A new provincial electoral boundary proposal could combine Flin Flon and The Pas into one riding.
In a report released May 18, the Manitoba Electoral Divisions Boundaries Commission (MEDBC) revealed a proposal for new boundaries for all constituencies for provincial elections.
The proposed electoral map would combine both Flin Flon and The Pas into the same riding, tentatively called Flin Flon-The Pas.
Flin Flon has existed as an electoral district since 1958, when Francis “Bud” Jobin won a spot in provincial legislature for the Liberal-Progressive Party. NDP candidates have represented the riding since 1969, when miner Thomas Barrow defeated Progressive Conservative incumbent and radio personality Charles Witney.
In addition to the amalgamation, the new riding proposal would rid the riding of the northern half of the existing Flin Flon riding but include communities like Lynn Lake, Leaf Rapids, Snow Lake and Pukatawagan.
Currently, the riding encompasses an area that reaches Manitoba’s northern border with Nunavut, including Lac Brochet and Brochet.
The new boundaries would move those communities into an expanded version of the Keewatinook riding, running from the province’s northwest border with Saskatchewan, across the northernmost part of the province, along the shore of Hudson Bay and down the Ontario border to Lac du Bonnet.
As well, the existing Thompson riding will be changed to include Gillam and Nelson House.
In the report, the MEDBC said the change is due to a lower-than-average level of population growth.
“While there is some population growth in northern Manitoba, that growth is significantly slower than in the south of the province,” reads the report.
“The 2016 Census data indicates that all current northern electoral divisions are below the established population quotient.”
All four current provincial ridings are below the provincial benchmark for riding population. The MEDBC estimates that each electoral division should have a population of 22,427 people.
The Flin Flon constituency currently has the fewest people of any electoral district – with a population of 15,695, the district is lower than the benchmark by 30 per cent.
The MEDBC report states that all four northern districts, after the proposed boundary changes, should have about the same population and should be closer to the provincial threshold. If amalgamated, the new Flin Flon-The Pas riding would reach the provincial level.
Electoral boundaries in Manitoba are reviewed every 10 years.
