Halifax (Nova Scotia) 120/338

 Halifax (Nova Scotia)

Today we're in Halifax!

Halifax has existed as a riding since Confederation, one of the few ridings left with this distinction. The population of the riding was 94,610 in 2016. The riding contains the neighbourhoods of Convoy Place, Spryfield, and Armdale. The riding also contains Sable Island, which is located 300 kilometers southeast of Halifax.

Politically, this seat was a Liberal/Progressive Conservative seat from Confederation until 1997. In 1997, NDP leader and former leader of the Nova Scotia NDP Alexa McDonough won the seat, along with their best performance in the Atlantic. Megan Leslie held it after McDonough, until she lost it to Liberal Andy Fillmore. The seat is currently held by Liberal MP Andy Fillmore.

Before 1997, the NDP hadn't had too much success in the Atlantic, they first won a seat here in 1940, on Cape Breton Island. In 1997, they won 8/32 seats in the Atlantic, the closest they've come to since is 2011, when they won 6/32 seats, winning both St. John's seats and 3/4 Halifax seats. In the most recent election, the party didn't win any seats in the Atlantic provinces. In 2019, this seat was 5/11 in Nova Scotia and 116/338 in Canada by margin.

Rating:

Name: 9.2/10 - Pretty much perfect, but Halifax is larger than just this riding.

Shape: 8.1/10 - Also pretty good, I'd prefer if the seat was a bit more urban, instead of this weird divide.

Individuality: 6.8/10 - Interesting how it flipped so easily in 1997 and has been close since.

Total: 24.1/30 (80.3%)

See you soon in Halifax West!

Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock (Ontario) 119/338

 Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock (Ontario)

Today we're in Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock!

Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock has existed as a riding since 1968, originally named Victoria—Haliburton. The population of the riding was 113,956 in 2016. The population centers are Lindsay (20,713 in 2016), Bobcaygeon (3,525 in 2016), and Beaverton (2,822 in 2016). The riding is largely rural, especially in the Haliburton County portion.

Politically, this seat has been one of the safest Conservative seats in Ontario, being Conservative for all but eleven of the past fifty three years. Those eleven years were during the Chrétien years when the Liberals held all but a handful of Ontario seats. After the Conservative party merged, the riding has gotten progressively more Conservative, save the 2015 election where the Conservatives were knocked down to a 44.8% victory. This seat is currently represented by Conservative MP Jamie Schmale.

Completely unrelated to this riding, today (December 6th) is the anniversary of the fourteen young women murdered on the campus of Polytechnique Montréal. Today we remember their futures that were stolen from them. December 6th in Canada marks the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. In 2019, this seat was 89/121 in Ontario and 217/338 in Canada by margin.

Rating:

Name: 4.8/10 - I get it, the name makes sense, but it is much too long. Haliburton—Kawartha will suffice.

Shape: 3.9/10 - It's giving pre-2012 Durham (that isn't a good thing).

Individuality: 4.1/10 - Not too individual, the former MP was a minister, but it is pretty inline with rural Canada and eastern Ontario.

Total: 12.8/30 (42.7%)

Tomorrow we're in Nova Scotia with Halifax!

Haldimand—Norfolk (Ontario) 118/338

 Haldimand—Norfolk (Ontario) 

Today we're in Haldimand—Norfolk!

Haldimand—Norfolk has existed as a riding since 1979, getting redrawn and renamed from 1997-2004. The population was 109,652 in 2016. The population centers are Simcoe (13,922 in 2016), Caledonia (9,674 in 2016), and Port Dover (6,161 in 2016). The riding contains Haldimand and Norfolk counties.

Politically, this riding has remained pretty stagnant since 2004. The last time the riding was close was in 2015, when the Liberals were 7.55% behind the Conservatives. In 2008, the Conservatives only received 40.8%, largely due to Gary McHale running as an independent candidate and getting 10% of the vote. This seat is currently held by Conservative MP Leslyn Lewis.

Leslyn Lewis was first elected into parliament in 2021, taking the open seat from Diane Finley. In 2020, Lewis garnered national attention after running for the Conservative leadership, finishing third, winning the popular vote on the second ballot. Lewis actually ran in the 2015 election, running in Scarborough—Rouge Park, getting 27% of the vote. In 2019, this seat was 86/121 in Ontario and 209/338 in Canada by margin.

Rating:

Name: 9.8/10 - I do wish that the entirety of both counties were in the riding.

Shape: 8.2/10 - Again, counties are great, but the little appendages are gross.

Individuality: 4.2/10 - On par with most of rural southern Ontario, the Leslyn Lewis factor definitely helps.

Total: 22.2/30 (74%)

Tomorrow we're north in Haliburton—Kawartha Lakes—Brock!

Guelph (Ontario) 117/338

 Guelph (Ontario) 

Today we're in Guelph!

Guelph has existed as a riding since 1979. The population of the riding was 131,794 in 2016. The riding contains the entire city of Guelph and follows the exact same municipal boundaries as Guelph. This is one of the few ridings in Canada with this characteristic, Ajax being another off the top of my head.

Politically, this seat has been held by the Liberals since 1993, but the opposition parties have moved around quite a bit. In 1997, the PC's were in second, which matched the neighbouring Halton region. In 2008, the four main parties were within 16 points of each other, with the Liberals winning with just 32% of the vote. In 2019, the Greens surged into second place, taking 25% of the vote. This seat is currently represented by Liberal MP Lloyd Longfield.

Provincially, this seat is represented by Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner. Leader since 2009, he has led the party into three general elections, finally winning his seat in Guelph in 2018 with 45% of the vote. The party has made some gains in recent years, winning 8% of the popular vote in 2007, the year before the federal Greens got the same amount in the province. In 2019, this seat was 55/121 in Ontario and 137/338 in Canada by margin.

Rating:

Name: 10/10 - It speaks for itself.

Shape: 9.7/10 - The issue I have is how overpopulated it is, other than that the riding is a 10.

Individuality: 8.9/10 - We love ridings that bounce around, especially under the surface.

Total: 28.6/30 (95.3%)

Tomorrow we're in Haldimand—Norfolk!

Grande Prairie–Mackenzie (Alberta) 116/338

 Grande Prairie–Mackenzie (Alberta) 

Today we're in northern Alberta with Grande Prairie–Mackenzie!

Grande Prairie–Mackenzie has existed as a riding since the 2012 redistribution, created from Peace River. The population of the riding was 117,327 in 2016. The population centers are Grande Prairie (63,166 in 2016), High Level (3,159 in 2016), and Sexsmith (2,620 in 2016). Driving through the entire riding north to south is impossible, there is no way to pass over the portion of Peace River in this riding.

Politically, this seat has been solidly Conservative since 1958, being held by the also conservative Social Credit Party before that. Being rural Alberta, this seat has had two things happen (almost) consistently in the 21st century: Conservatives above 55% support and no other candidate above 20%. An independent candidate by the name of Bill Given received 20% in 2006. That candidate was city councilor and future mayor of Grand Prairie Bill Given. The seat is currently held by Conservative MP Chris Warkentin.

I believe I've discussed the Socreds before, but that was in a Quebec context. The Socreds contested their first federal election in 1935, winning all but two seats in Alberta at the time. This election happened the same year the Alberta Socreds won their first of nine elections, winning all but seven seats in the Alberta legislature. In 2019, this seat was 31/34 in Alberta and 335/338 in Canada by margin.

Rating:

Name: 9.2/10 - I like they acknowledge the urban center as well as the remote stretches of the riding. Some acknowledgement of the Peace Region would be nice.

Shape: 6.8/10 - I understand the purpose of Mackenzie County being included, it just makes for an awkward shape.

Individuality: 2.8/10 - Bill Given getting local notoriety is cool, but it is very rural Alberta.

Total: 18.8/30 (62.7%)

See you soon in Guelph!

Glengarry—Prescott—Russell (Ontario) 115/338

 Glengarry—Prescott—Russell (Ontario)

Today we're in eastern Ontario with Glengarry—Prescott—Russell!

Glengarry—Prescott—Russell has existed as a riding since 1953. The population of the riding was 109,975 in 2016. The population centers are Clarence-Rockland (24,512 in 2016), Russell (16,520 in 2016), and Hawkesbury (10,263 in 2016). 59% of the riding lists French as their mother tongue, which can be attributed to the nearness to Ottawa and Quebec.

Politically, this riding has been Liberal for all but five elections since 1953. In 1957, the seat was won by Progressive Conservative Osie Villeneuve and was won with a narrower margin in the 1958 PC landslide election. In 2006, the seat was won by just 203 votes by Pierre Lemieux, who held the seat until 2015. This seat is currently held by Liberal MP Francis Drouin.

Pierre Lemieux was a candidate in the 2017 Conservative Leadership election. His platform included opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage. During the campaign he received no endorsements, but did receive endorsements from Campaign Life Coalition and Right Now. Lemieux ultimately placed 7th, his best provincial result was third in Manitoba. In 2019, this seat was 41/121 in Ontario and 111/338 in Canada by margin.

Rating:

Name: 8.2/10 - I don't know how to fix it, but it's pretty good, just a tad long.

Shape: 6.8/10 - Interesting choice to have Ottawa in the riding, I would've shaved off a part of Ottawa and given it to Carleton.

Individuality: 7.8/10 - Interesting how a riding so rural is so Liberal. Also the francophone factor helps too.

Total: 22.8/30 (76%)

Tomorrow we're back in Alberta with Grand Prairie—Mackenzie!

Gatineau (Quebec) 114/338

 Gatineau (Quebec)

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

Gatineau has existed as a riding since 1945, created from Hull and Wright. The population of the riding was 107,464 in 2016. The riding contains the city of Gatineau (276,245 in 2016, shared with three other ridings). While the riding is on the Quebec/Ontario border, there is no land connection, the riding is on the shore of the Ottawa River.

Politically, this seat was solidly Liberal since the beginning, only going Progressive Conservative in 1984. However, in 2006, the Bloc were able to sneak ahead and win the seat due to the Liberals slipping. It went NDP in 2011 after being close in 2008. The seat has been reliably Liberal since 2015. The seat is currently represented by Liberal MP Steve MacKinnon.

While most of Ottawa-Gatineau is solid Liberal nowadays, in the 2006 and 2008, you could drive from Ottawa West—Nepean to Gatineau and go through a Conservative riding, NDP riding, Liberal riding, and end in a Bloc seat. If you make that same drive today, you won't leave a Liberal riding. In 2019, this seat was 60/78 in Quebec and 259/338 in Canada by margin.

Rating:

Name: 9.0/10 - Very good name, concise and to the point. Gatineau is in three other ridings, so it isn't higher up.

Shape: 6.7/10 - I don't mind the shape, just not a huge fan of the municipal boundaries.

Individuality: 5.7/10 - For an Ottawa-Gatineau seat, it's pretty individual, surprising Bloc win in 2006.

Total:  21.4/30 (71.3%)

Tomorrow we're not too far with Glengarry—Prescott—Russell!