Proposal to split Saint John into two federal ridings baffles MP

Saint John-Rothesay MP Wayne Long plans to oppose proposed changes to the riding he represents, among the most dramatic of the changes recommended for New Brunswick by a federal boundary commission.

"I'm not happy about it I don't like it, and I'm going to fight it," Long said Friday about the plan to divide the city of Saint John into two separate electoral districts.

According to a report released Thursday on electoral reform in the province, everything east of the St. John River should join the Kennebecasis Valley, while everything west of it should join Charlotte County in a monster of a riding that stretches 8,600-square-kilometres into parts of Queens and Kings counties. 

"You know, I'm sitting in my office in Market Square, looking out the window, looking across at the port, looking across at west Saint John. To think that that would be a part of a riding that goes down to St. Stephen — it's just not acceptable. It will hurt Saint John in the long term," said Long. 

He said Saint John should have one MP focused on the needs of the city. Instead, he said, west siders will become a minority where their position will be diluted in an expansive riding largely made up of rural communities. 

"It's not two MPs. Let's be very clear on that. It's not Saint John has two MPs. Sure. There's two ridings with Saint John's name in them," said Long. 

The recommendation to split Saint John was among several made in the report released by the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for New Brunswick. 

According to the report, the province will maintain 10 federal seats, but all will look a little different in the next federal election, if the propsals are adopted. 

Some of the changes suggested by the Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission for New Brunswick, including in the Moncton area, are linguistically based.

For example, in the northwest, the commission has suggested that several francophone communities be moved from the electoral district of Miramichi-Grand Lake to Acadie-Bathurst. 

The three-member commission includes Lucie A. LaVigne, chair of the commission and a judge of the New Brunswick Court of Appeal, Condé Grondin, a retired professor of political science, and Thomas Riordon, a retired judge of the Court of Queen's Bench of New Brunswick.

Across the country, most provinces will maintain the same number of seats under the proposed changes, although Quebec will lose one seat and Ontario will gain one. The biggest change is proposed in Alberta, which could see three additional seats.

The report proposes growing Parliament by four seats in the next federal election, which would bring the total to 342.

Full details of the proposed changes in New Brunswick can be found online, but here are some highlights: