Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist

GASPÉ – The Gaspé Peninsula will retain its two provincial ridings – Bonaventure and Gaspé – in the next election, scheduled for October 2026. 

Judge Alexander Pless dismissed the application by elected officials from the Laurentians and Central Quebec regions against the Chief Electoral Officer of Quebec and the Attorney General of Quebec to revoke the Act to interrupt the process of delimitation of electoral districts, adopted unanimously by the National Assembly of Quebec on May 2, 2024. 

The Regroupement of Gaspesian MRCs argued during the hearings held from May 8 to 14 that the electoral map on the table was highly detrimental to the principle of effective representativeness, directly impacting the representation of the Gaspé Peninsula in Quebec’s democratic institutions. In his decision rendered on May 29, the judge noted that “In principle, everyone’s vote must carry equal weight. However, Section 3 of the Charter guarantees the right to effective representation. This requires consideration of other factors that conflict with the strict arithmetical equivalence of votes.” 

“I am of the opinion that the impugned law does indeed infringe the applicants’ right to vote, as guaranteed by Section 3 of the Charter. However, the Attorney General of Quebec demonstrates that the law is justified under Section 1 of the Charter. The application for a declaration of invalidity must be dismissed,” noted Justice Press. 

“This is a lengthy 43-page judgment that truly covers the state of the law on the issue of electoral districts. Its interpretation of the 1991 Carter decision on effective representativeness is exactly the same interpretation that we have,” responded Gaspé Mayor Daniel Côté. The decision upholds Bonaventure and Gaspé, but the judge warns that for the subsequent election, the National Assembly must review the electoral law to protect the little democratic weight remaining in the regions. 

“That leaves a little time, but the process for reviewing the electoral law is long because the MNAs are both judge and jury. That said, there was a commitment from all political parties to ensure a certain lasting influence for the regions of Quebec whose populations are growing less rapidly than urban centres. If we want to avoid finding ourselves in 100 years with 100 MNAs (Members of the National Assembly) in the Montreal region and 25 for all regions of Quebec, there are principles that must be reviewed in the electoral law to ensure that the regions maintain a minimum weight,” states the mayor, who is also a lawyer by training. 

The elected officials of the Laurentians and Central Quebec regions still have the option of appealing the decision. “They have the right to appeal if they believe they have been wronged. This isn’t a decision made on the spur of the moment. The judge really delves into case law and cites decisions made by the Speaker of the National Assembly where he had to rule on principles,” notes Mr. Côté. 

The deadlines for achieving their goals are very tight, particularly for the Electoral Commission, which was told in November to continue its review work while keeping its report secret. 

“For now, that’s what the judge says because the 2017 map will prevail in 2026,” explains Mr. Côté. What the judge is saying is what is more damaging? Removing one of the two ridings in the Gaspé Peninsula or ensuring the principle of one voter, one vote for the regions surrounding Montreal? He concludes that what is more damaging is removing a riding in the Gaspé Peninsula,” the mayor quotes. 

Prior to the court’s decision, Quebec had indicated it was waiting for the ruling before taking a position, while elected officials in the region hoped the National Assembly would adopt a revision of the electoral law before the court’s decision. 

“The judgment that will be rendered will be important, crucial for the future. We will wait for the judgment to be rendered. Considering the nature of the judgment, we will see what options will be presented to us. Our intention remains the same: to impose the known framework for the next election and promote new inputs on regional representation. The process is underway; we are awaiting the judgment,” stated Gaspé Member of the National Assembly Stéphane Sainte-Croix on May 23. 

In December, Judge Annie Breault of the Superior Court of the District of Terrebonne partially granted the interlocutory injunction requested by elected officials from the Laurentides and Centre-du-Québec regions and ordered the Commission on Representation on the Electoral Map to continue its work, but maintained in force for the time being the Act that halted the revision of the electoral map. 

The court allowed the Director General of Elections, or Quebec’s Electoral Officer, to complete its work and eventually file a second report, as required by the electoral law, should the court rule that the Act adopted in May to suspend the electoral law was invalid. 

The MRC group pointed out that the electoral map on the table was highly detrimental to the principle of effective representation, directly impacting the representation of the Gaspé Peninsula in Quebec’s democratic institutions. 

The group made representations to the court on November 28, 2024, to become a stakeholder in the case. 

It should be mentioned that the Commission suggested merging the ridings of Gaspé and Bonaventure, bringing together the MRCs of Côte-de-Gaspé, Rocher-Percé, Bonaventure, and Avignon, to create Gaspé-Bonaventure, while Haute-Gaspésie would be transferred to the riding of Matane-Matapédia, a Lower St. Lawrence riding. As of April 30, 2023, Bonaventure had 35,898 voters and Gaspé 30,131, far from the minimum threshold. The gap was -29.2% and -40.6%, respectively. 

Gaspé ranked third among the least populous ridings, behind the Magdalen Islands, which has exceptional status, and Ungava. According to projections of the number of voters based on data from the Institut de la statistique du Québec, the gap compared to the average in Gaspé should soon surpass that of Ungava. 

In 2017, the commission maintained the negative exceptional status for Gaspé and granted the same status for Bonaventure. 

However, since the inequalities in representation in these ridings are increasing, the commission did not wish to renew this status. In addition to removing a riding in the Gaspésie, the commission suggested doing the same thing in Montreal to create a riding in the Laurentians and another in Central Quebec.