The current sharing of the Richmond-East/Delta electoral boundary could be a thing of the past if a proposal to increase the number of B.C. ridings goes ahead.
Last week, the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for B.C., a non-partisan three-member group, announced its proposal for how B.C.'s electoral map should be redrawn in order to accommodate the six additional ridings.
In the proposal, the area between Cloverdale and Abbotsford would gain an additional seat, along with the area between Pitt Meadows and Mission.
And instead of being split between two districts in Richmond and Surrey, Delta also would get its own riding. This would mean Richmond would get two ridings, both of which would covered Richmond only.
When B.C. increases its number of MPs in Ottawa from 36 to 42 in the next federal election, odds are the prime beneficiaries will be the Conservative Party.
An analysis by the Province newspaper found that the five additional seats proposed for the Lower Mainland would have gone to the Conservative Party had they been contested in 2011 election.
The changes also could prove troubling for NDP MPs Kennedy Stewart of Burnaby-Douglas, Fin Donnelly of New Westminster-Coquitlam and Jinny Sims of NewtonNorth Delta, all of whom won by less than 3,500 votes last election.
They face possible major realignment of their riding boundaries due to large population increases in North Vancouver, Coquitlam and Surrey.
"While consideration was given to the province as a whole, it soon became apparent that certain areas of substantial population growth would require the most concentrated attention," the preliminary report by the non-partisan commission read, calling growth in the Conservative-leaning Fraser Valley "explosive."
An additional seat in Vancouver, called Vancouver-Granville, would comprise the Fairview, Shaughnessy and Marpole communities.
Conservative candidates received approximately 1,000 votes more than NDP candidates in the last election in that proposed riding.
Finally, due to growth on the North Shore, the commission proposed combining the North Vancouver neighbourhoods east of the Second Narrows Bridge with northern Burnaby to create the riding of Burnaby North-Seymour - which would have gone decisively to the Conservatives had it existed in 2011.
"This alteration was considered by our predecessors on the 2002 electoral boundaries commission, but ultimately not recommended in view of certain objections," the report reads.
"However, . . . we believe the alteration can no longer be postponed."
The only proposed additional seat not in the Lower Mainland is the CowichanNanaimo corridor on Vancouver Island.
The report also proposes changes in other areas of the province, including Powell River becoming part of a Vancouver Island riding, and Conservative-leaning Penticton becoming part of B.C. Southern Interior, now held by NDP MP Alex Atamanenko.
The commission will make a final report to the House of Commons after public hearings scheduled for September and October.
Electoral commissions in every province were established after legislation was passed to increase the total number of ridings from 308 to 338.
