Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine (Quebec) 113/338

 Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine (Quebec)

Today we're in Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine!

Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine has existed as a riding since 2004. The population of the riding was 75,850 in 2016. The population centers are Gaspé (14,568 in 2016), Chandler (7,546 in 2016), and Sainte-Anne-des-Monts (6,437 in 2016). This is one of the oldest ridings in the country, with 52.5 being the median age, ten years above the Quebec median age.

Politically, this seat has been a Quebec bellwether since 1980. With the seat reporting a few polls ahead of the rest of Quebec (the Magdalen Islands are in the Atlantic time zone), it is an early indicator of how the rest of the province will vote (NDP wave in 2011, Liberal surge in 2015, Bloc strength in 2019). This seat is currently held by Minister of National Revenue and Liberal MP Diane Lebouthillier.

The Gaspé Peninsula is one of the more over-represented regions outside of specific rules (Atlantic, Territories, Northern Ontario). In the 2012 redistribution, it was decided that the eastern Gaspé Peninsula would keep its three ridings, with the region being identified as a region worthy of extra representation. We'll see how the ridings fare in redistribution next year. In 2019, the seat was 7/78 in Quebec and 16/338 in Canada by margin.

Rating:

Name: 8.8/10 - Generally good, it is a bit long, but the name is in French, so I won't dock too many marks.

Shape: 8.1/10 - Not a huge fan of the western border, but other than that we're fine.

Individuality: 7.8/10 - Pretty individual, I really like finding out what makes ridings "protected".

Total: 24.7/30 (82.3%)

Tomorrow we're in the National Capital Region with Gatineau!

Fundy Royal (New Brunswick) 112/338

 Fundy Royal (New Brunswick)

Today we're in Fundy Royal!

Fundy Royal has existed as a riding since 1917. The population of the riding was 79,943 in 2016. The population centers are Quispamsis (18,245 in 2016), Hampton (4,289 in 2016), and Sussex (4,282 in 2016). The name comes from King and Queen counties, as well as the Bay of Fundy.

Politically, this riding has one of the most solid Conservative voting records in the Atlantic. The riding has only voted Liberal twice since 1917: in 1993 when Paul Zed won the seat and 2015 when Alaina Lockhart won the seat. The Liberal victory in 2015 was one of the narrowest in the Atlantic, just 1,775 votes separated the Liberals and the Conservatives. The seat is currently held by Conservative MP Rob Moore.

Provincially, Quispamsis is represented by Premier Blaine Higgs. In 2010, he was first elected to the New Brunswick legislature, serving as minister of finance under Premier David Alward. After four years in opposition, Blaine Higgs' PC's defeated the Liberals to a minority government in 2018 and in 2020 formed a majority government. In 2019, this seat was 6/10 in New Brunswick and 196/338 in Canada by margin.

Rating:

Name: 8.5/10 - Very creative name, I like the connection to the Bay of Fundy.

Shape: 3.2/10 - I seriously can't stand this shape for some reason, I really wish that Riverview wasn't split, and the curve is gross.

Individuality: 7.5/10 - For a generally non-conservative region of the country, its cool that this riding has such a long history.

Total: 19.2/30 (64%)

See you soon with Gaspésie—Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine!

Fredericton (New Brunswick) 111/338

 Fredericton (New Brunswick)

Today we're in central New Brunswick with Fredericton!

Fredericton has existed as a riding since 1917, not being named Fredericton until 1988. The population of the riding was 83,303 in 2016. The population centers are Fredericton (58,220 in 2016), Oromocto (9,223 in 2016), and New Maryland (4,174 in 2016). The city of Fredericton is partially in Tobique—Mactaquac.

Politically, hoo boy we've got a swing seat! From 2011 until now, the seat has been held by a Conservative, Liberal, and a Green. Provincially, this seat is represented by the PC's, Greens, and the People's Alliance. The region has been Green since 2014, when New Brunswick Green leader David Coon won his seat here. This seat is currently represented by Liberal MP Jenica Atwin.

Jenica Atwin was elected in 2019 as a Green, the party's first elected seat outside of British Columbia. In May 2021, she was vocal in her position on the Israel/Palestine crisis. Because of her comments, one of the senior members of the party, Noah Zatzman voiced his opposition to her comments. Because of these comments and the way the party dealt with them, Jenica Atwin crossed the floor to the Liberals on June 10th, 2021. She was re-elected on September 20th, 2021 as a Liberal. In 2019, this seat was 2/10 in New Brunswick and 31/338 in Canada by margin.

Rating:

Name: 8.4/10 - I'm mostly happy with the name, I'm just annoyed that they don't have the entire city in the riding.

Shape: 3.8/10 - Listen, I understand municipal boundaries are municipal boundaries, but can you seriously look at this and think it's okay? They didn't even fit the entire city in the riding!

Individuality: 10/10 - I mean, what other riding can say they had the same trajectory as this riding?

Total: 22.2/30 (74%)

Tomorrow we're one riding east in Fundy Royal!

Fort McMurray—Cold Lake (Alberta) 110/338

 Fort McMurray—Cold Lake (Alberta)

Today we're in northern Alberta with Fort McMurray—Cold Lake!

Fort McMurray—Cold Lake has existed as a riding since the 2012 redistribution, created from Fort McMurray—Athabasca and Westlock—St. Paul. The population of the riding was 110,230 in 2016. The population centers are Wood Buffalo (71,859 in 2016), Cold Lake (14,961 in 2016), and Lac La Biche (8,330 in 2016). Fort McMurray is within the specialized municipality of Wood Buffalo.

Politically, this seat has been solidly Conservative since 1958, before that being a Liberal seat. That isn't to say opposition parties haven't had success here. During the Pierre Trudeau days, the Liberals were consistently above 20% and were within 1300 votes of taking the riding in 1968 and hovered around 20-30% during the Chretien years. The seat is currently held by Conservative MP Laila Goodridge.

One of the former MP's for the riding is Brian Jean. Brian Jean served in the House of Commons for 10 years, resigning and later becoming the leader of the Wildrose Party of Alberta. The party formed the opposition in the 2015 Alberta election, and after merging with the Progressive Conservatives, Brian Jean lost the leadership race of the United Conservative Party to now premier Jason Kenney. Brian Jean is currently seeking the UCP nomination for the seat vacated by Laila Goodridge. In 2019, this seat was 24/34 in Alberta and 326/338 in Canada by margin.

Rating:

Name: 7.4/10 - I like the name, but I think Wood Buffalo should be incorporated somewhere, and maybe Lac La Biche.

Shape: 4.2/10 - I just can't forgive the south end, even if does follow rivers and roads.

Individuality: 6.7/10 - Cool MP's and occasional closeness, but still very Alberta.

Total: 18.3/30 (61%)

Tomorrow we're in Fredericton, I wonder what we'll talk about...

Foothills (Alberta) 109/338

 Foothills (Alberta)

Today we're in southwest Alberta with Foothills!

Foothills has existed as a riding since 2012, created from Calgary Southwest, Macleod, and Lethbridge. The population of the riding was 113,227 in 2016. The population centers are Okotoks (28,881 in 2016), High River (13,584 in 2016), and Claresholm (3,780 in 2016). The riding is named for Foothills County, immediately south of Calgary.

Politically, I'm sure you can guess. This seat has been solidly Conservative since 1972. The seat was most recently won by a non-Conservative party in 1968 when Allen B. Sulatycky won the Rocky Mountain seat with 37% support. He lost to future prime minister Joe Clark in 1972 but he gained votes in between elections. This seat is currently represented by Conservative MP John Barlow.

From 2008 until the 2014 by-election when John Barlow was first elected, there were three different parties in second place: the Greens in 2008 with 9%, the NDP in 2011 with 10%, and the Liberals in 2014 with 17%, which is the most support a second place party has received since 1993 when the PC's placed second to the Reform Party. In 2019, this seat was 30/34 in Alberta and 333/338 in Canada by margin.

Rating:

Name: 7.8/10 - I don't mind the name, Alberta has every right to name the ridings after the counties, I honestly would be happy with keeping a Rocky Mountain riding.

Shape: 5.7/10 - West side is fine, it's on a border, but the east is gross, even with the idea of county lines.

Individuality: 3.7/10 - Not very individual, I guess a Liberal winning here in 1968 is pretty cool.

Total: 18.2/30 (57.3%)

Tomorrow we're on the opposite side of the province in Fort McMurray—Cold Lake!

Fleetwood—Port Kells (British Columbia) 108/338

 Fleetwood—Port Kells (British Columbia) 

Today we're in Surrey with Fleetwood—Port Kells!

Fleetwood—Port Kells has existed as a riding since 2004, created from Surrey Central and Surrey North. The population was 116,958 in 2016. The riding contains the neighbourhoods of Fleetwood, Fraser Heights, and Port Kells. The riding is 30% South Asian, just 265 people short of being the largest ethnic group in the riding.

Politically, this seat was Conservative territory from 1993-2015, when the Liberals surged in the Lower Mainland and won the riding in 2015. This seat had one of the bigger swings in 2015, tied with Delta for second place at a 31% swing, only behind Cloverdale—Langley City at a 34% swing towards the Liberals. The seat is currently held by Liberal MP Ken Hardie.

With Surrey being home to a large South Asian population, it is worth noting the success the Liberal Party has had in South Asian ridings the past three elections. The three largest South Asian communities in the country are Brampton (44.3%), Surrey (32.8%), and Abbotsford (25.5%). In the past three elections, the Liberals have held all but two seats in these communities, and the seats that they do hold are with pretty big margins, winning all but one Brampton seat with over 50% support. In 2019, this seat was 7/42 in BC and 38/338 in Canada by margin.

Rating:

Name: 7.9/10 - Generally a good name, but Port Kells is such a small part of the riding, I'd rather involve Guildford somehow.

Shape: 8.6/10 - It's important to keep Fleetwood together, idk how to make it better, but it still is a little gross to me.

Individuality: 6.7/10 - Interesting how big of a shift there was, but it is pretty par for the course as far as Surrey goes.

Total: 23.2/30 (77.3%)

See you soon with Foothills!

Flamborough—Glanbrook (Ontario) 107/338

 Flamborough—Glanbrook (Ontario)

Today we're in Flamborough—Glanbrook!

Flamborough—Glanbrook has existed as a riding since 2012. The population of the riding was 111,065 in 2016. The riding is in the city of Hamilton and contains the communities of Waterdown, Binbrook, and Carlisle. The riding was drawn in 2012 initially underpopulated at 97,081, but due to its suburban nature and expansion of Hamilton, it grew by 14.4% in 5 years.

Politically, this seat has historically been a Liberal/Conservative swing seat. From 1972-1993, it was a PC seat, with the Liberals not too far behind, which made it easy for the Liberals to hold it from 1993-2006, but thanks to the rise of Stephen Harper's Conservatives, it has been held by the Conservatives since 2006. The seat is currently held by Conservative MP Dan Muys.

Interesting thing about this riding: while the city of Hamilton has grown by 3.3% (16,968 people), most of the growth has been in this riding, with the more urban ridings not growing that much, even Hamilton Centre losing more than 1,800 people and Hamilton East—Stoney Creek only getting about 60 new people. In 2019, this seat was 7/121 in Ontario and 24/338 in Canada by margin.

Rating:

Name: 6.7/10 - I appreciate the geographic names, but it would be nice to have it named after Hamilton.

Shape: 6.1/10 - Pretty okay, just not a fan of the municipal lines.

Individuality: 5.4/10 - Growth is cool, pretty static politically, which I guess is interesting in itself.

Total: 18.2/30 (60.7%)

Tomorrow we're back in my neck of the woods with Fleetwood—Port Kells!