Work to redraw Nova Scotia's electoral map begins

Jean Laroche · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 24, 2025 5:21 PM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

An all-party committee of the legislature took the archetypal measurement toward redrawing Nova Scotia's electoral map on Monday. 

At its archetypal meeting, the prime committee of 9 MLAs — five PCs, 3 New Democrats and a Liberal — agreed that a caller electoral boundaries committee should apt beryllium made up of 9 members and their enactment should beryllium constricted to creating a maximum of 3 caller ridings.

James Charlton, the main clerk of the Nova Scotia Legislature, warned the MLAs that immoderate much than three would make superior challenges.

"We person an infrastructure occupation astatine the House, which is to accidental our legislative enclosure — as each of the members cognize — is very, precise choky close now," Charlton told the committee. "I would astir apt urge that we enactment an precocious bounds connected the fig of seats that beryllium recommended."

Charlton said the enclosure could astir apt accommodate astir 58 members, which would beryllium an summation of 3 from the existent 55. Any more, helium said, would necessitate "extensive renovations."

A caller provincial electoral boundaries committee had to beryllium created to woody with a Nova Scotia Supreme Court ruling past November that the deficiency of a protected territory for Chéticamp was an unjustified breach of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The tribunal gave the committee 20 months to gully up a caller riding.

According to Charlton, the choky timeline meant the committee should implicit its enactment by aboriginal successful the caller year, astatine the latest. 

The legislature's main legislative counsel, Gordon Hebb, warned the committee charged with forming the committee and mounting its mandate that nonaccomplishment to implicit the occupation by July 2026 could person far-reaching consequences.

"It's a precise superior contented due to the fact that what the tribunal has done successful the decision is dissolved each the constituencies successful Nova Scotia arsenic of July 15, 2026," said Hebb. "So it's an implicit deadline. We've got to re-enact each the constituencies."

La Fédération acadienne de la Nouvelle-Écosse, the province's largest Acadian group, launched the tribunal lawsuit aft the committee that created the 2019 electoral representation didn't springiness the assemblage of Cheticamp its ain riding.

The erstwhile committee recommended the restoration of 2 Acadian ridings connected the mainland and 1 successful Richmond County, Cape Breton, on with 1 for Black Nova Scotians. But it rejected the telephone for a protected riding for Cheticamp due to the fact that of its tiny population.

The MLAs volition conscionable again doubly adjacent week, down closed doors, to effort to hold connected the commission's members and its mandate.