Considerable changes are coming to local B.C. electoral boundary ridings, with current lines in grey, initially proposed lines in light purple and the final recommendations in dark. (B.C. Electoral Boundaries Commission)

By Alex Rawnsley

battle lines

Nanaimo, Oceanside & Ladysmith ridings drastically shift in final recommendation

Apr 4, 2023 | 3:32 PM

NANAIMO — The lines are set to be re-drawn ahead of the next provincial election, changing where people vote and for who.

Rapid growth through Nanaimo, along with answering loud calls for change in some areas, means the city will be split in two instead of three, but communities of Ladysmith, Parksville and Qualicum will share a single MLA.

In the B.C. Electoral Boundary Commission’s report, released Monday, April 3, population growth in Nanaimo was seen as a key factor in the moves, which caused the domino effect elsewhere.

“Nanaimo-Gabriola contains the downtown core extending north to Departure Bay and includes Gabriola Island. Nanaimo-Lantzville contains the rapidly expanding northern half of the city as well as the closely integrated District of Lantzville.”

Nanaimo-Gabriola Island will add around 4,000 residents to the Nanaimo riding, currently represented by MLA Sheila Malcolmson. (B.C. Electoral Boundaries Commission)

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Nanaimo-Gabriola will cover most of central Nanaimo, all of the city’s south, East Wellington, Cinnabar Valley, Cedar and Duke Point.

The Departure Bay, Country Club, Wellington, Hammond Bay and Dover areas of Nanaimo will link with Lantzville and Snaw-Naw-As First Nation for the newly named Nanaimo-Lantzville riding.

A third riding of Ladysmith-Oceanside will effectively encircle the city.

The riding involves Parksville, Qualicum Beach, Lasqueti Island and Nanoose Bay, while also including Extension, Cassidy, Yellow Point, Ladysmith and Saltair.

“Its northern boundaries follow the Island Highway and the Regional District of Nanaimo Electoral Area G,” the report read. “The riding extends south along the borders of Ladysmith and Cowichan Valley Regional District Electoral Area H.”

All proposed changes must be formally adopted in the Legislature before they come into effect.

Ladysmith-Oceanside takes land on the outskirts of Nanaimo, as well as major communities such as Parksville and Qualicum Beach. (B.C. Electoral Boundaries Commission)

It’s the third riding of Ladysmith-Oceanside which is drawing the loudest opposition.

Ladysmith Mayor Aaron Stone said the move makes no sense in keeping like communities together.

“Our old riding went from Chemainus to South Nanaimo,” he said in a tweet Monday afternoon. “An area connected for decades with many shared challenges and opportunities. Ladysmith with Parksville and Qualicum may make sense to some, but won’t to anyone who lives here.”

The sense likely comes mainly from the numbers.

A chief goal of the commission is to redraw the lines so each riding contains approximately the same number of people, around 54,000 with a set deviation allowed.

Each of the three local ridings ranges from 56,308 people in Ladysmith-Oceanside to 59,172 people in Nanaimo-Gabriola.

Parksville Mayor Doug O’Brien was less concerned with the change, suggesting access to an MLA would remain the same via channels in and out of City Hall.

He said the new lines may actually make a more well-rounded riding.

“I think it would just make it maybe more of a balanced demographic, introducing the area of Ladysmith which has a less amount of senior population there…it would make it easier, I would suggest, to represent a well-balanced demographic when it comes to recreation that we collaborate with.”

O’Brien pointed to organizations such as the Regional District of Nanaimo, of which Ladysmith is not a part of, as well as the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities (AVICC) exist to help municipalities work together.

An interactive map of all the proposed riding changes is available on the commission’s website.

Newly-created Nanaimo-Lantzville is the most contiguous riding in the region. (B.C. Electoral Boundaries Commission)

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