OTTAWA—A radically redrawn political map for Toronto has given boosted clout to the surging condominium neighbourhoods on the waterfront, while creating a new federal riding for voters living in Rosedale and around the University of Toronto.A proposed district called Spadina—Fort York would stretch along the Lake Ontario shore from Dufferin Street to the Don Valley Parkway and take in much of the downtown core south of Dundas St.
North of Dundas, the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for Ontario has carved out a new riding called University-Rosedale, stretching through the Annex neighbourhood north and south of Bloor St.
This new map is a second draft from the commission — a huge rewrite of the first attempt, which drew a significant outcry from Toronto residents when it was unveiled last fall.
It’s part of a much more sweeping plan to add 30 seats to the Commons in time for the 2015 election, including 15 new ridings in Ontario — two of which are in the city of Toronto.
A proposal to create a new riding called Mount Pleasant has been scrapped in the redrafted version, and commissioners were obviously persuaded that Toronto’s new electoral map should take account of the many people who argued in favour of a separate riding for the burgeoning waterfront-condo community.
The first version of the redrawn Toronto boundaries had also split the gay village around Church St. downtown, but that problem has also been fixed in the redraft by scrapping the Mount Pleasant idea.
Still, there will be some disruption in the status quo.
The proposed Spadina—Fort York riding would replace the current Trinity—Spadina riding, how represented in the Commons by New Democrat MP Olivia Chow.
Chow, who had taken great interest in the boundary hearings when they were held in Toronto in November, was not available to comment on the new map, which was tabled in the Commons on Monday afternoon.
If Chow doesn’t run for mayor of Toronto in 2014, as is repeatedly rumoured, then she would have to choose whether to run in Spadina—Fort York or the new University—Rosedale riding. The Kensington Market area, where Chow makes her home, would likely be part of the riding of University—Rosedale if this new map becomes the final product of the redrawing exercise.
Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett, whose St. Paul’s riding was massively altered in the first draft but largely resurrected in this new attempt, was delighted with the commission’s responsiveness to Toronto citizens’ concerns.
In an article written for a community website, she called the redraft “a model of civic efficacy.”
The waterfront-riding idea had surfaced in numerous conversations with Toronto residents, Bennett wrote.
“We were very impressed that the (commission) had really listened . . . . Citizens can actually see their fingerprints on these riding boundary changes. There was a real two-way accountability.”
The Mowat Centre has been keeping a close eye on the boundary changes and Michael Pal, a fellow at the centre, has written extensively on fixing Ontario’s under-representation in the Commons.
He, too, said the new map was a product of the commissioners’ responsiveness to concerns about the first attempt — particularly some divisions through long-established neighbourhoods.
But Pal says he is still worried about the wide disparity in the size of ridings in Toronto – which essentially amounts to having some voters with more clout than others in the Commons.
In the new Fort York—Spadina riding, for instance, it’s one MP for about 82,000 people, but Etobicoke Centre residents get one MP for about 115,000 people. The provincial quota for Ontario, or the ideal set by the commission, is one MP for every 106,000 people. Reported by Toronto Star 4 hours ago.