The new riding will take in most of Shelburne County, going down as far as Port Saxon, which is just before Barrington. It will also expand northwards, taking in Maitland Bridge.
Commission members were appointed at the end of December 2011, to establish not more than 52 seats that would allow each voter in the province to enjoy the same voting power, to the greatest extent possible. The commission was asked that all constituencies fall within 25 per cent of the average number of electors. The commission submitted the report to the attorney general on Monday and to the clerk of the House this morning.
The commission brought forward a recommendation earlier in the summer, however the provincial government rejected it over the smaller protected ridings. Those included three francophone and one African Nova Scotian riding.
"This final report completes the third review of Nova Scotia's electoral boundaries since 1992," said commission chair Teresa MacNeil. "Changes in population call for shifts in legislative representation to achieve relative voting parity in light of sometimes conflicting public views and interests."
The final report proposes:
-- there should be 51 members in the House of Assembly
-- one constituency should be removed from Cape Breton and two from mainland Nova Scotia
-- two new constituencies are recommended for the Halifax area
-- boundary adjustments in the remaining constituencies are also guided by the goal of relative voter parity
While the commission was not bound by county or municipal boundaries in redistribution, these have been used wherever possible. The commission accommodated existing polling districts and used land features such as highways and water bodies that provide natural and workable separation of population areas.
Despite the challenges posed by Nova Scotia's geography and population distribution, all of the province's geographic regions fall within 15 per cent from equal electoral population. Elector populations in 31 constituencies fall within 15 per cent of the average and 22 constituencies fall within 10 per cent.
To read the report online, go to http://nselectoralboundaries.ca/publications/
