The federal NDP is tripping all over itself in trying to have it both ways 鈥� keeping its large Quebec caucus happy and simultaneously suggesting that giving Quebec more seats in the House of Commons is good for fast-growing provinces like B.C.
It鈥檚 impossible to achieve both ends.
The Conservative government is expected to introduce a bill in Ottawa adding 30 seats to the House of Commons. All 30 would be in the three fastest-growing and most under-represented provinces 鈥� B.C., Alberta and Ontario.
The late Jack Layton tried to push the government in its minority days to add additional seats for Quebec as well, so that it would not have its influence watered down. He campaigned in Quebec on that basis in the recent federal election.
The lone candidate for Layton鈥檚 job, party president Brian Topp, has endorsed this view and said in B.C. last Wednesday that British Columbians would welcome this approach. How wrong he is.
While Topp is correct that House of Commons representation is not strictly 鈥渞epresentation by population,鈥� the exceptions are minor. Under the constitution, no province can have less MPs than senators. Thus Prince Edward Island is guaranteed a minimum of four seats. No province can have fewer MPs than it had in 1976, so no Atlantic province will lose representation. The four Atlantic provinces together have just 32 seats.
A few vast rural ridings, and the territories. are also exceptions.
In the case of Quebec, it has had seats based on its share of the population, starting with 64 in 1867 and eventually rising to 75. Redistribution in other provinces has been based on the number of seats in Quebec.
Historically, Quebec consistently had about one-quarter of Canada鈥檚 population, but in more recent years, Quebec鈥檚 share of the national population has gone down to about 23 per cent. Quebec would have had one-quarter of Commons seats in perpetuity, had the Charlottetown Accord passed in 1992. But it failed, with 54.3 per cent of Canadians opposed, and almost 57 per cent of Quebeckers opposing it.
鈥淩ep by pop鈥� applies to Quebec just as much as it does here. B.C. ridings are among the most-populated in Canada, and this province needs fairer representation. Quebec should maintain its 75 ridings, but is not entitled to any more unless its population increases.
