New ward boundaries coming to city of Toronto
The explosive growth downtown, while many parts of the city experienced virtually no growth, is spurring change.

TheStar.com
Aug. 11, 2015
David Rider

Torontonians potentially facing big change in the way they elect city council in 2018 will also likely see their ward boundaries shift citywide.

A city-commissioned consultant’s report released Tuesday says the huge and growing disparity in the populations of Toronto’s 44 wards makes the status quo “not an option.”

Released after the first phase of public consultation on ward boundaries, the report offers five options for public feedback including adding up to 14 new wards — and councillors — or reducing those ranks by 6.

Councillor John Filion (open John Filion's policard)’s Ward 23 Willowdale has more than twice as many people as Mary Fragedakis (open Mary Fragedakis's policard)’s Ward 29 Toronto-Danforth.

That means, the consultants say, not all Torontonians are equally represented at city hall and “one person’s vote does not have the same value or weight as that of the next person.”

Filion welcomed the review, saying population equalization is needed. But he doubts Torontonians are eager for change in the number of councillors.

He also predicted redistricting will be a political briar patch for council next May when they get the final recommendations, after more rounds of consultations including public meetings.

“I went through it last time (before the 2000 election) and there was a lot of weeping and gnashing of teeth, where some people got their preferred boundaries and others did not,” Filion said. “It was a very uncomfortable process.”

That election, reducing wards from 56 to 44, saw several former colleagues forced to face off against each other. Some veterans, including former Etobicoke mayor Bruce Sinclair, were turfed from politics.

Changes in boundaries and numbers of wards could also alter the urban-suburban divide that has in recent years seen downtown councillors outvoted by their suburban colleagues on issues including the Gardiner Expressway.

Toronto is already expected, once provincial legislation is enacted, to embrace ranked ballots in 2018, a system whereby voters rank several choices, in order, for mayor and council.

The boundaries report, based on public feedback gathered between July 2014 and January, predicts Toronto will add 600,000 residents by 2031, most of them near the downtown waterfront and along major avenues.

That’s an extra 10 wards if the city keeps the current average of about 61,000 residents in each.

The proposed options are:

• Minimal change: Increase to 47 wards, with an average population of 61,000. Creates three new wards, leaves 18 wards unchanged, shrinks nine wards and enlarges five of them.
• Maintain: Rejig boundaries but keep 44 wards, which would grow to an average population of 70,000.
• Small wards: Increase to 58 wards with an average population of only 45,000 to 55,000. There was “ample” public support for this option which could “improve citizen access and the councillors’ capacity to represent their constituents.”
• Large wards: Shrink the number of wards to 38, with an average population of 75,000. Populations would range from 67,500 population to 82,500.
• Natural, physical boundaries: Reduce the wards to 41, throw out current boundaries and draw new ones based on natural barriers such as rivers, expressways and hydro corridors. The average population would be 70,000.

 

Unequal wards

Most populated wards in 2014:

• Ward 27 Toronto Centre-Rosedale: 94,597
• Ward 23 Willowdale: 93,687
• Ward 20 Trinity-Spadina: 85,291

Least populated wards in 2014:

• Ward 29 Toronto-Danforth: 44,404
• Ward 18 Davenport: 45,440
• Ward 21 St. Paul’s: 46,320