The provincial riding of Huntingdon could see a significant extension to its boundaries by the next general election.
A preliminary report tabled in the National Assembly on September 19 by Quebec’s commission on electoral representation recommends changes to the boundaries of 55 constituencies across the province, including the addition of five municipalities to the Huntingdon riding.
The proposed changes are to ensure all ridings in Quebec have roughly the same number of voters. In the Montérégie, all 20 ridings have seen an increase in the number of eligible voters, with the most significant increases taking place in the Beauharnois, Vaudreuil, La Prairie, and Soulanges circumscriptions. The changes will balance the number of voters between ridings, while considering the demographic, geographic, and sociocultural makeup of the region.
The report proposes to extend the boundaries of the Huntingdon riding by adding the municipalities of Saint-Étienne-de-Beauharnois, Saint-Stanislas-de-Kostka, and Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague, which are currently part of the Beauharnois riding. Huntingdon’s eastern boundaries will also grow with the inclusion of the municipality of Saint-Blaise-sur-Richelieu, as well as the predominantly agricultural section of the city of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu.
To compensate for the increase in the voter population in the Huntingdon riding by these additions, the report proposes the municipality of Saint-Michel become part of the Sanguinet riding.
The redrawing of political boundaries takes place following every second general election. Public consultations on the preliminary report will take place from Oct. 10 to Nov. 15.
