 ridings much than adequate.

Ford dismissed nan thought that Ontario would lucifer riding changes made astatine nan national level, a constitutionally-required move triggered by census information and organization changes.

“Why alteration thing that works? It works, truthful it’s each good,” Ford said of nan bound changes astatine an unrelated arena connected Thursday.

“Just because nan feds want to do it, jury-rig nan ridings — it’s nary concealed group do that, governments do that — I’m not doing it. I’m going to time off nan boundaries unsocial and group will determine if they want to move guardant pinch our government.”

But governmental watchers propose that failing to travel nan national process — aliases astatine slightest behaviour an Ontario-led reappraisal of provincial ridings — will time off immoderate voters behind.

In caller years, immoderate areas person grown dramatically and others person seen their populations shrink. Immigration, deaths, shifting employment and different organization drivers person near immoderate ridings pinch vastly less residents than others.

In immoderate ridings, for illustration Etobicoke-Lakeshore, Spadina-Fort York and Brampton West, populations person grown complete nan past decade. Other areas, for illustration Scarborough North and Don Valley East, person either shrunk aliases stay importantly smaller.

Those organization changes, Ontario-based strategist and pollster David Valentin believes, will mean a “real disparity” betwixt different residents depending connected what riding they unrecorded in.

“If you’re trying to get a clasp of your MPP, if you’re trying to get assistance pinch your casework aliases casefile successful 1 of nan larger districts you mightiness person a overmuch harder time,” he said.

“More importantly, your ballot is going to count for less. And we unrecorded successful a populist wherever 1 ballot is adjacent to 1 vote. That’s surely not going to beryllium nan lawsuit successful immoderate of these ridings that are chock afloat of voters now.”

Pressed connected whether he was trying to support costs down by keeping nan boundaries arsenic they are, alternatively than adding much seats, arsenic nan national authorities will do, Ford said he simply didn’t want to touch nan issue.

“We’re conscionable leaving it alone, we conscionable aren’t rubbing nan boundaries, little politicians, nan amended it is,” he said.

Trending Now

Nelson Wiseman, a governmental professor astatine nan University of Toronto, said Ford “does not cognize what he is talking about” and said nan electoral representation successful Ontario urgently needs to beryllium redrawn.

“It is broken, it is broken,” he told Global News. “It’s surgery because if you ne'er alteration nan boundaries, that intends immoderate constituents will extremity up having 2 aliases 3 times arsenic galore group arsenic different constituencies. Is that fair?”

Both nan Ontario Liberals and nan Ontario NDP said they looked guardant to contesting nan adjacent predetermination against Ford and nan Progressive Conservatives sloppy of which boundaries are used.

“He tin effort to crippled nan strategy pinch threats of an early predetermination aliases refusing to update riding boundaries to lucifer organization trends if he wants,” Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie said successful a statement. “But sloppy of what games he plays, Ontario’s Liberals will beryllium fresh to hit him successful nan adjacent election, whenever it comes.”

Ontario NDP Leader Marit Stiles pointed retired Ford had already shown he was consenting to make changes erstwhile he slashed nan size of Toronto metropolis council.

“It seems Ford is dismissing boundary changes truthful he tin support his options unfastened erstwhile it comes to calling an early election,” Stiles said, adding she is successful favour of a regular reappraisal of rings to guarantee they’re reasonable.

Valentin and Wiseman pointed retired that Ontario could create its ain process, independent from nan national government, to guarantee that bound changes activity astatine nan section level.

“If you don’t want politicians gerrymandering, group up thing that’s independent,” Wiseman said.