The creation of a new Langford-Highlands provincial electoral district speaks to rapid population growth in the West Shore, and despite its name, it will be a Langford-centred, possibly more conservative riding, says Royal Roads professor David Black.
British Columbia’s Electoral Boundaries Commission released a preliminary report Monday that recommends creating six electoral districts — Vancouver, Burnaby, Langley, Surrey and Kelowna, along with Langford-Highlands on Vancouver Island.
The proposed change would boost the number of seats in the legislature to 93 from 87.
Black, an associate professor in communication and culture at Royal Roads University, noted that Highlands is only home to a few thousand people, versus Langford, which has about 46,000. “So, I mean, it’s a Langford-centred riding.”
The third-fastest-growing municipality in Canada, Langford saw its population spike 31.8 per cent from 2016 to 2021, from 35,342 to 46,584 people, according to Victoria Census Metropolitan Area statistics released this year. Sooke had the region’s second-highest growth rate at 16 per cent.
The current Langford-Juan de Fuca riding, represented by B.C. Premier John Horgan, covers a large stretch of land and a more varied population, including Highlands, Sooke and East Sooke, and the rural area from Sooke to Port Renfrew.
Under the proposed changes, the Juan de Fuca area would marry up with the Malahat riding.
Where things could get interesting politically, said Black, is that Langford has tended to tilt more conservative in voting than the “sea of orange and green voters” in the rest of the south Island.
Black compares Langford to Parksville in the mid-Island, which was represented by B.C. Liberal Michelle Stillwell from May 2013 to September 2020.
“This may give the B.C. Liberals opportunities in the south Island that have not been here for a while since the Island went [NDP] orange,” said Black.
Given rapid growth on the West Shore, new boundaries were needed to respect the principles of the province’s representation-by-population voting system, said Black.
Supreme Court Justice Nitya Iyer, chair of the commission, noted that B.C.’s population has grown by about 300,000 people over the past five years. The commission travelled throughout the province for input on electoral boundaries, holding 50 public meetings in 43 communities and receiving about 1,300 submissions before it began deliberating, Iyer said in a statement.
The report also recommends tweaking the boundaries of 71 electoral districts based on geographic, demographic and other considerations.
Boundary adjustments would include tucking Vic West into a newly named Esquimalt-Colwood electoral district and sliding Brentwood Bay into Saanich and the North Islands.
“It’s clear that the Gorge [Waterway] is no longer just a natural boundary but a political one,” said Black.
Vic West shares a land boundary with Esquimalt at about Dominion Road and otherwise is bordered by water and connected to Victoria by two bridges — the Johnson Street and Bay Street bridges.
Vic West has always been somewhat ambiguous, said Black, but the redrawing of the provincial electoral boundary suggests the commission heard that residents see themselves more as part of Esquimalt, View Royal and Metchosin than downtown.
Black noted there hasn’t been a Colwood district in the past, but Colwood’s population grew 12.5 per cent to 18,961 in 2021, from 16,859 in 2016.
A final round of in-person and virtual public consultations is set to close Nov. 22. Surveys can be completed at bcebc.ca and information can be requested by emailing [email protected] or calling 1-800-661-8683.
A final report and recommendations will be prepared and submitted to the Legislative Assembly on April 3. After that, the government will decide whether to accept all, some or none of the commission’s recommendations.
If the NDP government calls an election early next year, the current 87-seat electoral map will be used. If the party sticks to its legislated election date of Oct. 19, 2024 the proposed 93 seats could be in use.
As for whether there’s room in the legislature for that many members, NDP house leader Mike Farnworth has joked that the desks in the B.C. legislature may have to be replaced by benches — the seating arrangement in the U.K.’s House of Commons.
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