A new Angus Reid poll shows that Albertans and Saskatchewanians are unsatisfied with their representation in parliament, with 72 per cent of respondents in Alberta saying they feel underrepresented and 71 per cent of respondents in Saskatchewan saying the same.
Moreover, respondents in these two provinces are the only ones where an absolute majority believe they have too few MPs in the House to represent them.
Those Who Say Their Province Is Underrepresented (Too Few MPs) In The House:
AB: 72%
SK: 71%
MB: 49%
BC: 47%
ATL: 31%
QC: 19%
ON: 9%Angus Reid / November 7, 2021 / n=1611 / Online
— Polling Canada (@CanadianPolling) November 17, 2021
Conversely, Quebec’s and Ontario’s respondents seem to be the most satisfied with their representation — go figure.
For Quebec respondents, 52 per cent say they are adequately represented, 10 per cent say they are overrepresented, 19 per cent say they are underrepresented, and 19 per cent say they are unsure.
Similarly, for Ontario respondents, 47 per cent say they are adequately represented, 20 per cent say they are overrepresented, 9 per cent say they are underrepresented, and 24 per cent say they are unsure.
The poll also shows that Canadians across the board support the proposed change in the distribution of seats in the House of Commons, which would see Alberta gain three seats, BC gain one seat, Ontario gain one seat, and Quebec lose one seat.
Furthermore, most respondents, even in Quebec (though by a small margin), believe “It’s fine for provinces to lose seats, so the House of Commons is more proportionally distributed based on population.
However, supporters of the Bloc Quebecois are opposed to any seat redistribution, with 58 per cent saying that provinces should never lose seats due to seat redistribution.
As the Angus Reid Institute explains, “Yves-François Blanchet argued that Quebec should not lose a seat due to its special status as a nation. He said if the current proposal went through, dropping the province’s seats from 78 to 77, the Bloc would “unleash the fires of hell.”
“Most Canadians disagree with his premise: four-in-five believe Quebec does not deserve special consideration on this matter. Quebecers themselves are split evenly between believing their province deserves special status when it comes to seat counts and not.”
