It's official: Northern Ontario is losing a federal riding, with major changes for this area.
The Chief Electoral Officer of Canada's confirmed that a redrawing of Canada's federal electoral map came into effect by proclamation last Friday.
That means a new seat for Ontario - for a total of 122 - but substantial changes to many current boundaries, the most significant being the reduction of Northern Ontario's ridings from the current ten to only nine, with the current Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing riding to be divided up among its surrounding ridings: the Highway 17 corridor - including Wawa, Dubreuilville, White River, and the north shore of Lake Huron to Elliot Lake - will merge with the Sault Ste. Marie riding to create "Sault Ste. Marie-Algoma"; the Chapleau area will be annexed into the new "Kapuskasing-Timmins-Mushkegowuk"; and Manitoulin Island and the Massey, Webbwood, and Espanola area will join "Sudbury East-Manitoulin-Nickel Belt".
Northern Ontario New Democrats have decried the changes, with Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing M-P Carol Hughes emphasizing the negative impact for the region, as it means "less representation for Northern Ontarians, more challenges for MPs to represent their riding, and a reduced voice in Parliament".
While the new boundaries have been confirmed, the districts won't take effect until April 22nd, 2024, so any general or by-election called before that time would use the current boundaries, including Algoma-Manitoulin-Kapuskasing.