Members and Electoral Districts
The House of Commons is composed of 308 members (rising to 338 in the next election), each of whom represents a single electoral district (also called a riding). The constitution requires that there be a basic minimum of 295 electoral districts, but additional seats are allocated according to various clauses. Seats are distributed among the provinces in proportion to population, as determined by each decennial census, subject to the following exceptions made by the constitution. Firstly, the "senatorial clause" guarantees that each province will have at least as many MPs as Senators. Secondly, the "grandfather clause" guarantees each province has at least as many Members of Parliament now as it had in 1985.
As a result of these clauses, smaller provinces and provinces that have experienced a relative decline in population are over-represented in the House. Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta are under-represented in proportion to their populations, while the other seven provinces (Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador) are over-represented. Boundary commissions, appointed by the federal government for each province, are responsible for drawing the boundaries of the electoral districts in each province. Territorial representation is independent of population; each territory is entitled to only one seat. The calculation for the provinces is done with a "base" of 279 seats. The total population of the provinces (excluding the territories) is then divided by 279 to equal the electoral quotient. The population of the province is then divided by the electoral quotient to equal the "base" provincial seat allocation. The "special clauses" are then applied to increase the number of seats for certain provinces, bringing the total number of seats (with the three seats for the territories) to 308.
The next redistribution of seats will occur after the 2011 census. Bill C-20 (the "Fair Representation Act") was passed and given royal assent on December 16, 2011, and allocates fifteen additional seats to Ontario, six new seats each to Alberta and British Columbia, and three more to Quebec.
Representation in the House of Commons by province and territory is summarized in the following tables.
| Province |
Minimum number of seats |
Population |
National Quotient |
Base seats |
Additional seats |
Seats allocated |
Electoral Quotient |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario | 95 | 12,160,282 | 113,308 | 106 | 0 | 106 | 114,720 |
| Quebec | 75 | 7,546,131 | 113,308 | 68 | 7 | 75 | 100,615 |
| British Columbia | 28 | 4,113,487 | 113,308 | 36 | 0 | 36 | 114,264 |
| Alberta | 21 | 3,290,350 | 113,308 | 28 | 0 | 28 | 117,513 |
| Manitoba | 14 | 1,148,401 | 113,308 | 10 | 4 | 14 | 82,029 |
| Saskatchewan | 14 | 968,157 | 113,308 | 9 | 5 | 14 | 69,154 |
| Nova Scotia | 11 | 913,462 | 113,308 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 83,042 |
| New Brunswick | 10 | 729,997 | 113,308 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 73,000 |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | 7 | 505,469 | 113,308 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 72,209 |
| Prince Edward Island | 4 | 135,851 | 113,308 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 33,963 |
| Total for provinces | 279 | 31,511,587 | 113,308 | 278 | 27 | 305 | 103,317 |
| Northwest Territories | 1 | 41,464 | – | – | – | 1 | 41,464 |
| Yukon Territory | 1 | 30,372 | – | – | – | 1 | 30,372 |
| Nunavut | 1 | 29,474 | – | – | – | 1 | 29,474 |
| Total for territories | 3 | 101,310 | 3 | 33,770 | |||
| National total | 282 | 31,612,897 | 308 | 102,639 |
A 2010 report by an Ontario think tank, the Mowat Centre for Policy Innovation, concluded that House of Commons seat allocations may violate constitutional equal representation by population principles. Current seat allocations may overrepresent the weight of votes cast in rural/regional provinces, to the detriment of larger and more diverse populations voting in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta. For example, the average population per electoral district in British Columbia is over three times as large as that of Prince Edward Island.
Read more about this topic: House Of Commons Of Canada
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