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Home , Coquitlam Town Centre, Electoral district, Maillardville, Pitt River, Westwood Plateau

Part 9 – Proposed SINGLE MEMBER PLURALITY BOUNDARIES 9

H. The Tri- Area

The geographical area that we describe as the Tri-Cities is bounded by Indian Arm on the northwest, Burnaby Pro p osed Part– 9 and on the south- west, the on the south and the on the east. It includes three cities – , and – as well as the

Villages of Anmore and . Plurality Me m ber S ingle

1. Evolution of the Tri-Cities electoral Immediately prior to the 1966 Angus Commission, there was one single- member electoral (Dewdney) extending from Indian Arm east to Hope, on the north side of the Fraser River (see Tri-Cities, Map 1). B oundaries

Tri-Cities, Map 1

181 9 PART 9 – Proposed SINGLE MEMBER PLURALITY BOUNDARIES

a. Angus Commission (1966) The Angus Commission recommended that Dewdney be split into two single- member districts (see Tri-Cities, Map P

9 – Pro p osed – 9 ART 2). The western portion, extending from Indian Arm and the eastern boundaries of the Burnaby and New Westminster electoral districts eastward to the Pitt River, would be named Co- quitlam, encompassing all the area we

ber Plurality Me m ber S ingle now refer to as Tri-Cities.

The Legislative Assembly adopted the Angus Commission’s recom- mendations. B oundaries

Tri-Cities, Map 2

182 Part 9 – Proposed SINGLE MEMBER PLURALITY BOUNDARIES 9

b. The Norris Commission (1975) Due to population growth and under- representation in the , the Norris Commission recommended (Tri-Cities, Map 3) that the boundaries Pro p osed Part– 9 of the Coquitlam re- main unchanged, but it should become a dual-member district.

The Legislative Assembly did not

adopt the Norris Commission’s recom- Plurality Me m ber S ingle mendations. B oundaries

Tri-Cities, Map 3

183 9 PART 9 – Proposed SINGLE MEMBER PLURALITY BOUNDARIES

c. The Eckardt Commission (1978) Judge Eckardt recommended (see Tri-Cities, Map 4) that the Coquitlam electoral district be divided into two P

9 – Pro p osed – 9 ART single-member districts: • -Coquitlam would be a comparatively small district, ex- tending from the Burnaby district boundary east to Essondale and from the southern boundary of Port

ber Plurality Me m ber S ingle Moody south to the Fraser River. • Coquitlam-Moody would consist of the of Port Moody, Port Coquitlam and the remainder of Coquitlam.

The Legislative Assembly adopted Judge Eckardt’s recommendations.

d. The Warren Commission (1982) B oundaries None of Mr. Warren’s recommenda- tions affected these electoral districts.

e. The McAdam Commission (1984) None of the McAdam Commission’s recommendations affected these elec- toral districts.

Tri-Cities, Map 4

184 Part 9 – Proposed SINGLE MEMBER PLURALITY BOUNDARIES 9

f. The Fisher Commission (1988) Judge Fisher recommended (see Tri- Cities, Map 5) that the number of districts be increased from two to three: • Port Moody–Burnaby Mountain Pro p osed Part– 9 would be bounded on the west by Indian Arm and Duthie Road in Burnaby, on the south by Smith avenue and Como Lake Avenue, and on the east by the Coquit-

lam district ’s western Plurality Me m ber S ingle boundary. • Port Coquitlam would extend from the Coquitlam ’s western boundary eastward to the Pitt River. • Coquitlam-Maillardville would be approximately the same as the exist- ing Maillardville-Coquitlam district.

The Legislative Assembly adopted B oundaries Judge Fisher’s recommendations.

g. The Wood Commission (1999) In its interim report, the Wood Com- mission noted that the population of the electoral district of Port Coquitlam had grown by 91 percent in the pre- ceding decade, requiring significant

Tri-Cities, Map 5

185 9 PART 9 – Proposed SINGLE MEMBER PLURALITY BOUNDARIES

redrawing of electoral boundaries in the Tri-Cities area (Tri-Cities, Map 6): • Port Moody–Burnaby Mountain – the commission accepted that there P

9 – Pro p osed – 9 ART was a community of interest among the people residing in the moun- tain area on the north shore of Port Moody in Belcarra, Anmore and Heritage Mountain, and in the Eagle Ridge and areas

ber Plurality Me m ber S ingle of Coquitlam where there had been significant new development. It pro- posed extending the eastern bound- ary farther east into Coquitlam (to the ) and moving the southern boundary farther north to the southern municipal boundary of Port Moody, and re-naming the district Port Moody–Westwood. • Coquitlam-Maillardville – this B oundaries district would be bounded on the north by the proposed new Port Moody–Westwood district, on the west by the proposed new Burquit- lam district, on the south by the Fraser River and on the east by the Coquitlam municipal border. • Port Coquitlam – this district (which the commission proposed be named Port Coquitlam–Burke Mountain) combined parts of the cities of Tri-Cities, Map 6 Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam. The commission heard no significant objection to this arrangement, and

186 Part 9 – Proposed SINGLE MEMBER PLURALITY BOUNDARIES 9

recommended that the electoral • The of Coquitlam expressed • It was suggested that the western district be preserved in large part, dissatisfaction with the degree to boundary of Coquitlam-Maillardville except that the Coquitlam River be which Coquitlam shared electoral should run straight along Blue used as part of the western boundary. districts with adjacent municipalities. Mountain Street, but the commis- • Burquitlam – the increase in popu- It provided the commission with two sion concluded that including an Pro p osed Part– 9 lation also necessitated an elec- alternative maps – with three and additional 3,100 people from the toral district that included parts of four electoral districts in the Tri- Burquitlam electoral district in this Burnaby and Coquitlam, extending Cities area, respectively. Although the district would produce too high a eastward to Blue Mountain Street city accepted the necessity of electoral deviation. and Gatensbury Street. districts shared with Port Coquitlam, • The western boundary of the Port

Port Moody, Anmore and Belcarra, Coquitlam–Burke Mountain elec- Plurality Me m ber S ingle The commission was satisfied that these it urged the commission to avoid toral district followed the Coquit- changes would allow for the continued creating an electoral district shared lam River, except for one triangular population growth expected due to between Coquitlam and Burnaby. section west of the river, which some development in the Centre and The Wood Commission concluded people suggested should become northeast areas of Coquitlam. Although that adopting the City of Coquit- part of Coquitlam-Maillardville. the City of Coquitlam requested lam’s proposals for three or four elec- However, this boundary followed the electoral districts wholly within its toral districts in the Tri-Cities area Port Coquitlam municipal bound- municipal boundaries, the fact that would produce deviations that were ary, and the commission decided that Coquitlam’s high population was locat- too high. The three-district proposal those residents of Port Coquitlam ed adjacent to the smaller communities would have two electoral districts in west of the river should most B oundaries of Port Moody and Port Coquitlam led excess of plus 20 percent, and the logically be included in an electoral the commission to conclude that some four-district proposal would have one district with other residents of Port overlap of the municipal boundaries was electoral district at plus 26 percent. Coquitlam. necessary in order to create electoral • Residents of Coquitlam-Maillardville districts with appropriate populations. living between Guildford Way and The Legislative Assembly adopted the Barnet Highway felt that they all the Wood Commission’s recom- In its final report, the commission con- should be included in Port Moody– mendations. sidered, but ultimately rejected, several Westwood, as the Barnet Highway proposed changes: would leave them somewhat isolated from Coquitlam-Maillardville. How- ever, the commission concluded that including these 4,000 people would produce too high a positive deviation in Port Moody–Westwood, where continued high growth was expected.

187 9 PART 9 – Proposed SINGLE MEMBER PLURALITY BOUNDARIES

2. Our analysis of the Tri-Cities electoral districts

The geographical area that we describe electoral districts yields an average area and in P

9 – Pro p osed – 9 ART as the Tri-Cities region now has three deviation of minus 5.3 percent (based the city’s southwest quadrant. electoral districts, plus approximately on 79 electoral districts), quite appro- 42 percent of the Burquitlam electoral priate for such a fast-growing urban As mentioned earlier, in urban areas, we district (see map on page 190). These area. Consequently, we are satisfied that attempted to design electoral districts electoral districts, with their deviations the Tri-Cities region should have four that correspond to municipal bound- at the time of the 1996 census, and electoral districts. aries where possible, because in our

ber Plurality Me m ber S ingle now, are as follows (see Table 17): view municipalities are good indicators In deciding how to configure electoral of long-standing community interests. Table 17: Current SMP electoral districts within this region, we began districts in the Tri-Cities with examining the physical configura- The current Port Moody–Westwood Electoral 1996 2006 tion of the five municipalities in this electoral district, with 68,000 people District deviation* deviation** region, and how the population is and a deviation of plus 30.6 percent, Port Moody– distributed among them: has too many residents for a single elec- Westwood +5% +30.6% toral district. We decided to combine all Coquitlam- Coquitlam 114,565 of Port Moody, the of Anmore Maillardville +4.9% -4% Port Coquitlam 52,687 and Belcarra, a portion of southwest B oundaries Port Coquitlam– Port Moody 27,512 Coquitlam beginning at North Road Burke Mountain +6.9% +9.4% Anmore 1,785 on the Burnaby-Coquitlam boundary, Burquitlam +8.8% +2.5% Belcarra 676 following the southern boundary east * based on 1996 census data, and assuming TOTAL **197,278 along Austin Avenue to Schoolhouse 79 electoral districts ** The total population of our Tri-Cities region Street, north along Schoolhouse and ** based on 2006 census data, and assuming (The above total does not include 53 persons Crestwood Streets, then continuing 79 electoral districts on the First Nations Reserve and other unin- corporated areas that are a part of the electoral east along Ingersoll and Brookmount The total population of the current district population for this region.) Avenues, and Balmoral Street to the three Tri-Cities electoral districts is Port Moody–Coquitlam municipal 174,947. We are satisfied that those Since the 1999 Wood Commission, boundary. This created a district with residents of the current Burquitlam there has been significant growth in the 51,539 people, and a deviation of district who live within the City of Westwood Plateau area of Port Moody plus 1.5 percent. This approach would Coquitlam (pop. 22,331) should be and Coquitlam, and in the Burke bring three municipalities into the one included in a Tri-Cities–based district. Mountain area of Coquitlam. We were electoral district that we propose be That brings the total population of the advised that growth in these areas has called Port Moody–Coquitlam Tri-Cities region to 197,278. Rebalanc- peaked, and that the most pronounced (see map of proposed Port Moody– ing that population among four future growth will take place in the Coquitlam electoral district page 192).

188 Part 9 – ProPosed sINGLe MeMBer PLUraLItY BoUNdarIes 9

the next area we considered was the 3. Conclusion City of Port Coquitlam. Its 2006 accordingly, we propose that there be census population is 52,687. If the four electoral districts in the tri-Cities city were to constitute one electoral region, as follows: district, it would have a deviation of boundaries Plurality MeMber single ProPosed Part– 9 plus 3.8 percent. Given our desire to taBLe 18: ProPosed sMP eLeCtoraL respect municipal boundaries whenever dIstrICts IN tHe trI-CItIes reGIoN possible in the development of elec- toral districts, we are satisfied that the population of the City of Port Coquit- Electoral District Sq. Km. Population Deviation* lam is close enough to parity to justify its own electoral district. We believe Port Moody–Coquitlam 83 51,539 +1.5% there should be a new Port Coquit- Coquitlam-Maillardville 30 46,315 -8.8% lam electoral district that corresponds Coquitlam–Burke Mountain 615 46,732 -8% exactly to the municipal boundaries. Port Coquitlam 35 52,692 +3.8% the proposed Port Coquitlam electoral district includes the Coquitlam 2 Indian * based on 81 electoral districts, with a provincial electoral reserve that has five people (see map quotient of 50,784 of proposed Port Coquitlam electoral district page 193).

We then balanced the remaining Coquitlam population between two electoral districts, using the right-of-way as the divider. We propose naming the elec- toral district in the southwest Coquitlam-Maillardville, and the electoral district in the northwest Coquitlam–Burke Mountain. they will have deviations of minus 8.8 percent and minus 8 percent, respec- tively (see maps of proposed Coquit- lam-Maillardville and Coquitlam–Burke Mountain electoral districts pages 194-195).

189 9 PART 9 – Proposed SINGLE MEMBER PLURALITY BOUNDARIES

Region: Tri-Cities – Current Electoral Districts P 9 – Pro p osed – 9 ART ber Plurality Me m ber S ingle B oundaries

190 Part 9 – Proposed SINGLE MEMBER PLURALITY BOUNDARIES 9

Region: Tri-Cities – Proposed Electoral Districts Part 9 – Pro p osed Part– 9 ber Plurality Me m ber S ingle B oundaries

191 9 PART 9 – Proposed SINGLE MEMBER PLURALITY BOUNDARIES

Region: Tri-Cities – Proposed Port Moody–Coquitlam Electoral District P 9 – Pro p osed – 9 ART ber Plurality Me m ber S ingle B oundaries

192 Part 9 – Proposed SINGLE MEMBER PLURALITY BOUNDARIES 9

Region: Tri-Cities – Proposed Port Coquitlam Electoral District Part 9 – Pro p osed Part– 9 ber Plurality Me m ber S ingle B oundaries

193 9 PART 9 – Proposed SINGLE MEMBER PLURALITY BOUNDARIES

Region: Tri-Cities – Proposed Coquitlam-Maillardville Electoral District P 9 – Pro p osed – 9 ART ber Plurality Me m ber S ingle B oundaries

194 Part 9 – Proposed SINGLE MEMBER PLURALITY BOUNDARIES 9

Region: Tri-Cities – Proposed Coquitlam–Burke Mountain Electoral District Part 9 – Pro p osed Part– 9 ber Plurality Me m ber S ingle B oundaries

195