The new boundaries of the riding of Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry. Image Courtesy of Elections Canada
OTTAWA – It’s official: when the next federal election is called, the riding of Stormont, Dundas and South Glengarry will experience a change and expand to become Stormont-Dundas-Glengarry.
The Township of North Glengarry will join the rest of The United Counties of Stormont, Dundas, and Glengarry, the City of Cornwall and Akwesasne.
After each decennial (10-year) census, independent electoral boundaries commissions review and, if necessary, make changes to the electoral districts in each province to reflect changes and movements in Canada’s population. The commissions responsibility is to determine the boundaries so that the number of people in each electoral district is as equal as reasonably possible, while also taking into account communities of interest or identity, historical patterns and geographic size in sparsely populated regions.
For MP Eric Duncan, as for other MP’s whose riding may experience a change, the status quo will remain until the next federal election is called. “…in the meantime, I remain as the Member of Parliament for Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry only,” said MP Duncan in a Facebook post. “Residents of North Glengarry can still connect with their MP in Glengarry-Prescott-Russell for any federal services or inquiries. I’ll keep spending my final couple of weeks connecting with all of SD&G before the House of Commons resumes next month.”
The independent commission significantly changed the riding distribution nation-wide with only 45 ridings remaining unchanged while 293 riding underwent anything from a minor tweak to a major change. Five new ridings were also created with three (3) being added in Alberta, one (1) in BC, and one (1) in Ontario. This brings the total number of seats in the House of Commons to 343.
Terry Tinkess is a professional photographer, educator and journalist. He has been making a living with a camera and keyboard since 1999 and has been featured in such publications as The Ottawa Citizen, Cornwall Standard Freeholder, The Globe and Mail, The Miami Herald, Ottawa Construction News, The Ontario Construction Report, Ontario Home Builder Magazine, Reed Construction Data, Canadian Potato Business and most recently, The Record and Eastern Ontario AgriNews. Terry lives in Ingleside, Ontario with his wife Brenda, Mia the anxious Pittie and cats Wally and Chubbers.
