Saint John will be split into two separate federal ridings, despite opposition from some residents and the local member of Parliament.
The Federal Electoral Boundaries Commission of New Brunswick submitted its final report to the House of Commons this week.
The commission held firm with its original plan for ridings in the Saint John area while making tweaks to other proposed changes.
Saint John residents living west of the Saint John River and Saint John Harbour will join New Brunswick Southwest, which will be renamed Saint John-St. Croix.
The rest of the city will remain in Saint John-Rothesay, which will grow to include Quispamsis and be renamed Saint John-Kennebecasis.
“Both the urban and the rural populations of Saint John-St. Croix are significant,” the commission wrote in its report.
“Therefore, the elected representative will have to attend to the interests of both, and the Commission is satisfied that neither the urban nor the rural voices will be lost.”
‘I’m not happy about it at all’: MP
But Saint John-Rothesay Liberal MP Wayne Long disagrees with the commission’s assessment and believes the city should remain in one riding.
Long has publicly opposed the changes that were first proposed by the commission in June, including at a series of public meetings.
“You’re going to have 30 per cent of this city combined with 70 per cent rural in Charlotte County and the other portion combined with Quispamsis and Rothesay,” Long said in an interview on Friday.
The MP called the commission’s decision “shameful” and said it will hurt the residents of Saint John.
Long said he has one last shot at a “Hail Mary” appeal in an attempt to have the decision reversed.
“This is something that’s going to hurt my city and I take it personally. I’m not happy about it at all,” he said.
Other proposed changes reversed
Meanwhile, the commission has changed its mind about some of the other changes that it first proposed.
It originally suggested moving McAdam next door to the riding of Tobique-Mactaquac but has now decided to keep it in Saint John-St. Croix.
McAdam “has more in common with the communities in Charlotte County than it does with those in Tobique-Mactaquac,” the commission said in its report.
Further east, the commission also held firm on its decision to move all of Riverview into the riding of Fundy Royal.
However, it has decided not to change the name of the riding to Fundy Royal-Riverview as initially suggested.
Fundy Royal Conservative MP Rob Moore argued that no name change was necessary since Riverview is in Albert County and “Royal” encapsulates the counties of Kings, Queens and Albert — named for Prince Albert, the consort of Queen Victoria.
“He submitted that the current name achieved a fine balance of fair representation of all communities in the riding,” the commission wrote.
“Considering the Member’s arguments and the fact that the Commission had sought to retain the current riding names wherever appropriate, it is now satisfied that no name change is necessary for this riding.”
Elections Canada has said the new electoral map is expected to be done in late 2023, but the changes will not take effect until at least 2024.
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