At a glance
In this activity, students:
- Consider the concept of fairness—first in a familiar context, then in the context of federal elections
- Map electoral boundaries of an imaginary country, with the goal of making the electoral districts as fair as possible
- Interpret maps and analyze facts on population and geographical landforms to make their decisions
- Explain the rationale for their decision making, considering the distinction between equality and equity
- Learn about the real process for determining federal electoral districts in Canada
Big ideas:
- People vote for someone to represent them in a particular electoral district.
- Elections are land-based. Both human and physical geography are carefully considered in creating fair electoral districts.
Subjects: This activity can be taught in a geography, world issues, social studies, civics or citizenship course. To view a list of courses associated with this learning resource, please visit our Curriculum Connections page.
Level: Secondary
Time needed: 60 minutes
Collaboration: This educational resource was created in collaboration with the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and Canadian Geographic Education.
Last updated: June 2026